Requirements BFA Film & TV | Directing

Bachelor of Fine Arts 2024 through2025

Film and Television

About the Program Untitled 1

Directing Concentration

Students majoring in the BFA Film and Television program are forbidden from double-majoring in the BA Film and Television program; as well as from minoring in Digital Cinema and Television Production.

Curriculum Requirements

Displaying Spring 2024-2025 Course Availability
  • In-Class
  • In-Class and Online
  • Online Only
  • Not Offered This Quarter
Untitled 1

First Year

Liberal Studies Requirements

Second Year

  • DOC 224 Documentary Production I
  • FILM 130 Fundamentals of Short Film
  • FILM 150 Cinematography I (Formerly Film 250)
  • FILM 210 Cinema Production II
  • FILM 279 Visual Design
  • FILM 283 Directing I: Script Analysis for Directors
  • FILM 284 Directing II: Casting and Rehearsing
  • POST 128 The Art of Sound Design and Film
  • Four (4) Credit Hours of Major Electives selected from any course in ANI, CP, DOC, FILM, POST, SCWR, or VFX
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • LSP 200 Seminar on Race, Power, and Resistance
  • 1 Arts & Literature
  • 1 Scientific Inquiry Lab

Third Year

  • FILM 115 Television Production I
  • FILM 232 Creative Methodologies for Film and Television
    OR FILM 282 Acting for Filmmakers
  • FILM 235 Film Aesthetics: Time, Space, and Memory
    OR FILM 236 Film Philosophy for Majors
  • FILM 285 Directing III: Scene Study
  • FILM 384 Directing for Television
  • SCWR 308 Writing the Short Film for Production
  • 4 Major Elective Credit hours selected from any 200-level or 300-level course in ANI, CP, DOC, FILM, POST, SCWR or VFX
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • 1 Arts & Literature
  • 1 Experiential Learning
  • 1 Philosophical Inquiry

Fourth Year

  • CP 310 Creative Producing
    OR CP 340 The Fundamentals of Pre Production
    OR CP 360 Producing Television
    OR CP 366 The Business of Television
  • FILM 290 Topics in Digital Cinema
  • FILM 385 Directing IV: Blocking for Camera
  • FILM 387 Directing V: Directing the Short Film
  • FILM 398 Digital Cinema Capstone
  • VFX 200 Introduction to Visual Effects
    OR VFX 330 Visual Effects Supervision
  • 4 Major Elective credit hours selected from and 200-level or 300-level course in ANI, CP, DOC, FILM, POST, SCWR, or VFX
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • 1 Historical Inquiry
  • 1 Religious Dimensions
  • 1 Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry

Major Electives

See program requirements above for Major Elective requirements


Open Electives

Open Elective Credit Hours are required to meet the minimum graduation requirements of 192 hours. Open electives may be taken from any unit at DePaul.


Liberal Studies

The Liberal Studies program is the general education portion of the curriculum at DePaul University. Students must earn a grade of D or better in all courses taken to satisfy these requirements. The only exception is the Capstone course which is considered also a major requirement and WRD 103 and WRD 104 in which students need to earn a C- or better.

Students may choose to take some CDM courses that carry Liberal Studies credit but they cannot double count them if they are part of the major requirements. A complete list of courses that carry Liberal Studies credit can be found on the Liberal Studies website along with an overview of the Liberal Studies requirements for this program. Students can search for courses that satisfy a particular Liberal Studies requirement on campusconnect.

Although students are free to take course requirements in any order they choose, provided they have mastered the course-specific prerequisites, it is strongly recommended that students follow these year-by-year suggestions, especially regarding the first-year major courses.

Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements.

Degree Requirements

Students in this degree must meet the following requirements

  • Complete a minimum of 192 credit hours
  • Earn a grade of C- or higher in WRD 103, WRD 104, and all Major and Minor courses
  • Earn a grade of D or higher in all other Liberal Studies and Open Elective courses
  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher

Students who earn a cumulative DePaul University GPA

  • Between 3.500 and 3.699 will graduate Cum Laude
  • Between 3.700 and 3.849 will graduate Magna Cum Laude
  • of at least 3.850 will graduate Summa Cum Laude

For DePaul's policy on repeat courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Undergraduate Handbook in the Course Catalog.