UTSA film studies program will train the city’s next generation of media professionals
JUNE 13, 2022 — The UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA) and the University College’s Multidisciplinary Studies Degree program will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Media Studies beginning in fall 2022.
UTSA is adding this new degree at a time when both the television and film industry are poised to bounce back from the sluggish development and release cycles suffered during the pandemic. The program will prepare UTSA students for the careers taking shape in the contemporary film and media sectors, and also shine a light on San Antonio’s growing profile in this industry, according to Paul Ardoin, associate professor of humanities and director of the program.
“This multidisciplinary program will see students learn from a number of different departments such as communication, music, anthropology, political science, art and more.”
“The film and media talent in San Antonio are both stunning and plentiful. The city and region offer endless great locations and enthusiastic community/government support for filmmaking. This is part of how San Antonio ended up on Moviemaker magazine’s recent lists of ‘Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.’” Ardoin explained. “We would like to build on some of the great extant work at local high schools and community colleges and work to make San Antonio also one of the best places to train as a maker, critic or scholar of film and other media.”
While this degree plan will begin under the Multidisciplinary Studies umbrella, it will ultimately be housed in COLFA, Ardoin said, adding that the college is working to complete that migration over the next two years. At that point, students will have the opportunity to select specific areas of focus for their film studies, such as screenwriting or directing, depending on their interest.
“This multidisciplinary program will see students learn from a number of different departments such as communication, music, anthropology, political science, art and more,” he said. “When brought together, these seemingly disparate fields offer a film studies student a comprehensive education effective for the contemporary film industry, as well as knowledge and skills that are immediately transferable to countless careers or further education.”
This cross-disciplinary approach means UTSA students will have the opportunity to learn from experts in a variety of fields, added Glenn Martinez, dean of COLFA.
“As part of the tactical visioning process underway at COLFA, we are examining the potential for students to learn a varied curriculum that may better prepare them for a job market today that seeks effective candidates with diverse experiences and skill sets,” he said. “COLFA has helped address this need through our variety of humanities programs, and we are proud to see this philosophy also present with Ardoin’s film studies program.”
To ensure students receive the highest quality classroom experience, COLFA is expanding the space and equipment that will be available to film studies students—including a new Film Production Hub currently under development at the McKinney Humanities Building.
“COLFA is investing significant space and funding to making this new center for collaboration, writing, shooting, editing, community-building and education,” Ardoin said. “When completed, there won’t be a comparably designed and equipped space in the region. Students will be able to take a film or other media project from conception to creation to exhibition—all in the same space.”
Students across the UTSA campus already engage in filmmaking as a hobby. It is Ardoin’s hope that this new degree program illustrates to these students how their passion projects could blossom into fully-fledged careers.
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