Film Major/Minor | Media Major/Minor | Graduating with Honors | Courses
Graduating with Honors for Film and Media Majors
Graduating with honors makes it possible for the College to give public recognition to Film and Media majors who have demonstrated exceptional academic and creative performance. In order to graduate with honors, students will need to receive a grade of A (A minus is unacceptable) in one of the following:
FILM/MEDIA 402 Honors Project.
If you have an interest in a specific area in film or media, and feel that you can develop that interest further, you may take the opportunity to complete an honors project. Such projects may include: an in-depth research paper on a topic relevant to film or media studies, or an extended journalistic project that can only be written outside of the framework of pre-existent courses in the department. This project, from the writing of the proposal to the completion of the entire project, is one that involves a solid year of commitment from students. It should not be casually undertaken, nor should any material be written and submitted at the last minute.
The following requirements must be met before an application for an honors project is submitted to the Department's policy and curriculum committee:
Your cumulative GPA index must be at least 3.0 (as shown on an attached transcript, to be submitted with your proposal);
Your GPA index in the major must be at least 3.5 (also as shown on an attached transcript, to be submitted with your proposal).
You have had a minimum of three 200 and/or 300-level courses in the major area completed with a grade of A or A minus to be approved.
You have a full-time faculty member serving as your project sponsor. This sponsor will guide you through your project proposal during the semester prior to your writing or completing the project ( also under the same professor's supervision). See DEADLINE
Your proposal package should contain:
5.1. A letter from your sponsor explaining the project's originality and why it can only be completed in the framework of an honors project.
5.2. A filled application form Application available here (pdf).
5.3. A detailed project (typically between 5-7 pages long) containing:
an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing the project.
a Project narrative( including information about the format, structure, type and length of the research paper, screenplay, etc) approximately 5 pages in length. This project should show evidence of extensive preliminary research 9 with appropriate use of initial bibliography and filmography listed). The project should be able to convey in a highly condensed form the nature of the final project. It should detail the methodology used whether close readings, statistical analysis, or archival research.
If the project is design or computer based the proposal should refer to its intended audience and provide sketches.
Relevant background reading and research materials including a detailed initial bibliography at least a substantive number of the books or articles should be incorporated in the proposal's conception.
A detailed project schedule that includes at least 3 dates in the semester in which you will submit written or creative work to your faculty sponsor.
An honors paper must be at least 25-30 pages.
5.4 You must enclose a current transcript with your application.
5.5 You must have the edited, final version of the project proposal signed at the bottom of its last page by a full-time faculty member to indicate s/he has read the proposal and accepts the commitment to work with you during the semester.
5.6 You must send a copy of all materials via e-mail to the chair of the Policy and Curriculum Committee. Check with the department office, 433 HN, in order to find out who the current chair is.
Here are models of how a typical proposal should be structured. (doc)
If you are graduating in the SPRING:
You need to meet and submit your proposal to your faculty advisor in the project by the First Monday in October in order to allow for any necessary revisions before submitting to the policy and curriculum committee. The faculty-approved proposal, along with a signed letter of support from this sponsor, should be submitted by you to the Committee by the third Monday in October. A final decision will be made by the Committee on the first Monday in November.
If you are graduating in the FALL:
You need to submit your proposal to your advisor/sponsor by the first Monday in March in order to allow for any necessary revisions before submission to the Policy and Curriculum Committee. The faculty-approved proposal, along with a signed letter of support from this sponsor, should be submitted by you to the Committee by the third Monday in March. A final decision will be made by the Committee on the first Monday in April.
The Policy and Curriculum Committee meets once a semester to consider the proposals after the faculty sponsors have approved them. The Committee often makes recommendations to the student and faculty sponsor as to the scope and potential for the project's successful completion. It is not uncommon for the Committee to request revisions on the project. Submission of the project to the Committee does not imply that the project will ultimately be accepted.
Your faculty sponsor will be given e-mail notification of the decision of the Policy and Curriculum Committee. The sponsor will then notify you of the Committee's decision so that you may then take the next appropriate steps. The Committee will not contact you directly. If approved, this e-mail notification should be shown to the Film and Media Studies main office in order for you to register for FILM/MEDIA 402 Honors Project. If the Committee requests revisions to the project, you and your faculty sponsor must work closely together on making those revisions. A revised version of the honors project must be submitted to the Committee no later than two weeks after notification. If this revised version is not accepted, then you are not permitted to do an honors project
The faculty sponsor reviews the project and gives the student a final grade. It is up to the student to maintain an active dialogue with their faculty sponsor throughout the semester. You may not make changes in terms of this faculty sponsor once the honors project has been approved, so it is important that you carefully choose your sponsor. Submissions of the project proposal must be given to your sponsor at least two weeks before submission date to the Policy and Curriculum Committee. Faculty members may refuse to sponsor projects that do not meet this requirement.
FINAL PROJECT SUBMISSION
A copy of your completed project and signed by the advisor must be filed with the Policy and Curriculum Committee by the end of the semester or honors status will not be granted. It should be left in the mailbox of the Curriculum Committee Chair.
FilmP 451/MEDP 401.75: Film and Video Production Seminar.
The Film and Media Production Seminar is a one- or two-semester long intensive production course in which students either: 1) complete an advanced short film project, 2) write a feature-length screenplay, or 3) write a television pilot and series bible. Projects can be documentary, fiction or experimental in nature. In certain circumstances, with permission from the professor, students can take the class in two semesters and work on two different projects.
Admission is by application only and selections are determined by faculty committee.
The goal of the course is to make a project which is ambitious in scope and depth, greater than what the student has previously completed. Projects will be workshopped with the teacher and other students throughout the course, but it is incumbent on the student to set their own goals and meet their own deadlines. Self-directed focus and organization are crucial.
Students are encouraged to apply as production teams on large-scale projects.
In general, film production projects will be one semester, in which the student begins the semester with a solid concept for a film, writes the fiction screenplay or develops the documentary treatment, then shoots, edits, mixes and color grades the project. The final product is a completed short film.
Writing projects will be two semesters, in which the student begins the year with an idea for a film, then works through a treatment, an outline, a revised outline, a first draft of the script, and a second draft of the script. The final product is a complete and polished screenplay.
With both writing and production projects, exceptions can be made on the number of semesters recommended for completion. If a production project is sufficiently complex and large in scope, the project can be completed over two semesters instead of one; if for a writing project a student has already made a detailed outline of the script, the project can be completed in one semester.
This course may be taken for honors credit or as a regular advanced course.
For a production thesis to be considered for departmental honors you must qualify for honors in all other respects. To qualify for departmental honors in Film and Media Studies, a student must have a 3.5 grade point average in major courses and a 3.0 grade point average overall. The student must also receive a grade of A in the production seminar course (both semesters). You must clearly indicate on your application form if you are taking the course for honors credit.
Students are required to have all the necessary prerequisites for their mode of production and to have passed each course with a grade of B or better.
Fiction Production Project Pre-requisites:
- FilmP 352: Film Production II
- FilPL 276: Screenwriting I
- Recommended: FilmP 371: Screen Directing (for directors), FilmP 382: Narrative Editing (for editors), and FilmP 381: Cinematography (for DP).
Documentary Production Project Pre-requisites:
- MedP 311: Documentary Video Production II
- Recommended: MedPL 290: Developing the Documentary
Experimental Project Pre-requisites:
- MedP 316: Experimental Production
- Recommended: FilmP 352: Film Production II, MedP 311: Doc. Video Production II
Screenplay Project Pre-requisites:
- FilPL 377: Screenwriting II (for feature script projects)
Or…
- FilPL 378: Writing for TV (formerly Film/Media 399.88) (for TV series projects)
- Recommended: Film 324: Narrative Strategies
To receive departmental honors students must first meet the Film & Media Department’s honors prerequisites: GPA of over 3.0 overall, GPA over 3.5 in the major, and grades of A in at least two 200 or 300 level classes in the major.
Two Semester Honors Projects: Beyond the honors prerequisites, a student must receive an A in both semesters of the Film and Video Production Seminar to graduate with honors. Students who meet the department’s honors requirements but do not get an A both semesters will not receive departmental honors but will still get credit for the course.
Single Semester Honors Projects: Students admitted for a single semester project can qualify for honors if they meet the other requirements and receive an A for the course. Students applying for a single semester production project can qualify for honors if they meet the other requirements and receive an A for the course.
Students must complete the on-line APPLICATION FORM
For Spring Semester:The First Monday of November
For Fall Semester:The Third Monday of April
Late applications will be accepted on a rolling basis if the course is not already full
