The UO’s Department of Cinema Studies offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore every facet of the world of moving images. Students become skilled producers of images as well as responsible consumers and thoughtful critics. While traditional film schools teach students how to make movies, UO cinema students approach film, television and new media from a variety of disciplinary angles and perspectives. Our interdisciplinary department teaches the creative and technical aspects of storytelling as well as the broader historical, philosophical, and geopolitical contexts of this industrial art form. Students take a diverse array of courses in history, theory, criticism, and aesthetics as well as in digital production.
Faculty
Peter Alilunas, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 2006, Oregon; MA, 2008, Texas, Austin; PhD, 2013, Michigan. (2014)
Michael G. Aronson, professor (cinema studies). BA, 1994, Pennsylvania; MA, 1997, PhD, 2002, Pittsburgh. (2003)
Michael Bray, instructor (digital arts, cinema). BA, 1997, Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; MFA, 2008, Oregon. (2008)
Jon Crawford, assistant professor (film/TV production, queer cinema, documentary studies). MFA, 2011, University of California, Los Angeles. (2025)
Nissryne Dib, assistant professor (production, international film, documentary studies). MFA, 2020, University of California, Los Angeles. (2025)
Nicholas Forster, assistant professor (African-American cinema, media studies, golden age of television, African-American theater). PhD, 2019, Yale University. (2024)
Sangita Gopal, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 1990, Calcutta; MA, 1995, PhD, 2000, Rochester. (2004)
Erin Hanna, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 2004, MA 2007 York (Toronto); PhD, 2014, Michigan. (2014)
Masami Kawai, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 2003, Hampshire College; MFA, 2013, California, Los Angeles. (2014)
Dong Hoon Kim, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 1998, Yonsei; MA, 2002, PhD, 2008, Southern California. (2011)
Kevin May, instructor (cinema studies); multimedia assistant. BA, 2006, MEd, 2010, Oregon (2016)
Allison McGuffie, assistant teaching professor (African studies, digital humanities, English, cinema studies). PhD, 2013, University of Iowa (2020)
HyeRyoung Ok, instructor (cinema studies). BA, 1996, MA, 2000, Seoul National; MA, 2002, New York; PhD, 2008, Southern California. (2011)
Priscilla Peña Ovalle, associate professor (cinema studies, ethnic studies). BS, 1998, Emerson College; MA, 2001, PhD, 2006, Southern California. (2006)
Andre Sirois, associate teaching professor (cinema studies); multimedia supervisor. BA, 2002, Central Connecticut State; MA, 2005, Maine; PhD, 2011, Oregon. (2012)
Daniel Gómez Steinhart, associate professor (cinema studies). BA, 2000, Wesleyan; MA, 2006, PhD, 2013, California, Los Angeles. (2014)
Colin Williamson, assistant professor (cinema studies). BA, 2006, UC Santa Barbara, PhD, 2013, Chicago. (2023)
The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.
Appointed Faculty
Michael Allan, comparative literature
Rachel DiNitto, East Asian Languages and Literatures
Gabriela Martinez, journalism and communication
Affiliated Faculty
Kenneth S. Calhoon, comparative literature
Daniel L. Miller, journalism and communication
Kate Mondloch, history of art and architecture
Elizabeth M. Peterson, library
Stephen Rust, English
Biswarup "Bish" Sen, journalism and communication
Rick Silva, art
Janet Wasko, journalism and communication
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Identify, define, and apply the vocabulary used to describe and analyze the aesthetics of media. This vocabulary anchors the analytical (ideological, historical, etc.) and artistic work of the Cinema Studies curriculum.
- Historically and contextually analyze a broad range of media from newspapers to newer media to think critically about its intersections, institutions, functions, and social impacts.
- Show a basic knowledge of cinema which includes film, television, and newer media by identifying and describing the technological, artistic, and cultural histories of media in various national contexts while building researching and writing skills.
- Create, present, and constructively critique narrative films, documentaries, or video art pieces. Students will learn the basics of pre-production, production, and post-production to gain an overview of the film and art making process. Using critical thinking skills, students will develop and refine their creative and technical choices while navigating workflow standards.
- Develop artistic skills in specific areas such as screenwriting, directing, lighting, sound recording, and editing to enhance their creative, theoretical, and technical understanding of moving image production. Students will specialize in a craft that enhances their personal creative voice and critical thinking skills.
- Identify and analyze important structures including economic, industrial, legal, political, or regulatory forces that shape the production, distribution, or exhibition of cinema. Students use critical and creative thinking, writing, and/or research skills to develop analytical projects about cinema.
- Perform critical, formal, and cultural analyses of cinematic texts. Using theories specific to cinema studies, students may identify change and continuities in discourses of the auteur, star, genre, etc., or situate texts within intersectional contexts. Students will use critical and creative thinking, writing, and/or research skills to develop analytical projects about cinema.
- Identify and analyze international/transnational/global modes of production, circulation, and aesthetics, then contextualize them broadly or more specifically according to the nation or region. Students will use critical and creative thinking, writing, and/or research skills to develop analytical projects about cinema.
- Exhibit specialized skills in writing, critical thinking, and/or creative practice through capstone seminars, workshops, and/or professionalization courses. Students may also apply the methods of other disciplines to complement cinematic analyses.
Undergraduate Studies
The department offers bachelor of arts (BA) and bachelor of science (BS) degree programs, consisting of 58 credits divided among four categories: fundamentals, production, core courses, and electives. The major includes the option of graduating with honors.
Courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade, and students must earn a grade of mid-C or better for credit toward the major. At least 28 credits must be taken in residence at the University of Oregon.
Cinema Studies Major Requirements
Honors
The department provides qualified undergraduate majors with options for participating in the honors program. Students arriving in the 2018–19 academic year or earlier may receive program honors at graduation if they have a final cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.75 in cinema studies course work. Beginning in 2019–20, incoming students must meet this GPA and, in addition, complete a scholarly or screenwriting project that originates from a cinema studies course and is then expanded in a faculty-led project development seminar. An honors college thesis also fulfills program honors requirements.
For more information, contact cinema@uoregon.edu
Four-Year Degree Plan
The degree plan shown is only a sample of how students may complete their degrees in four years. There are alternative ways. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best path for them.
Bachelor of Arts in Cinema Studies
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | |||
| First term of 1st-year second-language sequence | 4 | ||
| WR 121Z | Composition I | 4 | |
| Core-education course in science | Start of Science Area of Inquiry Courses | 4 | |
| CINE 265 | History of the Motion Picture I | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Second term of 1st-year second-language sequence | 4 | ||
| WR 122Z |
Composition II or College Composition III |
4 | |
| Core-education course in science | 4 | ||
| CINE 266 | History of the Motion Picture II | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Third term of 1st-year second-language sequence | 4 | ||
| Core-education course in social science | Start of Social Science Area of Inquiry courses | 4 | |
| CINE 260M | Media Aesthetics | 4 | |
| CINE 267 |
History of the Motion Picture III or Television History |
4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | |||
| First term of 2nd-year second-langauge sequence | 4 | ||
| Cultural Literacy Course in US: Difference, Inequality, and Agency or Global Perspecitves | Start of Cultural Literacy requirement | 4 | |
| Core-education course in science | 4 | ||
| CINE Production A course | CINE Production A complete | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Second term of 2nd-year second-language sequence | 4 | ||
| Core-education course in social science | 4 | ||
| Cultural Literacy Course in Global Perspectives or US: Difference, Inequality, and Agency | Cultural Literacy requriement complete | 4 | |
| CINE Production B course | Production requirements completed | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Third term of 2nd-year second-language sequence | Second language requirement complete | 4 | |
| Core-education course in social science | Social science requirement complete | 4 | |
| Core-education course in science | Science requirement complete | 4 | |
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | |||
| Upper-division elective course | 4 | ||
| Core-education course in arts and letters | 8 | ||
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Upper-division elective courses | 8 | ||
| CINE Core courses | 8 | ||
| Begin minor(s) or continue double major | |||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Upper-division elective courses | 8 | ||
| CINE Production or CINE elective course | 4 | ||
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| CINE internship encouraged this term (or in summer) | |||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | |||
| Upper-division courses | 8 | ||
| CINE Production or CINE elective | CINE elective requirements complete | 4 | |
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Upper-division courses | 16 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Upper-division courses | 16 | ||
| Complete minor(s) or double major. CINE internship encouraged this term | |||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Total Credits | 192 | ||
Bachelor of Science in Cinema Studies
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | |||
| BS MATH/CS course | 4 | ||
| WR 121Z | Composition I | 4 | |
| Core-education course in science | Start of Science Area courses | 4 | |
| CINE 265 | History of the Motion Picture I | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| BS MATH/CS course | 4 | ||
| WR 122Z |
Composition II or College Composition III |
4 | |
| Core-education course in science | 4 | ||
| CINE 266 | History of the Motion Picture II | 4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| BS MATH/CS course | 4 | ||
| Core-education course in social science | Start of Social Science Area courses | 4 | |
| CINE 260M | Media Aesthetics | 4 | |
| CINE 267 |
History of the Motion Picture III or Television History |
4 | |
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | |||
| Global Perspecitve or US: DIA course | Start of Cultural Literacy requirement | 4 | |
| Core-education course in science | 4 | ||
| CINE Production A course | CINE Production A complete | 4 | |
| Elective course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Global Perspecitve or US: DIA course | Cultural Literacy requirement complete | 4 | |
| Core-education course in social science | 4 | ||
| CINE Production B course | 4 | ||
| Elective course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Core-education course in social science | 4 | ||
| Core-education course in science | 4 | ||
| CINE Prefix Core A, B, or C | 4 | ||
| Elective course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | |||
| Upper-division elective course | 4 | ||
| Core-education courses in arts and letters | 8 | ||
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Two Upper-division Elective courses | 8 | ||
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| CINE Prefix Core A, B, or C | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Core-education course in arts and letters | 4 | ||
| Upper-division elective course | 4 | ||
| CINE Production or CINE elective course | 4 | ||
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| CINE internship encouraged this term (or in summer) | |||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | |||
| Two Upper-division courses | 8 | ||
| CINE Production or CINE elective | CINE elective requirements complete | 4 | |
| CINE Core course | 4 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Winter | |||
| Upper-division courses | 16 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Spring | |||
| Upper-division courses | 16 | ||
| Credits | 16 | ||
| Total Credits | 192 | ||