Film and media have profound impacts on how we view the world and ourselves. Film and Media Studies explores the theory, criticism and history of motion pictures and of continually evolving media platforms that shape and influence our everyday lives.

The Film and Media Studies Department at Santa Barbara City College offers a wide variety of courses designed for film majors and interested non-majors who wish to enhance their knowledge and appreciation of film and media as part of their undergraduate education. Students are exposed to a vast array of films from the classic to the contemporary, including both American and international works.

SBCC Students are able to immerse themselves in film and media research and analysis in an academic setting, as well as in current film industry practices. The Film and Media Studies program offers a vast survey of courses on-campus, online, internationally through Study Abroad, and at film festivals, such as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, AFI Fest in Hollywood, and the Los Angeles International Film Festival. Students also have the opportunity to gain practical work experience through the Film and Media Studies internship program.

The required courses in the Film and Media Studies Screenwriting Certificate track are designed to provide students with an introduction to film and media literature, film and media criticism and theory, a basic knowledge of film history and the motion picture industry, and a familiarity with major directors, actors and practitioners of cinema. Screenwriting courses are designed to provide students with introduction, intermediate, and advanced screenwriting skills related to script development, research, outlines, scene and sequence analyses, treatments, draft editing, and completion of a final screenplay.  The courses lead to an advanced study of the structure, development, pacing, and revision of a completed screenplay.  In addition to analyzing feature film and television screenplays, students complete a final draft of a screenplay, learn how to edit and revise it, how to pitch it, and how to market it.

The Film and Media Studies Screenwriting Certificate has been developed in accordance with Santa Barbara City College’s core principles, mission statement and institutional learning outcomes.  The program is fully supported by the SBCC Academic Senate, Curriculum Advisory Committee as well as the SBCC administration and Board of Trustees.

There are a variety of career opportunities for students completing the Film and Media Studies certificate.  Students may find employment at:

-Film festivals, such as the Santa Barbara Film Festival;

-Film programs at museums, such at the Armond Hammer museum at UCLA or the Los County Museum of Art;

-Newspapers, magazines, or websites writing film and media journalism and criticism;

-Film and media department at a university, such as the University of California Santa Barbara or the University of California Los Angeles;

-Film production for screenplay analysis, and more.

Certificate of Achievement Requirements

Complete all Department Requirements for the Certificate of Achievement with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better.  Candidates for a Certificate of Achievement are required to complete at least 20% of the department requirements through SBCC.

1. Articulate and demonstrate an understanding of the history of U.S. and world cinema, in relation to filmmakers, style, movements, film industries and genres, using film terminology and standard English in written and oral presentations.
2. Articulate and demonstrate an understanding of the theories and critical models of cinema, in relation to auteur studies, style, movements, genre and social ideology, using film terminology and standard English in written and oral presentations.
3. Develop a final draft of a screenplay in industry standard format.
4. Write a final draft of a screenplay with three-dimensional characters, subtextual dialogue, and revealing action.
5. Create a final draft of a screenplay that demonstrates dramatic narrative structure.

Make an appointment with your SBCC academic counselor through Starfish to create a Student Education Plan that reflects a recommended course sequence for this program that is tailored to your individual needs.

How to schedule an Academic Counseling appointment.