Portfolio Library Offices Directory Calendar About Admission Academics Campus Life Athletics Alumni Parents               Overview Applying Major Requirements FAQ    Is a senior Honors thesis required for the major?    Is every major able to make a senior film?    Can I take my introductory production course (Sight and Sound or Virtual Filmmaking) at the same time as I am making a senior thesis film?    Can I submit a film thesis to two different departments?    How frequently is each Film Studies course offered?    How do cross-listed courses work?    Which Film Studies courses do not count toward the major?    How will study abroad impact my film major?    Can I transfer Film Studies credits from other institutions?    Can I get a tutorial in Film Studies?    How can I crew for a senior film?    How can I work for the Film Series?    How do I find internships in film? Senior Honors Theses Overview Since film courses were first offered at Wesleyan in the late 1960s, Film Studies has experienced remarkable growth, as reflected in the number of faculty participating in its work, the number of film majors, and the number of students seeking admission to Film Studies courses. The Film Studies Department at Wesleyan is firmly grounded in the liberal arts tradition of integrating history and theory with practice. Faculty in the Film Studies Department teach films from the vantage point of how they are made and received, asking students to analyze the industrial and technological conditions of a film’s production, the choices the filmmakers made, and the effects of these conditions and choices on our viewing experience. With a solid grounding in this approach to the study of film, senior film majors are then prepared to write historical theses, craft screenplays, or direct films, videos, or virtual projects. While Film Studies requires that every major take a basic production course, it is not a film production major. In fact, production credits can account for no more than one third of a student’s major program. The emphasis in the major is not on doing but on thinking—it is through the study of film history and the practice of analysis that students truly begin to grasp the complexities and possibilities of the film medium.