School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Programs

The USC School of Cinematic Arts offers professional and academic degree programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels.

Bachelor of Arts — Animation and Digital Arts

This program combines a broad liberal arts background with specialization in a profession. The degree is granted through the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts. The degree requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Arts, Cinematic Arts, Critical Studies

This degree is granted through the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts and requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Arts, Cinematic Arts, Film and Television Production

This degree is a two-year program for transfer students. The B.A. is granted through the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts and requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cinematic Arts, Film and Television Production

This degree is a four-year program only available to incoming freshmen. The BFA in Cinematic Arts, Film and Television Production is granted through the School of Cinematic Arts and requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Arts — Interactive Entertainment

The Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Entertainment is granted through the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts. The degree requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Arts — Media Arts and Practice

This program is for students who want to harness the power of digital storytelling and media design to communicate across diverse fields beyond the entertainment industry. It prepares students to be skillful in the use of still images, video, Web design, app development, visualization and interactivity for future careers in which the ability to communicate visually is increasingly important. This degree is granted through the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts, and requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Fine Arts — Writing for Screen and Television

This is a unique program designed for students who wish to receive intensive training for non-fiction and fiction writing for screen and television. The BFA in Writing for Screen and Television is granted through the School of Cinematic Arts and requires 128 units.

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Cinematic Arts)

This program offers a unique coupling of the USC Marshall School of Business and the School of Cinematic Arts in a four-year interdisciplinary degree. In addition to the Marshall School of Business core classes, the students will also take a total of 24 units from the School of Cinematic Arts. This competitive program is offered to freshmen admitted to the Marshall School of Business as Business Scholars. Upon completion of all requirements, students will receive a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Cinematic Arts). See the Marshall School of Business for course requirements.

Master of Arts, Cinematic Arts (Critical Studies)

This degree, with an emphasis in Critical Studies, is granted by the USC Graduate School in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts. This program requires 36 units.

Master of Fine Arts, Cinematic Arts, Film and Television Production

This professional degree requires 52 units.

Master of Fine Arts, Writing for Screen and Television

This program requires 44 units.

Master of Fine Arts, Animation and Digital Arts

This program requires 50 units.

Master of Fine Arts, Interactive Media

This program requires 50 units.

Master of Fine Arts, Producing for Film, Television, and New Media

The Peter Stark Producing Program requires 44 units.

Doctor of Philosophy, Cinematic Arts (Critical Studies)

The Ph.D. is based on a program of study and research culminating in the completion of a dissertation in the major field of study. A minimum of 68 semester units (exclusive of dissertation registration) beyond the baccalaureate is required. Applicants who have completed a Bachelor of Arts or Master of Arts degree in Cinematic Arts, or a closely related field, may apply to the Ph.D. program. The doctoral degree is granted by the Graduate School in conjunction with the School of Cinematic Arts.

Doctor of Philosophy, Cinematic Arts (Media Arts and Practice)

The Ph.D. in Media Arts and Practice program offers a rigorous and creative environment for scholarly innovation as students explore the intersection of design, media and critical thinking while defining new modes of research and scholarship for the 21st century. Core to the program is its transdisciplinary ethos; after completing foundational course work, students design their own curricula, drawing on expertise across all divisions and research labs within the School of Cinematic Arts.

Minor in Cinematic Arts

A minor in cinematic arts is available to USC undergraduate students in all schools and departments. The minor provides the opportunity for students to become familiar with various aspects of media study. The program requires 20 units.

Minor in Animation and Digital Arts

The minor in animation offers students an introduction to the theory and practice of animation, including its relationship to the history of art and cinema, creative writing, and basic film production. It provides students with an opportunity to create both personal and collaborative work in a wide range of genres, from traditional character to contemporary experimental and computer animation. The program requires 24 units.

Minor in Science Visualization

The minor in science visualization offers an introduction to science visualization methodology and practice focused in an area of relevant research. The minor is structured to provide the skills and knowledge needed in science visualization, and will culminate in a capstone project under the close supervision of faculty in both animation and science. The program requires 16 units.

Minor in Game Design

Design for games is a young, exciting field applicable to media artists working all over the world, in different aspects of the industry and with many different tools. The game design minor teaches basic iterative design and prototyping skills while providing students the opportunity to explore design for new technologies and the skills of user assessment and usability testing. The program requires 24 units.

Minor in Game Entrepreneurism

The modern media, technology and entertainment fields are built on the backs of new businesses and new ideas. To start a successful business, you need skills and knowledge of the processes for setting up a business, finding investment and turning your creative project from prototype to finished project. The game entrepreneurism minor provides an educational path that teaches hard business thinking for creative entrepreneurs. The program requires 24 units.

Minor in Game Animation

The skills of the modern animator, visual effects artist, motion capture professional and many others are of great value in the games industry when paired with an understanding of how these assets can be used in games and systems. The game animation minor provides an educational path that teaches both systems thinking and the skills and creativity of an animator. The program requires 24 units.

Minor in Game Audio

Game audio professionals must not only be competent in one area (e.g., expressly in music composing or in audio recording), but also in other areas of audio and in theories of procedurality and interaction. This minor provides a grounding in game design and systems thinking, while providing a theoretical backing and skills in audio design and composition to prepare students to design successful audio for the games industry. The program requires 24 units.

Minor in Screenwriting

The minor in screenwriting provides thorough training in the craft of writing for screen and television. Students learn the fundamentals of character, conflict and scene structure and build on their skills through each course as they write feature and television scripts in all genres and explore areas of their interest. Students may apply in the spring or fall semester. The program requires 16 units.

Minor in Digital Studies

The minor in digital studies explores the rich potential of digital media for critical analysis and creative discovery. Learning the exciting and dynamic potential of a broad array of tools and technologies, students create innovative projects, from photo essays to Web-based documentaries, from interactive videos to sophisticated Websites, and from typography in motion to 3-D visualizations. The program requires 22 units.

Minor in Cinema-Television for the Health Professions

This minor is designed for students who plan to enter careers or professional programs in medicine after graduation and are interested in working with film and television producers to disseminate accurate health information to the public. The program requires 24 units. See the Keck School of Medicine of USC for requirements.

Minor in Performing Arts Studies

The minor in performing arts provides an interdisciplinary inquiry into the nature and aesthetics of the performing arts. It combines the disciplines of cinematic arts, dance, music and theatre. The minor is a unique course of study that looks at how the performing arts contribute to a culturally literate society. The minor requires 20 units. See the USC School of Dramatic Arts for requirements.

Writing for Screen and Television Certificate

The Writing for Screen and Television Certificate provides an established writer, domestic or international, with a one-year program of study. It is meant to accommodate a writer who has already attained significant recognition and would like to learn the craft of screenwriting. Sixteen units are required.

Graduate Certificate in the Business of Entertainment

This certificate program provides graduate-level education in various aspects of the business of film, television and new media. It requires 16 units.

Graduate Certificate in Digital Media and Culture

This certificate program is for graduate students from across the USC campus who want to explore the shifting nature of scholarly expression, pedagogical practice and research in the 21st century. It combines seminars with hands-on, lab-based workshops devoted to basic image manipulation, video editing, social media and Web design to facilitate sophisticated critical thinking and practice in and through multimedia. Twelve units are required.

Catalogue 2013/14