Cinematic Arts and Technology is a hands-on program that prepares students for careers in film, broadcast, and interactive media across commercial, independent and community sectors.

Cinematic Arts students create narrative, documentary, interactive and experimental media in a variety of collaborative, independent, and cross-disciplinary projects. Courses develop skills and experience in all facets of media making, including: directing, writing, producing, editing, sound design, visual design, animation, motion graphics, interaction design, and mobile media.

Special Requirements

AA-T certified students can earn a Cinematic Arts and Technology B.A. by completing the special requirements found the Requirements for AA-T certified students in Film, Technology, and Electronic Media page.

All other Cinematic Arts majors, see below.

Standard Requirements

In order to graduate, you will also need to complete your general education and university requirements.

Complete all of the following courses:

  • CART 200: Cinematic Arts Foundations (4 units)
  • CART 228: Cinematic History 1849-1960 (4 units)
  • CART 230: The Art of Storytelling (4 units)
  • CART 301: Practical Application (2 units)
  • CART 303: Media, Power, and Society (4 units)
  • CART 329: Contemporary Media History (4 units)
  • CART 330: Cinematic Storytelling (4 units)
  • CART 361: Intro to Editing (4 units) OR CART 422: Animated Short Films (4 units)
  • CART 399S: Community-Based Media (4 units)
  • CART 490: Research and Development (4 units)
  • CART 491: Capstone Completion & Assessment (4 units)

Complete four units from the following MLO 2 courses:

  • CART 203: Pre-Prod Research Methods (1 units)
  • CART 206: Marketing Strategies (1 units)
  • CART 207: Distribution Methods (1 units)
  • CART 208: Bus Fund for Creative Prod (1 units)
  • CART 225: Distribution Workshop (2 units)

Complete one of the following MLO 3 courses:

Complete one of the following MLO 4 courses:

  • CART 321: Experimental Production (4 units)
  • CART 341: Directing for the Camera (4 units)
  • CART 375: Cinematography (4 units)
  • CART 376: Documentary Production (4 units)
  • CART 424: Environmental Media Arts (4 units)

In addition, students must complete 12 units of upper-division CART courses not already taken to fulfill the requirements of this degree.

MLO 1: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Understanding

Students develop fluency in media criticism, media history and media ethics in order to describe and analyze the major historical movements (events, artists, genres, developments, etc.) and their interrelationships. Students learn to understand media contextually, in relationship to social movements and technological developments so that they can describe and analyze relationships between aesthetics and content. Students apply ethical, social and political analysis in critique.

MLO 2: Research and Development

Students develop written and visual content through such processes as research, proposal writing, story treatments, storyboarding and script writing. Students demonstrate that they can plan appropriately according to available time and resources by producing planning documents such as budgets, production schedules, technical specifications and marketing plans. Students develop presentations for audiences utilizing contemporary distribution channels. Students evaluate projects through critical analysis.

MLO 3: Contemporary Storytelling

Students demonstrate fundamental concepts of storytelling through written analysis and by creating various story forms using sound, image and text. Students practice developing written and visual content through such processes as story treatments, storyboarding, script writing, art direction and visualization techniques.

MLO 4: Media Practice and Innovation

Students develop intellectual approaches and craftsmanship in media production through experiences to include writing, directing, cinematography, editing, designing and producing. Students demonstrate knowledge of new trends in form and content by creating meaningful, innovative and contemporary projects.

MLO 5: Community Engagement

Students create work that contributes to society by exploring dominant values, social practices and media discourses through direct action and community collaboration.

MLO 6: Synthesis Through Capstone

Students demonstrate comprehensive knowledge in media through completion of a creative project that synthesizes the major learning outcomes.

These pathways are examples of how you might complete all the requirements for your degree in an order that makes sense given prerequisites. They are meant to give you a general sense of what your education will look like.

Your own unique situation and a number of other factors may mean your actual pathway is different. Perhaps you'll need an extra math or language class, or one of the courses we've listed isn't offered in a particular semester. Don't worry - there is flexibility built into the curriculum. You'll want to work closely with an advisor and use the academic advisement report to take all that into account and develop a pathway that's customized for you.

In the meantime, use this example as a starting point for choosing classes or discussing your plans with an advisor. Your advisor is your best resource when it comes to figuring out how to fit all the courses you need, in the right sequence, into your personal academic plan.

Fall Freshman

* This FYS class is just an example. The FYS class you choose might meet a different GE area, so you would have to adjust your actual pathway accordingly.

Spring Freshman

Fall Sophomore

Spring Sophomore

Fall Junior

Spring Junior

Fall Senior

Spring Senior

Fall Junior

Spring Junior

Fall Senior

Spring Senior