BA in Film and Sonic Arts Pending Approval

Pending Senate Approval

The B.A. in Film and Sonic Art at the University of Kentucky is a transdisciplinary undergraduate program that integrates the educational and creative resources of the School of Art and Visual Studies, the School of Music, the Department of Theatre and Dance, the School of Journalism and Media/College of Communication, and International Film Studies/College of Arts & Sciences. Designed to meet the evolving needs of cinematic and sonic innovators, this degree offers students the flexibility to create a custom educational pathway tailored to their individual creative interests and career goals in film and sound production. With a foundation that encourages both technical expertise and artistic exploration, graduates will be prepared for careers across diverse fields, including narrative, experimental, and traditional filmmaking, animation and visual effects, sound design, and audio production.

Program Requirements:

UK CORE 30 hours

PROGRAM FOUNDATIONS 13 hours

Required Courses (Foundational Skills) (7 hours)

• A-S 285 Lens Arts
• MUS 150 Intro to Audio Engineering
• UK 101/201 is part of all SAVS studio programs (1 hours)
• A-S 001 Foundation Exhibition (0 hours)

History / Theory (6 hours)

Choose at least 2 course from list below:

• A-H 101 Introduction to Visual Culture
• MAS 101 - Media Aesthetics
• TA 150 Creativity and the Art of Design & Production
• MUS 174 Theory for Non-Music Majors or MUS 171 Theory I
• MUS 240 Electroacoustic Composition and Sound Design
• ENG 280 Introduction to Film 

MAJOR COURSES 48 hours 

Major “film or sonic production/studio” courses compiled from 4 areas (39 hours)

Choose 13 courses from approved list below (8 courses at the 300-level or above). Additional courses can be approved by SA/VS advisor.

SCHOOL OF ART AND VISUAL STUDIES MAJOR COURSE OPTIONS

• A-S 344 Introduction to Sonic Art (in Curriculog)
• A-S 305 Studio Lighting
• A-S 306 Cinematography
• A-S 343 Animation
• A-S 346 Video: Shoot and Edit
• A-S 347 Multimedia (Topical)
• A-S 349 VR
• A-S 446 Short Film Capstone (Topical example)
• A-S 446 Sonic Studio 1 (Topical example)
• A-S 543 Advanced Animation
• A-S 546 Filmmaking Independent Projects
• A-S 549 Advanced VR 

SCHOOL OF MUSIC MAJOR COURSE OPTIONS 

• MUS 240 Electroacoustic Composition and Sound Design
• MUS 242 (Electroacoustic Music II) “Sound Spatialization & 3D Audio”
• MUS 239 Intro to Computer Music and Sound Production
• MUS 243 (Computer Music II) “Creative Programming for Audio and Video”
• MUS 380 Advanced Mixing
• MUS 381 Recording Techniques and Microphone Techniques
• MUS 574 Composition
• MUS 575 Composition

COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION/SCHOOL OF JOURANLISM AND MEDIA MAJOR COURSES

• MAS 101 Media Aesthetics
• JAM 203 - Video & Camera Fundamentals
• JAM 205 - Video Editing Fundamentals
• MAS 304 - Fundamentals of Filmmaking
• MAS 335 - Media Industries
• JOU 377 - Drone Journalism
• MAS 404 - Film Directing
• MAS 405 - Film Producing
• MAS 406 - Filmmaking Practicum
• MAS 420 - Media Criticism
• MAS 390 - Screenwriting
• MAS 390 - Editing
• MAS 390 - Documentary Filmmaking
• MAS 490 - Film Industry
• MAS 590 - Children’s Media

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE MAJOR COURSES 

• TA 150 Creativity and the Art of Design & Production
• TA 340 Acting for the Camera 1
• TA 440 Acting for the Camera 2
• TA 316 Dramatic Writing Fundamentals
• TA 436 Dramatic Writing Advanced Screenwriting
• TA 369 Sound Design for Theater

Upper level History / Theory (3 hours)

Choose 1 course from approved list:

ART HISTORY

• Approved list TBD

MUSIC HISTORY/THEORY

• Approved list TBD

COM/JAM

• Approved list TBD

DoTD

• Approved list TBD

A&S INTERNATIONAL FILM COURSES (Approved list below)

• CHI 321 Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Film

• *CLA 100 Ancient Stories in Modern Films

• *ENG 180 Great Movies (Subtitle required)

• ENG 280 Introduction to Film

• ENG 380 Film & Genre
• ENG 381 History of Film I

• ENG 382 History of Film II

• ENG 383 Film in the Digital Age
• ENG 384: Literature and Film

• ENG 389 LAW AND FILM
• ENG 480G Studies in Film

• ENG 581 Aesthetics of Film
• FR 103 French Cinema

• FR 225 French Film Noir

• GER 305 German Film Today

• GER 361 German Cinema

• GWS 300 Gendered Desires in Romcoms
• JPN 283 Japanese Film

• JPN 332 Aesthetic and Politics in Japanese Film
• ITA 335 Topics in Italian Cinema (subtitle required)
• MCL 283 Introduction to East Asian Film

• MCL 343 Global Horror

• MCL 503 Film Theory
• PHI 393 Philosophy of Film

• RUS 275 Russian Film

• RUS 230 The Cold War on Screen: The Films of Andrey Tarkovsky and Stanley
• Kubrick
• *RUS 535 Russian Visual Studies

• SPA 371 Latin American Cinema (subtitle required)

• SPA 372 Spanish Cinema (subtitle required)


Capstone Courses (6 hours)

• ART 302 Industry Pathways (GCCR)
• A-S 547 Digital Capstone

OUTSIDE EXPLORATION (Guided Electives/Minor/Certificate/Thematic) 15 hours

FREE ELECTIVES 8 hours 

(International Film Studies courses could work here as well)

CFA REQUIRED COURSES 6 hours

TOTAL CREDIT HOURS

120 total hours