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Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
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2026-2027

Cinema

School of the Arts

 
Program description
The Bachelor of Arts in Cinema is designed for students who desire a program with an emphasis in film production combined with the potential for a strong liberal arts component. Most candidates for the Cinema B.A. can complete an additional major or two minors.

The program focuses on the art and craft of narrative filmmaking with an emphasis on the practices of U.S. independent filmmakers. The Cinema B.A. offers an on-set experience that simulates the industry standard by placing the focus on Cinema as a collaborative art form. Internships with professional film organizations in the U.S. are available on a competitive basis.
 
The B.A. program requires three years (8 semesters) of study including two summers that are required following the first and second years' prerequisite coursework.
Career opportunities
A BA in Cinema affords students a well rounded understanding of technical skill, complex group dynamics and narrative filmmaking. This serves as their gateway to both Graduate candidacy or a wide range of entry level - mid level positions in the film and media industry. Cinema graduates have a unique understanding of the structure and protocols of major motion picture film sets. This praxis lends itself to a variety of professional environments in multiple fields. Additionally, the potential to complete a second major/double minor reinforces the ability to multitask and make connections across diverse professions.
Change of major requirements

Students must submit an application to VCUarts Admissions – It is required that students speak with program advisor Martha Harper by emailing harperma@vcu.edu before completing the application. Applications are only reviewed for entry in a Fall Term.

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Camera Assistants
  • Directors - Stage, Motion Pictures, Television, and Radio
  • Electrics/Lighting Technician
  • Film and Video Editors
  • Grips
  • Line Producer
  • Production Assistant/Technician
  • Screenwriters
  • Set PA
  • Talent Directors
  • UPM/Unit Production Manager
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Art Director
  • Film Archivist
  • Film Professor
  • Independent Writer/Director
  • Journalist
  • Producer
  • Television Writer
Professional associations and resources
Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • Quantitative Foundations requirement only
Science required
  • Natural Sciences requirement only
Foreign language requirements
  • No
Additional tuition/fees
  • Yes
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • 2.0
Transfer Maps

Contact information

Department name:
Cinema
Building/room location:
Pollak Building, Room 520
Phone:
(804) 828-7919
Email:
cinema@vcu.edu
http://arts.vcu.edu/cinema/ 
Campus (where 75% of courses are taken):
Monroe Park
Major map compass icon
Major map

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
EXPAND YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Apply to live in a program-in-residence or a living-learning community.
  • Connect with Global Education Office to explore leadership and intercultural communication skill-building programs and review resources such as Global Learning's Major Advising Sheets, study abroad fairs or complete Rams Abroad 101. to explore studying abroad opportunities and other global learning opportunities.
  • Consider applying to the Honors College.
  • Create a profile on RamsConnect to explore student organizations and get involved, meet people, and develop your interests.
  • Get involved and meet new friends through the Student Government Association or one of over 450 student clubs and organizations (BSPS Student club, Chemistry, etc.)
  • Register to vote in Virginia and explore Richmond’s many museums and parks.
  • Participate in film shoots led by Cinema upperclassmen such as the CINE 201 shoot.
  • Attend Cinema Friday Workshops to meet upperclassmen and gain technical skills in areas you'd like to focus on. Get advice from a workshop leader on making the program more advantageous to you. 
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Apply to be a Division of Student Affairs peer leader.
  • Attend one career event sponsored by Career Services.
  • Complete and activate your Handshake profile and opt-in to industry email lists.
  • Consider applying for a federal work-study job on- or off-campus in Handshake.
  • Learn more about potential careers by using Forage in the Navigate 360 app.
  • Review your Career Works 4 year career planning tool and start working on your milestones.
  • Seek research opportunities by checking out the Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry webpage.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Access your free credit report and begin making responsible credit choices to prepare for your future.
  • Build a resume and LinkedIn profile with help from VCU Career Services, make at least 10 connections, and check out the VCU alumni career programs page.
  • Connect with the Student Alumni Council to connect to VCU alumni.
  • Make a 4-year affordability plan with your financial counselor.
  • Plan for your Summer Housing during your Intensive. Will you live on or off campus for year 2, talk to your advisor if planning to move off campus.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Get familiar with the research process with the VCU Libraries Research Basics Guide.
  • Schedule an appointment with your major advisor to explore minors, certificates, and plan your required REAL experience.
  • Declare a possible second Major/Double Minor and visit the correlating advisors.
  • Take CINE 200 in the fall and CINE 201 in the spring followed by second summer intensive CINE 490 in the Summer (required).
EXPAND YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Discuss personal and professional interests with faculty.
  • Investigate globally-focused courses in your major by pursuing language coursework or setting language proficiency goals with advisors and faculty and apply for the Critical Languages Scholarship.
  • Take a service-learning class to get involved with local organizations while earning credit.
  • Volunteer to address a social issue and check out Hands on Greater Richmond for opportunities.
  • Apply for VCU Project Grants.
  • Attend Cinema alumni talks, local film networking events, or film screenings like the French Film Festival or the Afrikana Film Festival.
  • Meet with faculty to connect with local filmmakers whose interests match yours.
  • Check to see if there is an available study abroad course following Summer Intensive or an available study abroad program that starts after July 1 and ends before start of Fall semester.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Attend career and internship fairs and other professional development events.
  • Build a professional resume and upload it to Handshake.
  • Complete a gap analysis with your career advisor to identify key skills required for your professional field.
  • Pursue a digital badge to highlight the knowledge, skills, and experiences employers and graduate schools value.
  • Seek out practical experience through independent skill-building, internships, shadowing, or part-time work.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Ask a faculty or staff member to be your academic and professional mentor and to provide future letters of recommendation.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of professional interest.
  • Connect with alumni on VCULink for career advice, industry contacts, and meaningful professional relationships.
  • Meet with a coach at the Financial Success Center to set financial goals, understand student loans, and create spending plans.
  • Ask a faculty or staff member to be your academic and professional mentor and to provide future letters of recommendation.
  • Get feedback from Cinema faculty and staff on your film resume.
  • Create a website to display your work.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Enhance your business, software, technology, and creative skills using LinkedIn Learning.
  • Meet with your academic and career advisors to discuss graduation progress and career planning.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • If necessary, complete second major or double minor coursework.
  • Take CINE 300 in the fall and CINE 301 in the Spring.
EXPAND YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Attend civic meetings, such as school board, neighborhood association, city council, or state legislative sessions.
  • Build language proficiency and cultural competence by carrying out your plans for study abroad, internships, and service-learning.
  • Design a community-engaged research project.
  • Explore new cultures at one of Richmond’s wide array of festivals.
  • Make an appointment with the National Scholarship Office to explore post-graduate scholarship and fellowship opportunities.
  • Motivate your peers by presenting at Leaders Unleashed: Student Leadership Conference or at TEDxVCU.
  • Apply to day play on large scale commercials/television/features.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • Attend alumni talks, Cinematheque screenings, and local film networking events and screenings. 
  • Talk to Cinema faculty and staff to learn about different regional film markets and which best fit your skill set.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Apply for the Graduate School Mentorship Program to learn more about graduate school and the graduate student experience.
  • Take advantage of mock interview opportunities through Big Interview or meeting with a career advisor.
  • Update your ePortfolio.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Have a personal statement or cover letter reviewed by Career Services or the Writing Center.
  • Make a plan with your academic, career, and faculty advisors for applying to graduate school or land a micro-internship.
  • Prepare for job offer negotiation by researching salaries, benefits, and other opportunities for flexibility.
  • Study for and complete any standardized exams required for graduate school the summer before senior year. 
  • Begin reaching out to professional contacts, Cinema alums, and colleagues.
  • Create a demo-reel of your work and back-up all the work you have done in Cinema to a personal hard drive for future access.

Excel
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Apply to graduate for your undergraduate degree.
  • Choose REAL electives to diversify your skillset and round out your degree.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor the semester before you graduate to ensure that all graduation requirements will be met.
  • Complete any remaining credits in the summer.
  • This year could be spent finishing a dual degree which takes 150 credits.
EXPAND YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Attend professional association conferences that offer student rates or scholarships.
  • Carry out globally-oriented research projects with multilingual faculty and international partners.
  • Read scholarly articles about internationalization in your field.
  • Serve in a leadership role on campus in a local community organization.
  • If affordable, study abroad before applying to graduate, either summer of a fall full immersion experience. Talk to a financial aid counselor about it. You must have work yet to complete because most financial aid will not cover unneeded coursework; plan for this Year 1 and your academic advisor can help you, make a map toward this goal.
  • If not leaving Richmond, get engaged with your neighborhood and invest in making Richmond a quality home for all.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Connect with the Office of VCU Alumni Relations at Grad Fair, Grad Bash, and the VCULink Industry Network or alumni chapter.
  • Fill out VCU’s First Destination Survey.
  • Prepare for graduation by making a plan to complete licensing exams, applications, and self-marketing activities.
  • Single out prospective employers and create a job or graduate school search strategy at least 8 months before graduation.
  • Talk to advisors, faculty, and VCU Career Services about graduate school versus a job.
  • Update your resume to include how you have developed your communication and interpersonal skills for future work on multidisciplinary teams.
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2026-2027

Cinema

School of the Arts

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING EXPAND YOUR COMMUNITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Apply to live in a program-in-residence or a living-learning community.
  • Connect with Global Education Office to explore leadership and intercultural communication skill-building programs and review resources such as Global Learning's Major Advising Sheets, study abroad fairs or complete Rams Abroad 101. to explore studying abroad opportunities and other global learning opportunities.
  • Consider applying to the Honors College.
  • Create a profile on RamsConnect to explore student organizations and get involved, meet people, and develop your interests.
  • Get involved and meet new friends through the Student Government Association or one of over 450 student clubs and organizations (BSPS Student club, Chemistry, etc.)
  • Register to vote in Virginia and explore Richmond’s many museums and parks.
  • Participate in film shoots led by Cinema upperclassmen such as the CINE 201 shoot.
  • Attend Cinema Friday Workshops to meet upperclassmen and gain technical skills in areas you'd like to focus on. Get advice from a workshop leader on making the program more advantageous to you. 
  • Attend the French Film and Afrikana Film Festival screenings.
  • Apply to be a Division of Student Affairs peer leader.
  • Attend one career event sponsored by Career Services.
  • Complete and activate your Handshake profile and opt-in to industry email lists.
  • Consider applying for a federal work-study job on- or off-campus in Handshake.
  • Learn more about potential careers by using Forage in the Navigate 360 app.
  • Review your Career Works 4 year career planning tool and start working on your milestones.
  • Seek research opportunities by checking out the Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry webpage.
  • Access your free credit report and begin making responsible credit choices to prepare for your future.
  • Build a resume and LinkedIn profile with help from VCU Career Services, make at least 10 connections, and check out the VCU alumni career programs page.
  • Connect with the Student Alumni Council to connect to VCU alumni.
  • Make a 4-year affordability plan with your financial counselor.
  • Plan for your Summer Housing during your Intensive. Will you live on or off campus for year 2, talk to your advisor if planning to move off campus.
Experience Year 2
  • Get familiar with the research process with the VCU Libraries Research Basics Guide.
  • Schedule an appointment with your major advisor to explore minors, certificates, and plan your required REAL experience.
  • Declare a possible second Major/Double Minor and visit the correlating advisors.
  • Take CINE 200 in the fall and CINE 201 in the spring followed by second summer intensive CINE 490 in the Summer (required).
  • Discuss personal and professional interests with faculty.
  • Investigate globally-focused courses in your major by pursuing language coursework or setting language proficiency goals with advisors and faculty and apply for the Critical Languages Scholarship.
  • Take a service-learning class to get involved with local organizations while earning credit.
  • Volunteer to address a social issue and check out Hands on Greater Richmond for opportunities.
  • Apply for VCU Project Grants.
  • Attend Cinema alumni talks, local film networking events, or film screenings like the French Film Festival or the Afrikana Film Festival.
  • Meet with faculty to connect with local filmmakers whose interests match yours.
  • Check to see if there is an available study abroad course following Summer Intensive or an available study abroad program that starts after July 1 and ends before start of Fall semester.
  • Attend career and internship fairs and other professional development events.
  • Build a professional resume and upload it to Handshake.
  • Complete a gap analysis with your career advisor to identify key skills required for your professional field.
  • Pursue a digital badge to highlight the knowledge, skills, and experiences employers and graduate schools value.
  • Seek out practical experience through independent skill-building, internships, shadowing, or part-time work.
  • Ask a faculty or staff member to be your academic and professional mentor and to provide future letters of recommendation.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of professional interest.
  • Connect with alumni on VCULink for career advice, industry contacts, and meaningful professional relationships.
  • Meet with a coach at the Financial Success Center to set financial goals, understand student loans, and create spending plans.
  • Ask a faculty or staff member to be your academic and professional mentor and to provide future letters of recommendation.
  • Get feedback from Cinema faculty and staff on your film resume.
  • Create a website to display your work.
Year 3
  • Enhance your business, software, technology, and creative skills using LinkedIn Learning.
  • Meet with your academic and career advisors to discuss graduation progress and career planning.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • If necessary, complete second major or double minor coursework.
  • Take CINE 300 in the fall and CINE 301 in the Spring.
  • Attend civic meetings, such as school board, neighborhood association, city council, or state legislative sessions.
  • Build language proficiency and cultural competence by carrying out your plans for study abroad, internships, and service-learning.
  • Design a community-engaged research project.
  • Explore new cultures at one of Richmond’s wide array of festivals.
  • Make an appointment with the National Scholarship Office to explore post-graduate scholarship and fellowship opportunities.
  • Motivate your peers by presenting at Leaders Unleashed: Student Leadership Conference or at TEDxVCU.
  • Apply to day play on large scale commercials/television/features.
  • Consider creating small scale projects with your Cinema colleagues.
  • Attend alumni talks, Cinematheque screenings, and local film networking events and screenings. 
  • Talk to Cinema faculty and staff to learn about different regional film markets and which best fit your skill set.
  • Check to see if there is an available Cinema Study abroad course following Summer Intensive.
  • Apply for the Graduate School Mentorship Program to learn more about graduate school and the graduate student experience.
  • Take advantage of mock interview opportunities through Big Interview or meeting with a career advisor.
  • Update your ePortfolio.
  • Have a personal statement or cover letter reviewed by Career Services or the Writing Center.
  • Make a plan with your academic, career, and faculty advisors for applying to graduate school or land a micro-internship.
  • Prepare for job offer negotiation by researching salaries, benefits, and other opportunities for flexibility.
  • Study for and complete any standardized exams required for graduate school the summer before senior year. 
  • Begin reaching out to professional contacts, Cinema alums, and colleagues.
  • Create a demo-reel of your work and back-up all the work you have done in Cinema to a personal hard drive for future access.
Excel Year 4
  • Apply to graduate for your undergraduate degree.
  • Choose REAL electives to diversify your skillset and round out your degree.
  • Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor the semester before you graduate to ensure that all graduation requirements will be met.
  • Complete any remaining credits in the summer.
  • This year could be spent finishing a dual degree which takes 150 credits.
  • Attend professional association conferences that offer student rates or scholarships.
  • Carry out globally-oriented research projects with multilingual faculty and international partners.
  • Read scholarly articles about internationalization in your field.
  • Serve in a leadership role on campus in a local community organization.
  • If affordable, study abroad before applying to graduate, either summer of a fall full immersion experience. Talk to a financial aid counselor about it. You must have work yet to complete because most financial aid will not cover unneeded coursework; plan for this Year 1 and your academic advisor can help you, make a map toward this goal.
  • If not leaving Richmond, get engaged with your neighborhood and invest in making Richmond a quality home for all.
  • Connect with the Office of VCU Alumni Relations at Grad Fair, Grad Bash, and the VCULink Industry Network or alumni chapter.
  • Fill out VCU’s First Destination Survey.
  • Prepare for graduation by making a plan to complete licensing exams, applications, and self-marketing activities.
  • Single out prospective employers and create a job or graduate school search strategy at least 8 months before graduation.
  • Talk to advisors, faculty, and VCU Career Services about graduate school versus a job.
  • Update your resume to include how you have developed your communication and interpersonal skills for future work on multidisciplinary teams.