Bachelor of Arts in Cinema: Screenwriting Roadmap

To avoid taking additional units, it is recommended that you meet LLD and SF State Studies requirements (AERM, GP, ES, SJ) within your GE.

ENG 114 can only be taken if you complete Directed Self-Placement (DSP) and select ENG 114; if you choose ENG 104/ENG 105 through DSP you will satisfy A2 upon successful completion of ENG 105 in the second semester; multilingual students may be advised into alternative English courses.

Complementary Studies

Bachelor of Arts students must complete at least twelve units of complementary studies outside of the primary prefix for the major. (Note: Students may not use an alternate prefix that is cross-listed with the primary prefix for the major.)

Students who complete two majors or a major and a minor automatically complete the complementary studies requirement.

Cinema majors will be offered several pathways toward completing this requirement, each of which is designed to facilitate graduation in a timely manner. Majors may, with the approval of a Cinema advisor, elect to apply 12 units in a single foreign language of their choosing, courses taken in an approved study abroad program (e.g., CSU Study Abroad), courses taken as part of a second major, a minor or a certificate, and courses in related disciplines. Related disciplines typically include: anthropology, art, business, creative writing, design, journalism, literature, music, philosophy, television and theater. The School of Cinema allows up to 12 upper-division units from cinema-related disciplines to count toward the major. Where upper-division complementary studies courses are related to cinema, they may, with the approval of a School advisor, also be counted as cinema electives in fulfillment of major requirements.

Students who have earned AA-T or AS-T degrees and are pursuing a similar B.A. degree at SF State are required to fulfill the Complementary Studies requirement as defined by the major department. Students should consult with a major advisor about how transfer units and/or SF State units can best be applied to this requirement in order to ensure degree completion within 60 units.

Consider taking a class combined with a laboratory or a separate lab to fulfill B3 if not already satisfied.

CINE 303GW Writing About Cinema - GWAR (3 units)

CINE 342GW Documentary Film - GWAR (3 units)

CINE 346GW The Art of Short Film - GWAR (3 units)

CINE 402GW Arab Cinema - GWAR (3 units)

CINE 410GW Art and Film - GWAR (3 units)

Electives

• With prior approval of advisor, up to 12 units of Cinema-related upper division courses outside the School may count toward the major.
• No more than seven units of advanced production units from the following courses may be taken in any one term, unless special permission is granted by the instructor.  Such permission cannot be given prior to the first day of class. CINE 430, CINE 442, CINE 454, CINE 456, CINE 466, CINE 468, CINE 510, CINE 512, CINE 515, CINE 520, CINE 522, CINE 523, CINE 524, CINE 525, CINE 526, CINE 529, CINE 530, CINE 542, CINE 551, CINE 556, CINE 568, CINE 620, CINE 622, CINE 623, CINE 630, CINE 640, CINE 654, CINE 656, CINE 651.
• If the minimum residence requirement of 12 units in the major is satisfied, credit for upper-division courses in the major from another four-year university is possible if syllabi are comparable.
• With a faculty advisor’s approval no more than 13 units from a community college may be applied to the core courses in the Cinema major. Up to six of those units may be in screenwriting and/or filmmaking/video production.
• A maximum of 18 units of online course work may be counted toward the major.
• A maximum of 12 units of independent study/internship courses may be counted toward the major.
• A maximum of nine CR/NC units may be counted toward the major, which may include up to a maximum of four units of different  CINE 325, CINE 326, or CINE 650 courses.

CINE 656 satisfies the Major Culminating Experience Requirement.