Learn to make film and understand it in new ways in one of the country's pioneering university programs in cinema.

“Artists are scholars and scholars are artists." Nowhere is this guiding principle from our mission statement better embodied than in our Cinema BA. By majoring in Cinema, you will not only be developing filmmaking skills, but also honing an artistic vision and probing the history of cinema as both an art form and a social institution.

The BA in Cinema builds on a long and venerated tradition of film education at the University of Iowa, which has long been a recognized leader in the field. Courses in Film Studies and Production stretch back over seven decades to the 1950s, and our alumni include many of the most influential university scholars of Film Studies and Production, as well as numerous successful members of the film and television industry.

Cinema majors work in small classes with dedicated faculty at the forefront of their fields. They also have access state-of-the-art studio facilities and professional equipment. And since our Cinema BA only requires 33 semester hours of coursework, it is also relatively easy to combine with other majors. Many students double major in cinema and screenwriting to gain comprehensive instruction in creative work for the screen. Others combine a cinema major with other arts fields (e.g. theatre, music), with other humanities disciplines (history, anthropology, philosophy), or with another science or social science BA (e.g. journalism) to diversify and enrich their undergraduate training. In short, the BA in Cinema is flexible and allows you to forge the path that’s right for you.

Our majors also enjoy numerous opportunities for community involvement and unique forms of hands-on learning. Further questions about the major may be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.