Art History and Film Studies (BFA)

Delve into the interlinked histories of art and film, and learn how the two fields intersect on the levels of art practice, critical approaches and institutional histories. Students benefit from courses that have been designed to lay the foundation for this joined program and are free to choose from a wide range of courses in both areas. Students can thus take advantage of the expertise and knowledge that has developed within the related fields of art history and film studies, and acquire a genuinely interdisciplinary education in the visual arts.

A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree takes a minimum of three or four years (90 – 120 credits) of full-time study, depending on your academic background.

Program option

• Major in Art History and Film Studies (60 credits)
  The Major in Art History and Film Studies teaches students to detect relationships between the work of visual artists and filmmakers, along with the common and divergent concerns of the disciplines of art history and film studies. Students studying the combined Major Art History and Film Studies develop an interdisciplinary understanding of the visual and audio-visual arts, as well as the critical and theoretical discourses pertaining to each discipline. Emphasis is placed on a historical and contextual analysis of art and film from a variety of social, cultural, political and critical perspectives.

Integrated path

Get a head start on graduate studies. As an undergraduate student in Art History and Film Studies, you can take up to nine credits that count towards both your Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Arts (MA) in Art History.

Professional internships
Internships provide students with the opportunity to pursue work in the film industry, film research, archival work, editing film publications, or writing film criticism.

Escuela internacional de cine y television - Cuba
In 2007, the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema signed an agreement with the prestigious Escuela internacional de cine y television (EICTV) in Cuba to explore opportunities for collaboration in education and research. Since then, MHSoC faculty members David Douglas, Richard Kerr, Rosanna Maule and Peter Rist have taught at EICTV and several Concordia film production and film studies students have participated in workshops there. In 2009, Professor Douglas offered a joint class with Fernando Birri, the founding director of EICTV. During the same year five EICTV students received scholarships from the Canadian government to study at MHSoC.

Other international study opportunities
Concordia University offers undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to take part in an International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) that will count for credit towards their Concordia degree, while paying the same tuition fees they do at home and possibly receiving funding.

Independent studies
Students may explore specific areas of film through independent study.

Students graduating from this program are particularly prepared for work in the cultural sector that addresses or supports interdisciplinary creative production. Graduates are also prepared for further study in either discipline, or in interdisciplinary graduate programs.