Film Studies (AA) Communications Studies Total Units: 20.0

Term Effective: Summer 2025

The requirements for this program of study are effective beginning the semester shown above. If you began working on this program before the effective semester, you may not be affected by the changes. Consult with the program contact person or the department chair to determine your eligibility to complete the program under previous requirements.

Associate Degree Requirements:

The major is one of several requirements students need to fulfill in order to be awarded the Associate Degree, the highest level of academic achievement recognized by Santa Rosa Junior College. Please note that all of the following requirements must be met in order for the degree to be conferred:

For all students admitted for the Fall 2009 term or any term thereafter, a grade of "C" or better, or "P" if the course is taken on a pass/no pass basis, is required for each course applied toward the major.

Previous Versions:

Film Studies - effective Fall 2023
Film Studies - effective Fall 2021
Film Studies - effective Fall 2018

Description:

The Film Studies major is designed for students pursuing lower division preparation for a baccalaureate degree in Film, including Cinema Studies, Film History, Film Production, Media Studies, and Screenwriting. It provides a basic foundation in film aesthetics, film history, and digital film production while meeting the typical lower division requirements for a bachelor's degree in Film at a four-year institution. The major is also designed to prepare students for careers in the film and television industries with opportunities to write and produce screenplays, collaboratively work on film production teams, and gain experience in programming and festival management through internships with the Petaluma campus cinematheque and Film Fest Petaluma, the city’s annual short film festival.

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this program, the student will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate a technical and theoretical understanding of cinema, including narrative forms, genres, and the complex interplay of image, sound, and motion.
  2. Demonstrate a broad-based understanding of the historical and aesthetic development of world cinema from its origins to the present day, including the impact of historical movements and new technologies.
  3. Demonstrate the ability to work as part of a production team to effectively plan, organize, and execute the production of a short digital film project.
  4. Demonstrate fluency in the vocabulary of film production and criticism.
  5. Demonstrate skills in the critical analysis of cinema by identifying how specific formal techniques are used to functionally support film narratives.
  6. Demonstrate an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of various industry professionals in both the artistic and commercial side of motion picture production, distribution and exhibition.
  7. Demonstrate an understanding of motion pictures as a technology, business, cultural product, global entertainment medium, and industrial art form.

Program Requirements:

The requirements for the Film Studies program are:

  • Complete 20.0 units from
    • Film Studies
    • Information Learning Resources Requirement

Film Studies - complete 19.00 units
FMA 10Film Appreciation4.00
FMA 14Early Film History4.00
FMA 15Modern Film History4.00
FMA 20Introduction to Digital Filmmaking4.00
Complete any combination totaling at least 3.00 units from the following:
CourseDescriptionUnits
FMA 6Media, Culture, and Identity3.00
FMA 17Contemporary World Cinema4.00
FMA 22Screenwriting3.00
FMA 44Media Criticism3.00
 
Information Learning Resources Requirement - complete 1.00 units
LIR 10Introduction to Information Literacy1.00

Course Prerequisites and Advisories:

Courses in a program of study may have prerequisites or advisories; that is, courses that must or should be completed before taking that course. Please check for prerequisites or advisories by clicking on the course numbers in the Program Requirements section.

Contact
Information
Phone Email Website
(707) 778-3687
mtraina@santarosa.edu