Bachelor of Arts in Film & Digital Media

Film
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About

The Bachelor of Arts in Film and Digital Media prepares you for creative roles in the filmic arts. The 79-credit program provides an intensive experience in production and screenwriting as well as film history, theory, and criticism. Before you graduate, you’ll write a classically structured, feature-length screenplay and complete an advanced production project or a theory/criticism project. A faculty-student panel reviews both the screenplay and the project as a part of the Senior Capstone experience during the spring quarter.

How to Apply

Admission to the program is restricted to fall quarter. The film and digital media program requires a very specific sequence of courses, most of which are offered only once a year. Failure to complete courses as they are offered will result in a significant delay in progress toward graduation. You should consult with the department chair about the program and its requirements and declare your major status as early as possible: no later than the fall quarter that you begin your major in Film. You should complete all, or nearly all, of your BACR courses before beginning the film and digital media program.

Have questions about the Film program?  Contact pporter@ewu.edu.

Declare a Major in Film and Digital Media Curriculum Map

Transfer Requirements for Film

You must begin the program in the fall quarter. You should apply for major status prior to the fall quarter that you intend to begin your major in Film and consult with the department chair on transferability of courses. Transfer students, including students with AA degrees, must complete FILM 214 no later than their first fall quarter in the program.

What You'll Learn

The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.

Film and Digital Media Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Notes: two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.

Required Courses
FILM 110INTRODUCTION TO FILMIC ARTS MEDIA PRODUCTION5
FILM 214FILM AND THE HUMANITIES5
FILM 221NARRATIVE SCRIPT ANALYSIS5
FILM 305ACTING FOR DIRECTORS AND WRITERS2
FILM 311FILM PRODUCTION5
FILM 312FILM DIRECTING AND PRODUCING5
FILM 321WRITING THE SHORT FILM5
FILM 322ADAPTATION5
FILM 365FILM HISTORY I5
FILM 366FILM HISTORY II5
FILM 410ADVANCED FILM PRODUCTION I5
FILM 417ADVANCED SCREENWRITING I4
Concentrations–complete at least two of the following series18
Criticism
SEMINAR IN FILM CRITICISM (must be repeated with topics 1 and 2)
ORAL EXAMINATION: CRITICISM
Production
ADVANCED FILM PRODUCTION II
ADVANCED FILM PRODUCTION III
ORAL EXAMINATION: PRODUCTION
Screenwriting
ADVANCED SCREENWRITING II
ADVANCED SCREENWRITING III
ORAL EXAMINATION: SCREENWRITING
Required Senior Capstone
FILM 490FILM SENIOR CAPSTONE5
Total Credits79

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement.  Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.

First Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
ENGL 1015ENGL 2015MATH 1075
Humanities & Arts BACR 115Social Science BACR 215Diversity - graduation requirement15
Social Science BACR 115Natural Science BACR 115Natural Science BACR 215
 15 15 15
Second Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
 15 15 15
Third Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
FILM 1105FILM 3115FILM 3052
FILM 214 (Humanities & Arts BACR 2)5FILM 3215FILM 3125
FILM 2215FILM 365 (Global Studies - graduation requirement)5FILM 3225
  FILM 3665
 15 15 17
Fourth Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
FILM 4105Film and Digital Media Concentration Elective24Film and Digital Media Concentration Elective24
FILM 4174Film and Digital Media Concentration Elective24Film and Digital Media Concentration Elective24
FILM 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement)5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Film and Digital Media Concentration Elective21
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective1 Film and Digital Media Concentration Elective21
  Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
 15 13 15
Total Credits 180
1

University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

2

Concentrations–complete at least two concentrations in Criticism, Production or Screenwriting. 

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB

General Education Requirements (GER)

  • Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
    • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
    • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
  • Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences

University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List

Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Requirements in Degree Works are based on these two catalog years:

  1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
  2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Students who earn a BA in Film from EWU should be able to:

  • direct a senior-level motion picture from a short script;
  • orally support one’s creative or scholarly choices;
  • write a short script suitable for a senior-level production;
  • write an essay informed by film theories;
  • write an essay to support the historical significance of a film.

In addition, all students should be able to do two of the following three:

  • write a critical film analysis that is suitable for submission to an undergraduate scholarly conference or publication;
  • direct a motion picture suitable for entry in a film festival;
  • write an industry-standard screenplay suitable for entry in a college-level screenwriting competition.

Sample Courses

FILM 214. FILM AND THE HUMANITIES. 5 Credits.

Notes: offered every quarter.
Satisfies: a BACR for humanities and arts.
Explores the varieties of human experience as they are expressed through the vocabulary of the filmic arts. Critical viewing, thinking and writing are central.

Catalog Listing

FILM 321. WRITING THE SHORT FILM. 5 Credits.

Notes: offered winter quarter.
Pre-requisites: FILM 214, FILM 221.
The course provides experience in writing the short film. Students will learn to develop the visual story through focusing on dramatic structure, character development, scene writing, dialogue and action. Criticism and revision are emphasized.

Catalog Listing

FILM 305. ACTING FOR DIRECTORS AND WRITERS. 2 Credits.

Pre-requisites: FILM 110, FILM 214 and FILM 221 or permission of the instructor.
Explores the art of film acting from the perspectives of the director and the writer.

Catalog Listing

FILM 322. ADAPTATION. 5 Credits.

Notes: offered spring quarter.
Pre-requisites: FILM 321.
Adapting pre-existing materials, ideas and out-of-copyright literary work into producible short screenplays. Narrative problem solving, structure, criticism and revision are central.

Catalog Listing