SCRN Degree Requirements

What does it take to get a degree in Screen Arts at LSU? Use the following links to see the requirements for each of our degrees and minors.

Undergraduate Degree in Screen Arts

Undergraduate Minor in Screen Arts

Graduate Minor in Screen Arts

For further information or to see a sample 8-semester plan for your concentration, please visit the General Catalog. If you have further questions or need individual assistance, please contact the SCRN director at screenarts@lsu.edu.

Upcoming curriculum changes in the 2022-2023 catalog

For more information on upcoming changes, please read the following document from SCRN Director Patricia Suchy: PDF explaining new degree requirement changes

Undergraduate Degree in Screen Arts

For students entering in the Fall of 2020 or later, the following is required:

Admission to the College
Foreign Language Sequence (14-16 hours)
General Education Requirements Bold courses in the list below are required for SCRN.
- English Composition
  - ENGL 1001 ("C" or better) or ENGL 1004 (3 hours)
  - ENGL 2000 (3 hours)
- Natural Sciences
  - General education natural science course sequence (6 hours)
  - General education natural science course (3 hours)
  - Please note: If a two-course sequence is taken in the physical sciences, then the 3-hour course must be from the life sciences and vice versa.
- Social Sciences
  - General education social science course (3 hours)
  - General education social science course- ENGL 2423 or ANTH 2423 (3 hours)
- Analytical Reasoning
  - General education analytical reasoning course (from mathematics dept.) (3 hours)
  - General education analytical reasoning course (3 hours)
- Humanities
  - General education humanities course (3 hours)
  - General education humanities course- CMST 2040 (3 hours)
  - General education humanities course- ENGL 2231 (3 hours)
- Arts
  - General education arts course (3 hours)
9 hours of SCRN Core Courses
- SCRN 2001
- SCRN 3001
- SCRN 4001
19 hours of Required SCRN Courses (see Required Courses);
9 hours of Concentration-focused Courses (see Concentration Courses):

SCRN Required Courses

In addition to the 9 hours of required SCRN Core Courses, 19 hours of SCRN Required Courses must be completed from the list below.

History (3 hours)

CMST 3012

Production (3 hours)

SCRN 3010 Art of Cinematography
SCRN 3011 Art of Editing

Digital Media (3 hours)

ART 2050 Digital Art I
CSC 2463 Intro to Programming for Digital Media
MUS 2745 Intro to Computer Music.

Digital Media Theory Elective (3 hours)

ARTH 4468* Issues in Cont Art
ARTH 4480* Video Art and Theory
ARTH 4482* History of Electronic and Digital Art
ARTH 4484* New Media Art and Theory.

*These courses are currently seldom offered, so we are revising the curriculum and replacing this requirement. Meanwhile, please contact the Screen Arts Director to identify substitutions.

History, Theory, Criticism (3 hours + 1 hour Lab)

See list below

Screenwriting (3 hours)

See list below

Concentration Courses

An additional 9 hours must be completed from one of the three concentration areas listed below. Please note that the course listings for each concentration are not exhaustive, and that courses from participating departments that are relevant to SCRN may be counted toward the concentration requirements with prior approval from the SCRN Director. Not all courses are offered each semester, and titles may change.

History/Theory/Criticism Concentration (9 hours)

Approved Electives (9 hours)
- SCRN 3001 Special Topics in Screen Arts
  - This would be in addition to the SCRN Core Requirement, as topics vary.
- SCRN 3030 Internship in Screen Arts
- SCRN 3501 Middle Eastern Cinema
- SCRN 3502 Italian Cinema
- SCRN 3503 Asian Cinema
- SCRN 3506 Special Topics in German Film (crosslisted as GERM 3506)
- SCRN 4001 Advanced Topics screen Arts
- SCRN 4046 Advanced German Film (crosslisted as GERM 4046)
- AAAS 2410 Black Popular Culture
- CHIN 2070 Chinese Cinema
- CMST 2012 Intro to Film
- CMST 3013 Topics in Film Genres
- CMST 3107 Rhetoric of Contemporary Media
- CMST 4312 Topics in Critical Media Theory
- ENGL 3133 Intro to Nonfiction Film
- ENGL 3222 Survey of Popular Genres
- ENGL 4133 Studies in Nonfiction Film and Video
- ENGL 4231 Studies in Film and Literature
- FREN 4031 French Film
- GERM 3506 Special Topics in German Film (crosslisted as SCRN 3506)
- GERM 4046 Advanced German Film (crosslisted as SCRN 4046)
- PHIL 3002 Philosophy and Film
- PHIL 4002 Philosophy and Film
- WGS 2200 Gender and Popular Culture

Screenwriting Concentration (9 hours)

Please note: ENGL 2009 Screenwriting I ENGL 4009 Advanced Screenwriting are required if the Screenwriting Concentration is chosen. (9 hours)

ENGL 2009 Screenwriting I (3 hours)
- Required if the Screenwriting Concentration is chosen.
ENGL 4009 Advanced Screenwriting (3 hours)
- Required if the Screenwriting Concentration is chosen.
Approved Electives (3 hours)
- SCRN 3030 Internship in Screen Arts
- CMST 2060 Intro to Public Speaking
- CMST 3040 Intro to Performance Art
- ENGL 2005 Intro to Writing Short Stories
- ENGL 2008 Intro to Writing Drama
- ENGL 2029 Drama
- ENGL 4000 (Writing for TV, NonLinear)
- ENGL 4133 Studies in Nonfiction Film
- ENGL 4231 Studies in Literature and Film
- THTR 4138 Film Practicum

Production Concentration (9 hours)

ENGL 2009 Introduction to Writing Screenplays (3 hours)
- Required if the Production Concentration is chosen.
SCRN 4001 Advanced Topics in Screen Arts (3 hours)
- Please note that this course is required in addition to the SCRN 4001 SCRN Core Requirement, which means that Production Concentration students must take SCRN 4001 twice, as topics vary.
Approved Electives (3 hours)
- SCRN 3010 Cinematography
- SCRN 3011 Art of Editing
- SCRN 3012 Directing (FS C&C)
- SCRN 3014 Producing (FS C&C)
- SCRN 3030 Internship in Screen Arts
- SCRN 4012 Advanced Film Directing
- SCRN 4014 Advanced Film Producing
- SCRN 4015 Advanced Film Practices
- ART 2210 Creative Coding
- ART 2220 Moving Image
- ART 2230 Virtual Space
- ART 4220 Advanced Moving Image
- ART 4230 Virtual Space and Motion
- ART 4240 Topics in Digital Art
- ENGL 4009 Advanced Screenwriting
- THTR 3026 Introduction to Acting for the Camera
- THTR 3900 Film/TV Production Special Topics
- THTR 4026 Acting for the Camera II
- THTR 4138 Film Practicum

Undergraduate Minor in Screen Arts

To graduate with a minor in screen arts, students must complete SCRN 2001 and an additional 15 hours of electives from the following list. At least nine hours must be at the 3000 level or above, and no more than nine hours may be taken in any single department.

SCRN 3001 Special Topics in Screen Arts
SCRN 3010 Art of Cinematography
SCRN 3011 Art of Editing
SCRN 3012 Film Directing
SCRN 3014 Film Producing
SCRN 3030 Internship in Screen Arts
SCRN 3502 Special Topics in Italian Cinema
SCRN 3503 Special Topics in Asian Cinema
SCRN 3504 Special Topics in Latin American Cinema
SCRN 3505 Horror Film
SCRN 4001 Advanced Topics in Screen Arts
SCRN 4012 Advanced Film Directing
SCRN 4014 Advanced Film Producing
SCRN 4015 Advanced Film Practices
ARTH 4480 Video Art and Theory
CHIN 2070 Chinese Cinema
CLST 2070 Ancient World in the Cinema
CMST 2012 Introduction to Film
CMST 3012 History of Film
CMST 3107 Rhetoric of the Contemporary Media
CMST 4107 Communication as Culture
CMST 4312 Topics in Critical Media Theory and Practice
ENGL 2009 Introduction to Writing Screenplays
ENGL 2231 Reading Film
ENGL 3133 Introduction to Nonfiction Film and Video
ENGL 4009 Advanced Screenwriting Workshop
ENGL 4133 Studies in Nonfiction Film and Video
ENGL 4231 Studies in Literature and Film
FREN 4031 The French Film
GERM 4046 German Film
HIST 4077 American Popular Culture
ITAL 3502 Special Topics in Italian Cinema
MC 2700 Production and Performance
PHIL 3002 Philosophy and Film
PHIL 4002 Philosophy of Film
SPAN 4201 Cinema in Spanish

In addition, special topics courses and courses with sections relevant to film and media arts may be accepted for the minor, with approval from the Director.

Graduate Minor in Screen Arts:

Students interested in the graduate minor in SCRN should meet with the Program Director to choose a Minor Professor who will help the student to design a Program of Study and to complete a SCRN Program of Study form, to be approved by the SCRN Steering Committee and kept on file with the Program Director.

Graduate students minoring in SCRN must complete 12 semester hours of course work including 6 hours of required courses and 6 hours of approved electives

Please note: to formally declare the SCRN Graduate Minor, students will also need to register the degree with the Graduate School in D. Boyd Hall.

Required Courses:

SCRN 7001: Graduate Seminar in Screen Arts
SCRN 7900: Research Projects in Screen Arts

Approved Electives (this listing is suggestive and not exhaustive):

CMST 7944: Performance & Media
CMST 7969: Visual Culture
CPLT 7140: Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies: Film and Video Studies
ENGL 7009: Screenwriting Workshop
ENGL 7109: Forms of Film Writing
ENGL 7783: Topics in Film and Video Studies