This is an archive of the 2019-2020 University Catalog.
To access the most recent version, Please visit catalog.csun.edu.

This is an archive of the 2019-2020 University Catalog.
To access the most recent version, please visit catalog.csun.edu.

UNIVERSITY CATALOG: 2019-2020

Program: B.A., Cinema and Television Arts

Media Theory and Criticism

Program Description

History, theory and critical analysis of the culture of film and electronic media, providing a background for all professional training, with specific preparation for careers in teaching or research.

Program Requirements

All lower and upper division courses taken toward completion of the CTVA major must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

1. Lower Division (9 units)

CTVA 100 Introduction to Mass Communication Arts (3)
CTVA 210 Television-Film Aesthetics (3)
CTVA 220 Foundations of Media Writing (3)

2. Upper Division (36 units)

CTVA 309 Film as Literature (3)
CTVA 319 Criticism in Cinema and Television Arts (3)
CTVA 400 Media and Society (3)

Select one of the following courses (3 units):

CTVA 301 Design of the Media Message (3)
CTVA 401 Mass Communications Research (3)

Select one of the following courses (3 units):

CTVA 305 History of Broadcasting (3)
CTVA 310 History of American Cinema (3)

Select one of the following courses (3 units):

CTVA 315 New Directions in Electronic Media Systems (3)
CTVA 405 International Broadcasting (3)

Select three of the following courses (9 units):

CTVA 410 Advanced Film Theory: Studies in Film Style (3)
CTVA 412 Analysis of Classic Filmmakers (3)
CTVA 413 Women as Filmmakers (3)
CTVA 415 International Cinema (3)
CTVA 416 The Documentary Tradition in Film and Video (3)

Additional Units (9 units)

Select 9 additional units in CTVA or an allied field, with the approval of an advisor, as prescribed in the official departmental advisement form for Media Theory and Criticism, or CTVA 494A/B, or CTVA 494C/D.

3. General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of General Education as described in this Catalog.
6 units are satisfied by the following courses in the major: CTVA 309 satisfies upper division C1 Arts; CTVA 100 satisfies E Lifelong Learning and fulfills the Information Competence requirement.

Total Units in the Major/Option: 45

General Education Units: 42

Additional Units: 33

Total Units Required for the B.A. Degree: 120

Contact

Department of Cinema and Television Arts
Chair: Thelma Vickroy
Manzanita Hall (MZ) 195
(818) 677-3192

CTVA Advisor: ctva411@csun.edu

Student Learning Outcomes

At the end of the program of study, students will be able to:

  1. Identify and critically analyze the fundamental components and aesthetics of audiovisual storytelling.
  2. Develop and write scripts for fiction and nonfiction audiovisual productions.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of historical, cultural, critical, theoretical and emergent aspects of media arts.
  4. Develop the skills necessary to produce, research and/or present an entertainment industry or other media project.