Requirements BFA | Film TV | Documentary

Bachelor of Fine Arts 2024 through2025

Film and Television

About the Program Untitled 1

Documentary 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, Documentary, and Television Production.

Curriculum Requirements

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First Year

Liberal Studies Requirements

Second Year

  • DOC 224 Documentary Production I
  • DOC 305 Documentary Storytelling
  • DOC 352 Documentary Cinematography
  • FILM 250 Cinematography I
  • FILM 325 Experimental Filmmaking I
  • POST 330 Production Sound I
  • SCWR 110 Inclusive Representation in Film and Tv
    OR MPOP 274 Diversity and Inclusion in Cinema and Television
  • Four (4) Credit Hours of Major Electives
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • LSP 200 Seminar on Race, Power, and Resistance
  • 1 Arts & Literature

Third Year

  • ANI 101 Animation for Non-Majors
    OR ANI 201 Animation I
  • DOC 312 Editing the Documentary
  • DOC 324 Documentary Production II
  • DOC 326 Documentary Producing
  • DOC 333 Documentary Production Sound Workshop (2 credit hours)
  • DOC 339 Topics in Documentary Production Workshop (2 credit hours)
  • DOC 380 Filming with Change Agents
  • POST 306 Editing Styles and Techniques
  • Four (4) Credit Hours of Major Electives
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • 1 Arts & Literature
  • 1 Experiential Learning
  • 1 Scientific Inquiry Lab

Fourth Year

  • DOC 372 Documentary Law and Ethics (2 credit hours)
  • DOC 382 The Personal Documentary
  • DOC 384 Advanced Documentary Production
  • DOC 396 Advanced Topics in Documentary
  • FILM 348 Film Festivals
    OR CP 382 Distribution and Exhibition
  • FILM 398 Digital Cinema Capstone
    OR POST 398 Post Production Capstone
  • Four (4) Credit Hours of Major Electives
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • 1 Historical Inquiry
  • 1 Philosophical Inquiry
  • 1 Religious Dimensions
  • 1 Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry

Major Electives

Major Electives can be chosen from the following courses:


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.