Substitutions may include relevant courses in art, theater studies, or creative writing. Area of concentration. With the help of the director of undergraduate studies in Film Studies, each student defines an area of concentration comprising six courses. The focus of the concentration might also be a given historical or theoretical problem drawn from two areas, for example, German Expressionism in film and in art, or narrative theory in film and in the novel. During the senior year, each student completes work culminating in the submission of a senior seminar essay or senior project.
Several options are possible.
Seminars are often interdisciplinary and provide the opportunity to integrate and focus previous work in the area of concentration. This option is intended for students with clearly defined topics that do not relate closely to a senior-level seminar. During the first two weeks of the first term of senior year, a petition for permission to do independent research should be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies in the form of a brief prospectus, approved by the proposed faculty adviser to the essay. Fourth, an alternative to the senior essay may be approved through petition to the Film Studies Committee at the end of the junior year. Alternative projects might include producing videotapes or writing a screenplay.