You may declare the Film & Media major after completion of either Film 10 or Film 20 with a letter grade of C or better, and once you have completed at least 30 units.
To declare, submit the Film & Media Major Declaration Form(link is external). Please note that the processing of your request will be completed within three weeks.
To declare a major in Film, students must have completed a minimum of 30 units and have satisfactorily completed Film 10 or 20 with a grade of C or higher.
Student must receive C- or higher in all of the classes for the major in order for them to count towards requirements. Please note that courses for the major in which a student earns below a C- will not be counted, and the student will need to retake that class to have it count.
Student must have at least a 2.0 GPA in the major in order to graduate.
We do not offer a minor in Film, although we do offer a departmental Summer Certificate in Film & Media Industries and Professions.
Many Film & Media majors elect to complete a second major in addition to Film & Media. Students must be able to complete both majors within a within their given number of terms, or have a unit total of less than 136 units if pursuing additional semesters. Students can have no more than two courses which are counted towards both majors’ requirements. Students considering a double major should consult with their Undergraduate Major Advisors in each department.
12 lower-division units are required for the major.
Two courses are required of all majors:
One of the three following courses completes the lower-division course requirement:
A minimum of 28 upper-division units are required for the major.
Upper-Division Core Requirement. Successful completion of three of the following four courses (12 units):
Upper-Division Elective Requirement. Successful completion of a minimum 16 units of elective courses chosen from the following
*Film & Media majors may count Film 177: Entertainment Law toward the upper division elective requirements for the major. Film 176 and Film 178 CANNOT be used to satisfy upper-division elective requirements for the major.
Internships
These opportunities may supplement the upper-division elective coursework, although only four units may be counted towards the 28 upper-division unit requirement for the Film majors. Students who have identified an external internship for which they wish to receive credit should consult with one of the Undergraduate Faculty Advisors, regarding enrollment in Film 197B. Only 4-units of internship units. Film 197B: Film Study for Majors (3 units),
In addition, a list of pre-approved film elective courses and course descriptions drawn from course offerings by affiliated faculty across the campus is available each semester. The faculty Undergraduate Major Advisor (UMA) will distribute and post the approved list to Film majors each term. Students should consult with the UMA regarding course selections.
Up to two (8 units) pre-approved extra-departmental elective courses can be counted for credit towards the major, this also includes waived (approved classes taken at other institutions) and approved courses while taken abroad; all other courses must be taken within the Department of Film & Media.
*Of the 16 elective units required for the major, only one 4-unit course may be taken P/NP; all other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
To declare a major in Film & Media, students must have completed a minimum of 30 units and have satisfactorily completed Film 25A or 25B (with a grade of C or higher).
Student must receive C- or higher in all the classes for the major in order for them to count. Please note that courses for the major in which a student earns below a C- will not be counted, and the student will need to retake that class to have it count.
Student must have at least a 2.0 GPA in the major in order to graduate.
We do not offer a minor in Film & Media Studies, although we do offer a Summer Certificate.
Many Film & Media majors elect to complete a second major in addition to Film & Media. Students must be able to complete both majors within a maximum of 140 units, and can have no more than two courses which are counted towards both majors’ requirements. Students considering a double major should consult with their Undergraduate Major Advisor.
12 lower-division units are required for the major.
A minimum of 28 upper-division units are required for the major.
Required courses (12 units):
Plus one of the following:
A minimum of 16 units are required to complete the total of 28 upper-division units in the major.
Students may choose to take additional courses from the upper division Film & Media offerings, including extra courses in Film 108 (Genre), Film 151 (Auteur), or Film 160 (National Cinema), or other electives such as Film 140 (Special Topics), Film 177 (Entertainment Law), Film 179 (Sound), Film 180/181 (Screenwriting), Film 185/186 (Narrative Production), and Film 187 (Special Topics in Media Production), all of which will count toward the upper-division unit requirement.
In addition, a list of pre-approved film elective courses and course descriptions drawn from course offerings by affiliated faculty across the campus is available each semester. The Undergraduate Major Advisor (UMA) will distribute and post the approved list to Film & Media majors each term. Students should consult with the UMA regarding course selections.
Up to two (2) pre-approved extra-departmental elective courses can be counted for credit towards the major, all other courses must be within the Film & Media Department.
*Of the four required required elective courses for the major, one may be taken P/NP, all other courses must be taken for a letter grade.
Language Requirement for student admitted Fall 2017 or after:
Students may complete the second semester or higher of a college-level language course in one language, which has to be taken at the UC Berkeley Campus (French 2, German 2, etc.) or a more advanced language class taught in the target language (French 102, German 102, Spanish 25, etc.). Students should take a course at the appropriate level. Those students with no foreign language background will need to take the first and second semester sequence in one language.
There will be no waivers or credit given for courses completed in high school or at community college. Film majors have to take at least one language course at UC Berkeley, second-semester level or a higher, in order to pass the requirement.
The requirement cannot be completed at an outside institution (with the exception of UC-approved study abroad programs). This rule also applies for transfer students who took a four- semester sequence at community college; students must stil enroll in one further language course at Berkeley, preferably an upper division language course.
Native/Heritage speakers are NOT exempt from the requirement to take a UC course, but they can take the heritage-speaker version of their native language (e.g., Spanish 21). International students will be required to provide a copy of a high-school transcript from home to verify coursework in their native language at the high-school level.
Foreign language classes need to be completed with a C- or better to count for the major requirement (or a “Pass” if using the P/NP grading option).
Students may choose to participate in structured internship opportunities through the Pacific Film Archive (Film 197A and Film 197C). Students who have identified an external internship for which they wish to receive credit should consult with an Undergraduate Faculty Advisor regarding enrollment in Film 197B. Only 4-units of internship units may be counted towards the 32 upper-division unit requirement for the Film & Media major. Film 197A: Film Study at the Pacific Film Archive (2 units), Film 197B: Film Study for Majors (3 units), Film 197C: Film Curating at the Pacific Film Archive (2 units).
