Major in Screen Studies (B.A.)

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Major in Screen Studies (B.A.)

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Action! That’s the word that best describes the academic life of a screen studies major at Clark. Here, you’ll dive deep into the history, theory, and aesthetics of film, television, and new media. In addition to historical and theoretical studies, you’ll step behind the camera as you learn from hands-on experience how to develop a movie from concept to screenplay to premiere.

Of course, film and video productions can never be separated from the society from which they emerge. Our curriculum encompasses the cultural, economic, and technical developments that influence motion pictures and all video art, both domestic and international.

Learn in the classroom. Learn in our editing suites. Direct your own education.

Catalog Requirements for:

Major

Minor

Why Choose Screen Studies at Clark?

Beyond traditional film studies: Clark’s screen studies major incorporates the history and theory of television, along with other new forms of digital media.
Engage in hands-on, practical, collaborative work in digital video production and make narrative films, experimental films, and/or documentaries.
Gain experience as an intern at a media organization in New England, New York, or California.
Create and collaborate with other majors in Clark’s Visual and Performing Arts Department (V&PA), including students majoring in art history; media, culture, and the arts; music; screen studies; studio art; and theatre arts.

Screen Studies

Feature Courses

SCRN 261

Critical Perspectives on Television

Use various analytical approaches to examine the implications of television as a form of social communication, and develop an understanding of the ideological and structural dynamics that constitute popular culture.

SCRN 108

Introduction to Screenwriting

Beats, arcs, setting, characterization, and three-act structure. Learn the principles of screenwriting—both for Hollywood and indie film—by writing a screenplay of your own.

SCRN 214

D&I

Social and Cultural Issue Documentary Production

Design, produce, and edit a short documentary on a current social or cultural issue of your choosing while learning about the art of non-fiction storytelling.

View All Courses

The Screen Studies Path

Thirteen courses are required to complete the major. You will enroll primarily in courses on the history, theory, and criticism of film, television, and other forms of motion picture media, as well as courses on screenwriting and video production. In addition to four foundation courses, two 100-level courses — in U.S. film history, international film history — are required. You will also take four advanced level courses of your choice from Screen Studies, one advanced-level film-making course, and one course in a creative medium from a different Visual and Performing Arts program. A capstone seminar or successful completion of an honors thesis completes your program.

Skills You Learn

Academic Achievement Awards

Jason Michael Simpkins Memorial Endowment for Screen Studies
The Jason Michael Simpkins Memorial Endowment for Screen Studies was established by Larry J. and Michelle Simpkins in memory of their son, Jason Michael Simpkins, a member of the class of 2005. The award is to assist undergraduate students with the expenses incurred in completion of a film and/or a piece of written research. The recipients should possess high academic ability in screen studies and exceptional character, with an intention to pursue a career or higher education in screen studies.

Patricia M. Plamondon Undergraduate Award in Visual and Performing Arts
The Patricia M. Plamondon Award is given to juniors and seniors who have demonstrated their talent in and commitment to the arts and for whom the award will serve to enhance their studies, research, or project-related travel. The award is made annually by a vote of the full-time faculty of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

Facilities

Based in the Traina Center for the Arts, the screen studies program funds and maintains the Fuller Resource Library, home to the program’s extensive media collection which includes films on DVD and Blu-ray, archival 16mm and VHS items, and a digital repository of past student work. All collection material is available to view in the library, at either an individual media station or the group screening room.

Adjacent to the Traina center is Razzo Hall, a 194-seat recital hall/movie theater.

Honors Program

During the junior year, with program approval, students may pursue honors in screen studies. An honors project entails working closely with a professor to develop a thesis on a topic of your choice. Recent honors theses topics include the following:

Raised on Promises: An Investigation of the American Coming-of-Age Film
“Rat Girls,” a four-episode teleplay for an animated series
Postmodern Pleasures: Bollywood’s Relevance in the Global Age
“westing,” a student-created experimental documentary film
Overcoming Sorrow: The Struggle of Peruvian Cinema and Its Promise of Progress in Claudia Llosa’s ‘The Milk of Sorrow’

Related Programs

Building your foundation

The Clark Experience

The Clark Core allows students to take courses across diverse disciplines, helping them develop critical thinking skills and respect for other cultures and perspectives. You’ll connect classroom learning with action through world and workplace experiences.

Learn More

At Clark, your education extends beyond the classroom. Visit the Career Connections Center to learn more about internship opportunities that complement your coursework and put your screen studies knowledge into practice.

The screen studies major is designed to help you learn outside the classroom. Many students take advantage of internship opportunities during the academic year or over the summer to connect what they’re learning with their professional development.

In addition, screen studies majors may be eligible for the Sara Bickman Music and Arts Summer Internship for Undergraduates, which provides financial support for summer internships for undergraduate students majoring in the Visual and Performing Arts, as well as the Jason Michael Simpkins Memorial Award for Screen Studies, which provides funding for film productions, research travel, and other needs for students developing advanced projects.

Other opportunities include:

Study Abroad and Away

Participation in a Study Abroad and Away program is an opportunity to gain world and workplace experience to complement your on-campus work. Clark approves semester, yearlong, and summer opportunities to earn credit through academic coursework, internships, community-based learning, or research. Explore our Study Abroad and Away page, where you can search programs by academic interest, location, and language; after you’ve identified some appropriate programs, ensure they fit into your four-year plan by talking with your faculty adviser as early as possible.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Internships

Florentine Films
MyMollsEye Productions
LogoTV
The Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum
Legendary Pictures

Clark is committed to action-based learning, which means as an undergraduate you can join faculty and graduate students in their research and creative work. Faculty from other programs, including art history, women’s and gender studies, and language, literature, and culture, often join screen studies faculty to offer international and cross-cultural perspectives on screen media.

You can also apply for funding to support your own research on a project of your choice during the academic year or during the summer.

Present your work

Our rigorous curriculum prepares students to present their work at several venues. Recently, students have delivered their work at academic conferences and have premiered their feature-length film in our auditorium, Razzo Hall, to rousing success. Clark’s annual ClarkFEST is also an opportunity to share student research or creative work with the Clark community. Some projects screen studies students and recent alumni have presented are:

“EYELINE,” a Feminist Detective Film by the Students of the Spring 2018 course, Genre Production Workshop: Film Noir
SRK and the New Cine-politics of Bollywood (Society for Cinema and Media Studies Undergraduate Conference, 2018), paper written by a student of the Fall 2017 course, National Cinema: India.
This Isn’t a Dream; This is Actually Happening!: The Wake-Up Point in Contemporary Horror Cinema
A Flaming Trail of Masculinity: Gene Kelly and His Hyper-Masculine Persona

You can also submit your research results for publication in our student-run Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal.

At Clark you’ll get more than a great education; you’ll also be prepared for a long, productive career and life of consequence. And once you’ve completed your degree, you can join other Clark alumni who have gone on to work for great organizations and attend some of the best graduate schools in the world.

Graduate School Placement
Graduate schools attended by screen studies graduates from Clark include:

Columbia University; M.A. in film studies
University of Southern California; M.A. in cinema & media studies
George Mason University; M.A. in arts management
The Selznick Graduate Program at the University of Rochester; M.A. in film and media preservation

Career Outcomes

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Associate Producer of Digital Content
Technicolor-PostWorks N.Y.
Assistant Editor
Light of Day Production and Visual Effects
Senior compositor
Silvatar Media
President
Leopard Films USA
Producer/director

Faculty and Programs in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts

Learn More

Major in Screen Studies (B.A.)

Why Choose Screen Studies at Clark?

Feature Courses

Critical Perspectives on Television

Introduction to Screenwriting

Social and Cultural Issue Documentary Production

Queer and Trans Cinema

Film Genre: Horror

National Cinema: India

The Screen Studies Path

Skills You Learn

Academic Achievement Awards

Facilities

Honors Program

Related Programs

The Clark Experience

Study Abroad and Away

Student Clubs and Organizations