Film Major

Film majors at Whittier benefit from the College's ideal location between two major entertainment hubs - Downtown Los Angeles and Anaheim.

Students in the program are immersed in a culture of outstanding film scholarship and content creation, receive high-quality experiences and film internships, promote their work, and enjoy networking opportunities with Hollywood talent.

Students who major or minor in film benefit in a variety of ways from familiarity with the vocabulary of film, its technology, its history, its forms, and its meanings. Courses in the minor come from various disciplinary homes, emphasizing film's many facets.

By the time they leave Whittier, film students are primed for further study in graduate programs and prepared for entry level positions in the field.

What You'll Learn, See, and Do as a Film Major 

  • Attend or work local film festivals
  • Screen your student films at Whittier's annual showcase
  • Learn about cinema fundamentals including narration, aesthetics, and interpretation
  • Experiment with the critical tools necessary through the analysis of films within the broader context of a liberal arts education
  • Articulate, via critical writing and analysis, the use of film as a mode of expressive communication in historical and cultural contexts
  • Demonstrate practical film application via screenwriting, acting for the camera, or video production

The information provided here is meant to provide an overview of the required courses. 

Refer to the College Catalog for detailed information about course prerequisites, course frequency, and additional course requirements

Eleven Core Courses

FILM/THEA 50 Production Practicum, one practicum for each year in residency
FILM/THEA 110 Introduction to Acting or THEA 101 Fundamentals of Public Speaking                                
FILM/THEA 170 Fundamentals of Cinema
FILM/THEA 205 Screenwriting
FILM/THEA 270 Film Genre
FILM/THEA 285 Documentary Cinema
FILM/THEA 315 Directing
FILM/THEA 320 Intro to Video Production
FILM/THEA 420 Advanced Video Production                                                                                                    
FILM/THEA 480 Film Theory & Criticism
FILM/THEA 485 Senior Seminar in Theatre & Film

One Film Elective Course

FILM/FREN 173 French Cinema
FILM/FREN 177 Franco-African Cinema & Literature
FILM/SPAN 283 Latin America Cinema
THEA 348 Hair & Makeup Design