Discover Your Creative Community at KU


Students Filming Outside

Why Film & Media Studies?

Our students find success in many industries, not just Hollywood. We have alumni who work across the nation as CEO's, media librarians, lawyers, photographers, writers, video game executives, actors, and yes, filmmakers of all specialties.

As part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of the Arts, the KU Film & Media Studies Department blends theory with hands-on production work on set. Students can expect to gain a well-rounded skillset that goes beyond simple mechanics.

Our world-class faculty inform the community with their research as well as lending their talents through production work. Many have been recognized in the industry through publications in prominent journals and through recognition and awards in the film community.

 

Official Text

The Department of Film & Media Studies unites the inquiry of the academic with the practice and technique of the artist.  Scholars and filmmakers work and study together in an environment of mutual encouragement and collegiality.

The faculty of the Department of Film & Media Studies believe that concealed carry on campus undermines a safe living, working and learning environment. While nominally enacted in the interest of “safety,” the measure will likely only contribute to the epidemic of firearm injury and death unique to the United States. As just one recent example, a 2017 study found that firearms are now the third leading cause of mortality among children in the U.S.  One cannot think of any other public health policy solution that compounds the problem in this way.

Further, concealed carry, as mandated by statute through the Kansas State Legislature, creates an atmosphere of fear among students, faculty, staff and administrators that disproportionately targets persons of difference. The free, open and earnest discussion of ideas and social issues is central to the University’s mission to “prepare students for lives of learning and for the challenges educated citizens encounter in an increasingly complex and diverse global community.” Through this statute, discussions of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexual orientation, among others, are stifled, in and out of the classroom.

The Department of Film & Media Studies stands in solidarity with students, faculty, staff and administrators who support public safety and academic freedom and oppose concealed carry on campus.


Our Spaces

In 2017, the FMS Department moved to Summerfield Hall after a $3.6 million renovation that included a 2,700 square foot Soundstage and a state-of-the-art Recording Studio. FMS students have the opportunity to create and produce films, music, voice-overs, and more in these facilities.
Two people pose in roller skates while filming on the Soundstage.