Bachelor of Film Studies (BFS)

Contact Information

Website: arts.ucalgary.ca/communication-media-film

For Program Advice

Students should consult an undergraduate program advisor in the Arts Students’ Centre for information and advice on their overall program requirements. Advising contact information can be found online: arts.ucalgary.ca/advising.

Introduction

The Bachelor of Film Studies (BFS) is offered by the Department of Communication, Media and Film.

The Bachelor of Film Studies (BFS) program is designed for students who want to integrate a two-year film-related diploma within a focused undergraduate program in Film Studies. The diploma offers hands-on training in film, video, or television production in both traditional and new media. The university coursework provides a broader academic foundation in Film Studies.

The program’s flexible transfer credit structure allows students to complete their qualifying diploma either before or after their university courses. The diploma is usually completed at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), but a diploma from another institution may be approved if it is equivalent in content and scope to a qualifying SAIT diploma (see program details). University degree requirements can be completed in as little as two and a half years, rather than adding four more years of study to the diploma.

The field of Film Studies situates motion pictures within a wider culture of images and sounds, comprising both contemporary media and diverse historical practices. Students in our program will develop a broad understanding of the medium, considering film as an art form, as a cultural industry, and as an innovative and developing technology with social, cultural, and political significance. The program offers students the analytical skills and historical and theoretical frameworks to critically assess contemporary visual culture, and in this way helps to prepare them for careers in film and media criticism; film programming and production; work in cultural institutions; and university research and teaching.

Our co-operative education and experiential learning opportunities enable students to develop and apply their skills in non-academic contexts.

A different but related program is the Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies (BA FILM). This degree does not require the completion of a two-year diploma. Students who have completed a two-year diploma prior to entering this program will receive transfer credit as detailed in Future Students: Transfer Credit.