About the Undergraduate Film

The Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television is a two year, upper division program for students who have completed two years of general college studies. The program provides an education in the history and theory of these art forms and basic learning experiences in production within the context of a liberal arts education.

Note: We do not admit at the freshmen level.

• Requirements for Admission
  • General Education Requirements
  • General School Requirements
  • General University Requirements

UCLA's Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers programs of study in the history and theory as well as the creative and technical aspects of the moving image. The department provides a scholarly, creative, and professional approach to the study of these media and seeks to help each student discover his or her powers as an independent artist and communicator.

The convergence of all the art forms of the moving-image enables students to move freely among the plurality of media. Our course offerings cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. Scholarly work in the areas of history, criticism and theory provide a conceptual underpinning for our world class professional training courses and an educational response to the opportunities that emerging technologies offer. Our scholarly explorations, in turn, are anchored and informed by the practice of the art

The department's undergraduate film major is ranked first out of 500 nationally (Princeton Review / Gourman Report) and our graduate program is consistently among the nation's top three (U.S. News and World Report). The strong academic foundations of these programs are enhanced by access to exceptional resources, including the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the largest university-based moving image collection in the world. The proximity of the world's entertainment center, in Los Angeles, gives students access to people accomplished in their fields, many of whom are supportive UCLA alumni. Working and highly place professionals visit the campus regularly as instructors or come to work here as adjunct and visiting professors.

UCLA's Department of Film, Television and Digital empowers the creative innovators of tomorrow by training them in all aspects of the arts and crafts of the moving image, from the aesthetic to the technological. At the same time, the Department explores the best work of past masters of film and television in Cinema and Media Studies courses, and encourages students to aspire to similar accomplishments. We affirm the importance of storytelling as the form in which human beings give weight and meaning to the most important passage of their lives.

While all media technologies are means to creative ends, not ends in themselves, we believe it is essential for our students to be actively engaged in the digital and telecommunications revolution that is transforming all areas of contemporary culture. Currently, the School can boast of more than a dozen innovative initiatives that range across every program including computer assisted theater design, special effects for film and television, digital library research and archival restoration, the design of interactive texts and instructional software, computer animation and video gaming, interactive television, and the development of web based media arts.

Requirements for Admission

The Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television is a two year, upper division program for students who have completed two years of general college studies. The program provides an education in the history and theory of these art forms and basic learning experiences in production within the context of a liberal arts education.

In the first year, students are introduced to all major aspects of film, television, and digital media study. In the second year, each student completes a senior concentration chosen from film production, television production (narrative or documentary), screenwriting, animation, digital media or cinema & media studies. Students must also complete at least one professional internship during the senior year.

A wide range of courses are offered in three distinct areas: cinema & media studies-the history, theory, and aesthetics of both film and television; production-film, television (studio and field), digital, experimental, and animation; and film and television craft-writing, directing, photography, sound recording, and editing.

General Education Requirements

The School's General Education (GE) Requirements consist of ten courses (48 minimum units required) and are grouped into three areas: Foundations of the Arts and Humanities, Foundations of Society and Culture, and Foundations of Scientific Inquiry.

View a more detailed General Education course list from the UCLA Registrar.

Foundations of Arts and Humanities: Five 5-unit courses, with no more than two from any one subgroup:

• Literary and Cultural Analysis
• Philosophical and Linguistic Analysis
• Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice

Foundations of Society and Culture: Three 5-unit courses, one from each subgroup and one from either subgroup:

• Historical Analysis
• Social Analysis

Foundations of Scientific Inquiry: Two courses (8 units minimum) one from each subgroup:

• Life Science
• Physical Science

NOTE: Students may not use courses in their major department to satisfy GE requirements. Courses applied on the general education requirements may not also be used to satisfy the writing, foreign language, or literature requirements.

General School Requirements

In additional to general education requirements, students must complete the following school requirements: Writing I and II, foreign language, and literature.

Writing I- English Composition and Rhetoric: English Composition 3, 3H, or ESL 36 with a minimum grade of C. Must be taken for a letter grade and be completed by the end of the first year at UCLA. An Advanced Placement (AP) Test score of 4 also satisfies this requirement.

Writing II- Critical Reading and Writing: One course from the College of Letters and Science Writing II course list with a minimum grade of C. Must be taken for a letter grade and be completed by the end of the second year at UCLA.

Foreign Language: Students may meet the foreign language requirement by 1) scoring a 3, 4, or 5 on the Advanced Placement AP foreign language test in French, German, or Spanish; 2) presenting a UCLA foreign language proficiency examination score indicating competency through level three; or 3) completion of one college level foreign language course equivalent to UCLA's level three or higher, minimum grade of C.

International students whose entire secondary education has been completed in a language other than English may petition to be exempt from the foreign language requirement.

Literature: Three courses. One must be upper division (numbered 100 or above):

• Afro American Studies C101, M103A, M104ABC
• Asian American Studies M112AB, M132AB
• Chicana and Chicano Studies M105AB
• Classics 40W, 140-144
• Comparative Literature 1A-D, 2AW, 2BW, 2CW, 2DW, 4AW, 4BW, 4CW, 4DW, 106, C140, M165, M168, C170, M171, C172-173, 191
• East Asian Languages: East Asian 60, 60W, 61; Chinese C150A-152; Japanese 150, 151; Korean 150, 151
• English 10ABC, M40, 70, 75, 80, 85, 88A-M, 90, 95ABC, 96, 100, M101ABC, M102AB, 103, M104ABC, M105AB, 106, M107ABC, 108ABC, 109, 110, 111ACDEF, 112, 112SL, 113, 114, 115AB, 116, 117, 118, 140AB, 141AB, 142ABC, 143, 150AB, 151, 152AB, 153-157, 160-168, 169A, 170A-174BC, 175, 176, 177, 178AB
• French and Francophone Studies 14, 14W, 41, 60, 142, M143
• Germanic Languages: Afrikaans 135; Dutch 113; German 50AB, 56-59, 61A-D, 100C, 122; Old Norse 40, C139
• Honors Collegium 26, 41W
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies M101C
• Italian 46, 50AB, 110, 140, 150
• Near Eastern Languages: Ancient Near East 150ABC; Arabic 150, 151; Armenian 150AB; Iranian 150AB; Jewish Studies M150A, 150B, 151AB, M187
• Scandinavian 50, 141-143, C144-C147, C180, 184, C185
• Slavic Languages: Bulgarian 154; Polish 152AB; Romanian 152; Russian 25, 99B, 118-120, 125; Ukrainian 152
• Spanish and Portuguese: Portuguese 40AB; Spanish 60ABC
• Women's Studies M107ABC, M101C

General University Requirements

Subject A: If not satisfied upon entrance to UCLA, student must enroll in either English Comp A or English Comp 2 as determined by performance on the UCLA Subject A Placement Test. A score of 3 on the AP test in English Composition satisfies this requirement.

American History and Institutions: If not satisfied prior to UCLA entrance, see the UCLA General Catalog for courses that will meet this requirement.

GE RECIPROCITY

Students who transfer from other UC campuses or change their major from another UCLA school or College and have completed their GE and writing requirements prior to entry do not have to complete the School's GE and writing requirements. Students choosing this option must complete all requirements prior to entry or they will be required to complete the School's plan. Please note: Students choosing this option must also complete the School's foreign language and literature requirements.

INTERSEGMENTAL GENERAL EDUCATION TRANSFER CURRICULUM

Students who transfer from a California community college and have completed the IGETC do not have to complete the School's GE and writing requirements. Students choosing this option must complete the IGETC entirely prior to entry or they will be required to complete the school's plan. Please note: Students choosing this option must also complete the School's foreign language and literature requirements.

Questions regarding any of these requirements should be directed to the School's Student Services Office, 103 East Melnitz Building, (310) 206-8441