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Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
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2021-2022

Cinema

School of the Arts

 
Program description
The Bachelor of Arts in Cinema is designed for students who desire a hybrid program with an emphasis in film combined with a strong liberal arts component. All candidates for the Cinema B.A. must declare an additional major or two minors.  

The program focuses on the art and craft of narrative filmmaking with an emphasis on the practices of U.S. independent filmmakers. The Cinema B.A. offers an on-set experience that simulates the industry standard by placing the focus on Cinema as a collaborative art form. The program offers opportunities for international study options. Internships with professional film organizations in the U.S. are available on a competitive basis.
 
Full-time students enrolled in this program may graduate with the B.A. after three years of study by completing required course work in the summer semester following the second and third year.
Career opportunities
A BA in Cinema affords students a well rounded understanding of technical skill, complex group dynamics and narrative filmmaking. This serves as their gateway to both Graduate candidacy or a wide range of entry level - mid level positions in the film and media industry. Cinema graduates have a unique understanding of the structure and protocols of major motion picture film sets. This praxis lends itself to a variety of professional environments in multiple fields. Additionally, the completion of the second major/double minor reinforces the ability to multitask and make connections across diverse professions.
Change of major requirements

Student must submit application to VCUarts Admissions. http://arts.vcu.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/current-vcu-student/

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Camera Assistants
  • Directors - Stage, Motion Pictures, Television, and Radio
  • Electrics/Lighting Technician
  • Film and Video Editors
  • Grips
  • Line Producer
  • Production Assistant/Technician
  • Screenwriters
  • Set PA
  • Talent Directors
  • UPM/Unit Production Manager
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Art Director
  • Film Archivist
  • Journalist
  • Producer
Professional associations and resources
Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • Quantitative Foundations requirement only
Science required
  • Natural Sciences requirement only
Foreign language requirements
  • No
Additional tuition/fees
  • Yes
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.5

Contact information

Department name:
Cinema
Building/room location:
Pollak Building, Room 520
Phone:
(804) 828-7919
Email:
cinema@vcu.edu
http://arts.vcu.edu/cinema/ 
Campus (where 75% of courses are taken):
Monroe Park
Major map compass icon
Major map

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Schedule an appointment with your advisor to explore minors, certificates, and plan your required REAL experience.
  • Get familiar with the research process with the VCU Libraries Research Basics Guide.
  • Talk to professors about your research interests, electives, and strategies for success in your classes.
  • Explore innovation and business/non-profit creation classes with the da Vinci Center.
  • Take the Cinema Practical Exam.
  • Declare Cinema Track and Second Major/Double Minor and visit the correlating advisors.
  • Take CINE 390 in the Summer.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Discuss personal and professional interests with faculty.
  • Take a service-learning class to get involved with local organizations while earning credit.
  • Volunteer to address a social issue and check out Hands on Greater Richmond for opportunities.
  • Learn about the Sophomore Year Experience in Cary & Belvedere.
  • If living on campus, join the Residence Hall Association.
  • Attend Cinema Friday Workshops, Cinematheque screenings, alumni talks, and local film networking events and screenings.
  • Meet with faculty to connect with local filmmakers whose interests match yours.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Make friends with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
  • Explore social issues, develop cultural competency skills, and engage with faculty through iExcel pop-up courses.
  • Investigate globally-focused courses in your major by pursuing language coursework or setting language proficiency goals with advisors and faculty.
  • Apply for the Critical Languages Scholarship.
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Complete a gap analysis with your career advisor to identify key skills required for your professional field.
  • Seek out practical experience through independent skill-building, internships, shadowing, or part-time work.
  • Explore global career options with a career advisor to set goals for getting your dream job.
  • Organize examples of your academic and professional experiences, accomplishments, and reflections in an ePortfolio.
  • Attend career and internship fairs and other professional development events.
  • Pursue a digital badge to highlight the knowledge, skills, and experiences employers and graduate schools value.
  • Intern with local production companies, the Virginia Film Office, RIFF, FFF, CWA, and PA on smaller scale professional film shoots.
  • Apply for VCU Project Grants.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Connect with alumni on VCULink for career advice, industry contacts, and meaningful professional relationships.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of professional interest.
  • Ask a faculty or staff member to be your academic and professional mentor and to provide future letters of recommendation.
  • Meet with a coach at The Money Spot to set financial goals, understand student loans, and create spending plans.
  • Get feedback from Cinema faculty and staff on your film resume.
  • Create a website to display your work.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • See your academic and career advisors to discuss graduation progress and career planning.
  • Enhance your business, software, technology, and creative skills using LinkedIn Learning.
  • Take CINE 490 in the Summer.
  • Meet with Cinema staff/Faculty to plan a course of action that aligns with your professional and educational goals.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Build language proficiency and cultural competence by carrying out your plans for study abroad, internships, and service-learning.
  • Get required REAL experience and effect community change by using iExcel’s Active Citizen’s Toolkit to vote and volunteer.
  • Explore new cultures at one of Richmond’s wide array of festivals.
  • Prepare for future work on multidisciplinary and multicultural teams by showcasing your interpersonal skills on your resume.
  • Update your resume to include how you have developed your communication and interpersonal skills for future work on multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Take advantage of mock interview opportunities through InterviewStream or meeting with a career advisor.
  • Update your ePortfolio.
  • Apply for the Graduate School Mentorship Program to learn more about graduate school and the graduate student experience.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • Apply to day play on large scale commercials/television/features.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Make a plan with your academic, career, and faculty advisors for applying to graduate school or land a micro-internship.
  • Study for and complete any standardized exams required for graduate school the summer before senior year. 
  • Prepare for job offer negotiation by researching salaries, benefits, and other opportunities for flexibility.
  • Begin reaching out to professional contacts, Cinema alums, and colleagues.
  • Talk to advisors, faculty, and VCU Career Services about graduate school versus a job.
  • Create a demo-reel of your work and back-up all the work you have done in Cinema to a personal hard drive for future access.

Excel
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor the semester before you graduate to ensure that all graduation requirements will be met.
  • Choose REAL electives to diversify your skillset and round out your degree.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • Regularly attend Cinematheque screenings.
  • If necessary**** Complete Second Major/double minor coursework.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Carry out globally-oriented research projects with multilingual faculty and international partners.
  • Read scholarly articles about diversity in your field.
  • Master your answers to interview questions about your experience working with diverse populations.
  • Plan for how you will grow your cultural agility after graduation.
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Meet with your academic or professional mentor and identify examples of your experiential learning to share with employers.
  • Publish your original research in Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creativity.
  • Consider becoming an educator through programs like RTR, which prepare graduates from a variety of majors to become teachers in high-need schools.
  • Apply to day play on large scale commercials/television/features. 
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Prepare for graduation by making a plan to complete licensing exams, applications, and self-marketing activities.
  • Single out prospective employers and create a job or graduate school search strategy at least 8 months before graduation.
  • Have a personal statement or cover letter reviewed by Career Services. 
  • Connect with the Office of VCU Alumni Relations at Grad Fair, Grad Bash, and the VCULink Industry Network or alumni chapter.
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2021-2022

Cinema

School of the Arts

Concentration(s):
No concentration
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
Experience Year 2
  • Schedule an appointment with your advisor to explore minors, certificates, and plan your required REAL experience.
  • Get familiar with the research process with the VCU Libraries Research Basics Guide.
  • Talk to professors about your research interests, electives, and strategies for success in your classes.
  • Explore innovation and business/non-profit creation classes with the da Vinci Center.
  • Take the Cinema Practical Exam.
  • Declare Cinema Track and Second Major/Double Minor and visit the correlating advisors.
  • Take CINE 390 in the Summer.
  • Discuss personal and professional interests with faculty.
  • Take a service-learning class to get involved with local organizations while earning credit.
  • Volunteer to address a social issue and check out Hands on Greater Richmond for opportunities.
  • Learn about the Sophomore Year Experience in Cary & Belvedere.
  • If living on campus, join the Residence Hall Association.
  • Attend Cinema Friday Workshops, Cinematheque screenings, alumni talks, and local film networking events and screenings.
  • Meet with faculty to connect with local filmmakers whose interests match yours.
  • Make friends with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
  • Explore social issues, develop cultural competency skills, and engage with faculty through iExcel pop-up courses.
  • Investigate globally-focused courses in your major by pursuing language coursework or setting language proficiency goals with advisors and faculty.
  • Apply for the Critical Languages Scholarship.
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
  • Complete a gap analysis with your career advisor to identify key skills required for your professional field.
  • Seek out practical experience through independent skill-building, internships, shadowing, or part-time work.
  • Explore global career options with a career advisor to set goals for getting your dream job.
  • Organize examples of your academic and professional experiences, accomplishments, and reflections in an ePortfolio.
  • Attend career and internship fairs and other professional development events.
  • Pursue a digital badge to highlight the knowledge, skills, and experiences employers and graduate schools value.
  • Intern with local production companies, the Virginia Film Office, RIFF, FFF, CWA, and PA on smaller scale professional film shoots.
  • Apply for VCU Project Grants.
  • Connect with alumni on VCULink for career advice, industry contacts, and meaningful professional relationships.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of professional interest.
  • Ask a faculty or staff member to be your academic and professional mentor and to provide future letters of recommendation.
  • Meet with a coach at The Money Spot to set financial goals, understand student loans, and create spending plans.
  • Get feedback from Cinema faculty and staff on your film resume.
  • Create a website to display your work.
Year 3
  • See your academic and career advisors to discuss graduation progress and career planning.
  • Enhance your business, software, technology, and creative skills using LinkedIn Learning.
  • Take CINE 490 in the Summer.
  • Meet with Cinema staff/Faculty to plan a course of action that aligns with your professional and educational goals.
  • Build language proficiency and cultural competence by carrying out your plans for study abroad, internships, and service-learning.
  • Get required REAL experience and effect community change by using iExcel’s Active Citizen’s Toolkit to vote and volunteer.
  • Explore new cultures at one of Richmond’s wide array of festivals.
  • Prepare for future work on multidisciplinary and multicultural teams by showcasing your interpersonal skills on your resume.
  • Update your resume to include how you have developed your communication and interpersonal skills for future work on multidisciplinary and multicultural teams.
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
  • Take advantage of mock interview opportunities through InterviewStream or meeting with a career advisor.
  • Update your ePortfolio.
  • Apply for the Graduate School Mentorship Program to learn more about graduate school and the graduate student experience.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • Apply to day play on large scale commercials/television/features.
  • Make a plan with your academic, career, and faculty advisors for applying to graduate school or land a micro-internship.
  • Study for and complete any standardized exams required for graduate school the summer before senior year. 
  • Prepare for job offer negotiation by researching salaries, benefits, and other opportunities for flexibility.
  • Begin reaching out to professional contacts, Cinema alums, and colleagues.
  • Talk to advisors, faculty, and VCU Career Services about graduate school versus a job.
  • Create a demo-reel of your work and back-up all the work you have done in Cinema to a personal hard drive for future access.
Excel Year 4
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor the semester before you graduate to ensure that all graduation requirements will be met.
  • Choose REAL electives to diversify your skillset and round out your degree.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • Regularly attend Cinematheque screenings.
  • If necessary**** Complete Second Major/double minor coursework.
  • Carry out globally-oriented research projects with multilingual faculty and international partners.
  • Read scholarly articles about diversity in your field.
  • Master your answers to interview questions about your experience working with diverse populations.
  • Plan for how you will grow your cultural agility after graduation.
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
  • Meet with your academic or professional mentor and identify examples of your experiential learning to share with employers.
  • Publish your original research in Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creativity.
  • Consider becoming an educator through programs like RTR, which prepare graduates from a variety of majors to become teachers in high-need schools.
  • Apply to day play on large scale commercials/television/features. 
  • Prepare for graduation by making a plan to complete licensing exams, applications, and self-marketing activities.
  • Single out prospective employers and create a job or graduate school search strategy at least 8 months before graduation.
  • Have a personal statement or cover letter reviewed by Career Services. 
  • Connect with the Office of VCU Alumni Relations at Grad Fair, Grad Bash, and the VCULink Industry Network or alumni chapter.