Bachelor's in Film and Digital Media Studies
Film has become a dynamic global system for production, distribution, and consumption. With the help of digital technologies, film has been joined by other new media such as video games, social media and the web in shaping the way we communicate—and profoundly changing our culture and society. These sweeping changes call for a new approach to the study, creation, and discussion of film and digital media arts. Such an approach emphasizes interdisciplinary skills, cultural diversity, technological literacy, storytelling, and sensitivity to the promotion of social justice.
Located in one of the largest media markets in the world, students can work with a variety of filmmakers and digital media producers. Screenwriters, new-media producers, and others serve as part-time faculty and help students learn the latest techniques and theory. Students are also within easy reach of media companies for internships and hands-on experience.
Loyola's interdisciplinary, 43-credit film and digital media (FDM) program focuses on the critical analysis, production, and use of film and digital media in all of its varieties, and explores the migration of communication and entertainment media across platforms, from film screens, to mobile devices, to video games. Students in FDM choose from one of three major concentrations:
- International film studies, which prepares students for further work or study in media criticism, history, and theory, curation, and related media professions;
- Film and media production, which provides students with the conceptual and practical skills for working in film, digital video, and new-media production;
- Digital Media, which gives students experience in the production and critical study of multiple new media modes, including web design, social media, information management, game design, or technology development.
In keeping with Loyola's Jesuit, Catholic values of social justice and ethical practices, the film and digital media program offers opportunities for community outreach and service-learning, and emphasizes both the practice and theory of film and digital media, striving to create thoughtful practitioners and media critics. Located at the School of Communication on Loyola’s Water Tower Campus, the program is ideally situated in downtown Chicago and in close proximity to the city’s many media production centers.