Film, Television and Theatre (BA)

Students interested in the major are encouraged to visit the departmental office (230 Marie P. DeBartolo Performing Arts Center) for information about the programs and department faculty. Step-by-step instructions for becoming a major are available on our website at ftt.nd.edu. Students may elect to major in the department as either a first or second major in accordance with college guidelines.

Students concentrate in film, television or theatre. Ten courses are needed to complete the major. Each concentration has a core of required classes; subsequent electives may be taken from across the department. All majors are required to take at least one course primarily focused on non-US media or performance cultures or the study of identity and cultural power.  Courses meeting this International/ Identity requirement cover such topics as national cinemas or performance traditions, global and transnational cultural flows, migration and diaspora, and the study of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, dis/ability, nationality and citizenship, religion, and/ or age and generation.

The Department of Film, Television, and Theatre participates in several international programs by cross-listing courses and sponsoring internships. For more information, see the Bulletin descriptions for the international programs. Several courses are offered in the summer session, including Introduction to Film and Video Production. See the Summer Session Bulletin for availability and further information.

FTT majors are invited to apply during their junior year to complete a two-semester Senior Thesis project during their senior year. Upon completion of the project, as well as a one-credit writing workshop in the fall of their senior year, students will be eligible Film, Television, and Theatre to receive the Honors designation upon graduation, provided their project is approved for that designation by the department Honors Committee.

Complementary Nature of Departmental Concentrations

There is a strong creative and scholarly relationship in the mix of courses and activities of the department of which students should be aware. The concentrations offered by this department can provide many complementary areas of creative and technical study for students involved in film and television production, as well as overlapping historical, theoretical and critical concerns. Similarly, those concentrating in theatre are urged to avail themselves of the many opportunities for production experience and critical, cultural and theoretical studies offered by the theatre faculty.

Cocurricular Activities

The department encourages non-majors to elect courses, participate as audience in our extensive film and theatre series, and involve themselves in film, television, and theatre production as a means of informing and complementing their liberal arts education at Notre Dame. Occasional guest artists and lecturers are also sponsored by the department. Information on all department sponsored activities is available in the department office and on the department’s website.

FTT Major with Film Concentration

10 courses (30 credit hours):
Basics of Film and Television3
Global Cinema I3
Global Cinema II3
Critical Approaches to Screen Cultures3
6 electives (3 at the 40000 level; one that carries International/Identity attribute)18
Total Hours30

FTT Major with Television Studies Concentration

10 courses (30 credit hours):
Basics of Film and Television3
History of Television3
Critical Approaches to Television3
7 electives (4 at the 40000 level; one that carries International/Identity attribute)21
Total Hours30

FTT Major with Theatre Concentration

10 courses (30 credit hours):
Collaboration: An Introduction to Making Theatre3
World Theatre I3
World Theatre II3
7 electives (2 at the 40000 level; one that carries International/Identity attribute)21
Total Hours30

Elective Options

Film and Television Electives

Introduction to Film and Television Production
Film and Digital Culture
History of Documentary Film
Film and Popular Music
Digital Devices Screenwriting
Media Internship
Writing the Short Film
La Telenovela
Shakespeare and Film
Intermediate Filmmaking
Digital Cinema Production
Advanced Digital Cinema Production
Walt Disney in Film and Culture
Contemporary Hollywood
Postmodern Narrative
Documentary Video Production
Sinatra
3D Digital Production for Animation & Video 
Games
Advanced 3D Digital Production
Sound & Music Design for Digital Media
Broadcast Journalism
The Business of Television
Sports & Television
Entertainment and Arts Law
Media Ethics
Media and the Presidency
The Digital Newsroom
Ireland On Screen
Culture of Italian Immigration
The West of Ireland
Girls Media & Cultural Studies
The Film Producer
Internet Television Production
Media Stardom and Celebrity Culture
Contemporary Hollywood
Media, History, and Memory
The Politics of Style: 1980s Film & TV Culture
Cold War Media Culture
Gender and Rock
Media & Identity
Makin’ Em Move
TV as a Storytelling Medium
The Telly in Transition: British TV Today
Media Industries
Transmedia Storytelling
Interactive Storytelling
Germany in Postwar Cinema
Women and Media Culture
Cinemasculinities
The Movie Musical
The Child in Cinema
The Apartment Plot
Queer Media Studies
New Trends in European Non-Fiction Film

Theatre Electives

Introduction to Theatre
Latin American Theatre
History of Costume
Shakespeare on the Big Screen
Scene Design
Lighting Design
Costume Design
Shadow Puppetry
Spectacular Asia
Performing Blackness
Musical Theatre History
Creating the Musical Stage Combat
Devised Performance
Documentary Theatre
Acting: Process
Viewpoints for Actors and Directors
Voice and Movement
Stage Management
Playwriting
Story Structure
Make-up for the Stage
Scenic Painting
Draping and Flat Patterning
Acting: Character
Acting: Text and Technique
Directing: Process
CAD for the Stage
Advanced Technical Production
Broadway Theatre Experience