Welcome to Film, Television, and Theatre

You love the sights and sounds of the performing arts, you are intrigued by the elusive meanings of films and plays, you are challenged to understand the many bold and subtle ways that television reflects society and changes lives. Your friends in FTT welcome you!

Imagine taking classes in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, the jewel of the south side of campus. For most students, it is a place of entertainment and enrichment; for you, as a major concentrating in film, television or theatre, it’s your home-away-from home.

Thanks to the hands-on oriented learning offered by the faculty, FTT majors experience the arts up-front and personal. This means getting involved in a professor’s current research, traveling with a class to performances in Chicago and beyond, directing, filming, acting, painting flats, rigging lights, and writing term papers on The Simpsons. It means seriously reflecting on the ethical and spiritual dimensions of the arts and the responsibilities of artists in society. It means experiencing the thrill and dread of screening your independent film before hundreds of total strangers in the ND Student Film Festival. It means communicating with others about the arts with knowledge and confidence.

FTT offers one of the most unusual academic opportunities anywhere. An external review praised the seamless integration of critical studies and production coursework. The curriculum provides the intellectual breadth and rigor that one would expect in any humanities major alongside courses that teach the practical skills of film, video and theatre production. We actively encourage students to consider FTT as a component of a double major. Who says that accounting and acting don’t mix? Perhaps this is why the department hosts one of the most diverse and lively combinations of students in the College of Arts and Letters.

The faculty of FTT are professionals at the top of their game. We are dedicated to putting students first. Our goal is to provide majors with the skill sets they need to achieve their personal learning and career goals. The faculty includes teaching award winners, recipients of major prizes and academic honors, and participants in major conferences, festivals and international productions. Ask any major: Expect to be pushed.

Film, Television, and Theatre will stick with you. Our departmental alumni listserv keeps hundreds of our graduates in touch. The professional group iNDustry Alliance is a 200-strong association of film and media alumni who meet annually on campus and elsewhere to share stories, contacts, goodwill and libations. Our recent graduates are pursuing graduate degrees at top schools in drama, film and television studies and film/video production. They are working in media industries as well as affiliated areas such as law, business and non-profit arts administration.

Interested? Explore our pages. We are ready, by phone or e-mail, to answer your questions, discuss the department, explain the major requirements. Welcome you to the South Side.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The primary goals of the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre are to inspire intellectual inquiry and nurture creativity.

We offer both a scholarly and a creative context for the general liberal arts student at Notre Dame as well as those students seeking intensive preparation for advanced study in these fields.

The hands-on nature of our curriculum, coupled with a very high degree of student-faculty interaction, provides students with a singular educational opportunity at a university known for its teaching excellence.

At a Glance

As of July 1, 2011, Jim Collins assumed the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre Chair position. He is a winner of the 2010 Sheedy Excellence in Teaching Award.

187 Total Number of Majors
7:1 Student to Faculty ratio

Partners

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center  |  Shakespeare at Notre Dame  |  Snite Museum