The Cinema Studies programme offers students a major and minor for the BA and supervision in all postgraduate degrees.
Course options
Cinema Studies will introduce you to a rich diversity of film styles, movements and directors. You will also learn about important developments in film language, history and theory.
The degree contains a number of听courses which you have to take in order to major in Cinema Studies, but also includes a selection of classes that are cross-coded with other programmes (English,听Chinese,听Aotahi: School of M膩ori and Indigenous Studies,听Cultural Studies,听European Languages and Cultures). This means that you can take those courses as Cinema Studies papers. For this reason, Cinema Studies classes complement study in other Arts subjects.
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Why study Cinema Studies?
All students with a love for the movies will find Cinema Studies an interesting academic subject. You don't have to be enrolled in a BA to take a Cinema Studies class.听Cinema Studies classes will introduce you to a rich diversity of film styles, movements and directors. You will also learn about important developments in film language, history and theory.听
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Planning a major in Cinema Studies
100-level courses provide an introduction to the field of Cinema Studies in an accessible and informative manner. The classes will appeal to students seeking a general interest course but will also lay the foundation for those who plan to major or minor in the subject. There are no special entry requirements although previous classes in Media Studies at high school may be helpful.
If you are planning to major in the subject, you will need a minimum of 30 points of CINE at 100 level. We currently offer several 100-level courses. Check courses听for detailed information about each class.
Plan your degree according to the following requirements:
100 level
Required: 30 points of 100 level Cinema Studies
Recommended: 45 points of 100 level Cinema Studies
200 level
Required: At least 45 points of 200 level Cinema Studies.
300 level
Required: At least 60 points of 300 level Cinema Studies (Not Including ARTS 395)
Students intending to complete the BA with a major in Cinema Studies must be credited with at least 135 points in Cinema Studies (not including ARTS395), which must include at least 105 points at 200 level or above.听
We recommend that you take the following courses:
CINE101 and听CINE102 or CINE104, then CINE201, CINE202, or CINE203,听CINE213, CINE214, CINE215听(at least 45 points of 200-level CINE courses), then CINE301听AND CINE302.
Further information about Regulations for the听Degree of Bachelor of Arts听(BA).
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Minor in Cinema Studies
Students intending to complete the BA with a minor in Cinema Studies must be credited with at least 75 points in Cinema Studies (not including ARTS395), which must include at least 45 points at 200 level or above.
Recommended pathways for students minoring in Cinema Studies:
CINE101, CINE102, or CINE104 (30 points); then CINE201, CINE202, or CINE203 (at least 45 points of 200-level CINE courses or above).
Or alternately, CINE201, CINE202, CINE 203听or CINE213, CINE214, CINE215 AND CINE 301 or CINE302 (at least 45 points of 200-level CINE courses or above).
Our Honours courses are listed with those of English, but a Cinema Studies Honours year focuses on film topics and has specific prerequisites.
Cinema Studies Honours students study ENGL444, ENGL445 and ENGL480 (Research Essay) and one optional course. ENGL442 (Directed Reading and Writing) is frequently chosen as a fourth Honours course because it allows Cinema Studies students to work collaboratively on film-based projects.听
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ENGL444: Women/Theory/Film
In this course Mary Wiles considers the changing place of women in film - as spectacle and cultural commodity, as spectators and consumers, but also as creators and theorists.
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ENGL 445: The Essay Film
Taught by Alan Wright, this course focuses on a hybrid genre which troubles conventional distinctions between documentary and fiction, as the model for a new mode of critical practice.听
If you have questions or would just to discuss your options as a CINE postgrad student,听contact us.
Masters Scholarship听recipients
Rufus Manji
Rufus Manji, recipient of a UC Masters Scholarship, completed an MA in Cinema Studies in 2020. His thesis, 鈥淎nime鈥檚 Atomic Legacy: Takashi Murakami, Miyazaki, Anno, and the negotiation of Japanese War Memory,鈥 examines the role of postwar psychological trauma in the animated works of Hayao Miyazaki and Hideaki Anno, through the lens of neo-pop artist Takashi Murakami鈥檚 postmodern Superflat theory.
Mathew Daniel听
Mat Daniel, recipient of a听UC Masters Scholarship, completed an MA in Cinema Studies in 2016. His thesis, 鈥淩ethinking Generic Representations of History: The Place of Subjective Perspective in Terrence Malick鈥檚 Films,鈥 examines the role of gender and genre in听Badlands听(1973),听The Thin Red Line听(1978),听The New World听(2005), and听The Tree of Life听(2011).
Luke Towart
Luke Towart, recipient of a听UC Masters Scholarship, completed his Master鈥檚 Degree in Cinema Studies in 2014. His thesis, 鈥淛ohn Cassavetes: At the Limit of Performance,鈥 examines the director鈥檚 unique approach to performance in听Shadows听(1959),听Faces听(1968) and听A Woman Under the Influence听(1974).
See the guidelines for study towards a听Master of Arts听or contact the听Cinema Studies Programme Coordinator听for more information.
See UC's guidelines for more information about听PhD study in the Arts听or contact the听Cinema Studies Programme Coordinator.
A number of scholarships are available to students of Cinema Studies.
See the Scholarships database for the full list of听.
Entry requirements
All students with a love of movies will find Cinema Studies interesting. There are no entry requirements at 100 and 200-level, although media studies at secondary school may be helpful. Courses in Cinema Studies complement study in other related Arts subjects.
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More information
See the Course Information website for more details about studying听Cinema Studies.
