Minors
The Department of Radio-Television-Film offers the following minors for undergraduate students under the 2018–2020 and future catalogs:
- Minor in Media Studies,
- Minor in Digital Media, and
- Minor in Media and Entertainment Industries.
Detailed information about each minor, as well as application instructions, can be found in the tabs below.
Prior to applying, students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor in their own majors and discuss with their primary major advisor how minors fit into degree plans.
The following are University-wide rules regarding minors:
- The minor must be completed in conjunction with an undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin.
- Minors must include a minimum of six hours of upper-division coursework.
- A student may not earn a minor in the same field of study as his or her major.
- At least nine of the hours required for the minor must include coursework not used to satisfy the requirements of the student’s major; this includes courses in non-major departments that are cross-listed with courses offered within the student’s major department. However, courses in the minor may fulfill other degree requirements such as general education requirements or required elective hours.
- Transcript recognition is awarded at the time of undergraduate degree completion.
Questions about RTF minor requirements, rules, and procedures can be directed to Tessandra Lancaster.
Media Studies Minor
With the Media Studies minor, students will gain the analytical tools necessary for critical analysis of film, television, and digital media forms within the broader intellectual framework of the humanities and social sciences. Students in the minor will have the opportunity to examine film, broadcasting, games, and mobile media in a range of historical, sociocultural, creative, and industrial contexts. Courses cover diverse topics including global, regional, and national perspectives on the media; authorship, genre, and ideology; representations of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class; and digital media culture, technologies, policies, and design. As a complement to a major area of study, a minor in media studies can offer deep insight into how media and society interact, and prepare students for a range of careers.
Admission
This program is open to all students under the 2018–2020 catalog who are not majoring in Radio-Television-Film and have a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.
Acceptance into the minor does not come with preference or guarantee of a seat in any RTF course.
Application Steps
- Step 1: Apply for the Media Studies minor here: Media Studies Minor
- Step 2: Select “RTF Radio-Television-Film" in the drop-down menu, and then "Media Studies.”
- Step 3: Begin taking your minor courses. (You do not have to be accepted to the Media Studies minor to take the courses, and any courses taken before applying will be applied once the application is complete.)
Requirements/Rules
The minor requires fifteen hours of coursework, with at least six hours being upper-division and at least nine hours completed in residence.
All courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless the course is only offered on a credit/no credit basis. Only courses with a C- or better will be counted toward the minor.
Students must fulfill the following requirements*:
1. Three hours from the following (offered every fall and spring semester):
- RTF 306 – Introduction to World Cinema History
- RTF 307 – Media and Society
- RTF 308– Development of Film and Media
2. Six hours from the following:
- RTF 321C – History of American Television (fall semester)
- RTF 321D – Film History to 1960 (fall semester)
- RTF 322D – Film History 1960 to Present (spring semester)
- RTF 323C – Screening Race (fall semester)
- RTF 324C – Introduction to Global Media (fall semester)
- RTF 326C – Technological Culture (fall semester)
- RTF 328C – Gender and Media Culture (spring semester)
3. Six hours from the following list:
*NOTES:
- Some courses may be restricted to only RTF majors at various points of the registration access period.
- Not all courses are offered each semester.
- Most courses are offered at least once within a three-year period.
Digital Media Minor
The Digital Media minor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film provides a selection of courses that will cultivate students’ understandings and abilities in a general area recognized as digital media. The courses in this minor emphasize a) knowledge of how communication technologies have developed historically; b) their social and cultural functions and dynamics; c) how specific communication and cultural industries operate and evolve in a global environment; and d) how elements of art and design figure into expressions of and interactions with digital media. Students completing this minor will gain advanced skills in digital media domains including social media and new media industries. They will also examine ethical issues developing around the new media environment.
Admission
This program is open to all students under the 2018–2020 catalog who are not majoring in Radio-Television-Film and have a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.
Acceptance into the minor does not come with preference or guarantee of a seat in any RTF course.
Application Steps
- Step 1: Apply for the Media and Entertainment Industries minor here: Digital Media Minor
- Step 2: Select “RTF Radio-Television-Film" in the drop-down menu, and then ”Digital Media.”
- Step 3: Begin taking your minor courses. (You do not have to be accepted to the Digital Media minor to take the courses, and any courses taken before applying will be applied once the application is complete.)
Requirements/Rules
The minor requires fifteen hours of coursework, with at least nine hours being upper-division and at least nine hours completed in residence.
All courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless the course is only offered on a credit/no credit basis. Only courses with a C- or better will be counted toward the minor. Students must petition to the faculty committee in advance if they wish to substitute another internship course in place of RTF 330M.
Students must complete the following coursework*:
1. RTF 326C - Technological Culture (required of all students)
2. Three hours from Industries and Practices cluster of Digital Media courses:
- RTF 331N.1 – Information Society and Beyond
- RTF 347P – The Business of Hollywood
- RTF 359.7 – Race and Digital Media Culture
- RTF 365.9 – Media Industries and Entrepreneurship
- RTF 365.10 – Globalization and Social Media
- RTF 365C.1 – Media, Communication Law and Ethics
3. Three hours from Art and Design cluster of Digital Media Courses:
- RTF 331M – Digital Media and Design
- RTF 327C – Digital Remix Cultures
- RTF 331P.4 – Video Game Culture and Criticism
- RTF 345C – Experimental Media and the Art of Disruption
4. Three hours from Cultures and Social Change cluster of Digital Media courses:
- RTF 331P.3 – Internet Cultures
- RTF 359.5 – Social Media: Growth, Uses, and Impacts
- RTF 365D.3 – Media Literacy and Civic Engagement
5. Three additional hours in a related area:
- RTF 330M – Internship in Digital Media (must be approved in advance)
- RTF 329C – Digital Media Production (online only)
- RTF 344M.5 – Writing for Interactive Games and Media
- RTF 351C – Introduction to 2D Animation
*NOTES:
- Some courses may be restricted to only RTF majors at various points of the registration access period.
- Not all courses are offered each semester.
- Most courses are offered at least once within a three-year period.
Media and Entertainment Industries Minor
The minor in Media and Entertainment Industries will provide undergraduates with an understanding of how the media and entertainment industries operate. Students will survey the histories, structures, and contemporary work practices of the media and entertainment industries. They will learn about the activities of media organizations and how media professionals navigate a rapidly changing industrial environment. The minor is designed to prepare students for careers within and related to a range of media and entertainment industries and professions including film, television, social and mobile media, and gaming, among other possibilities. Students will be exposed to a range of employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors at a time when the media landscape is undergoing rapid transformations both nationally and internationally. The Media and Entertainment Industries minor allows students from a range of majors across UT Austin to interact in class, engage in experiential learning, enhance their employment qualifications, and generally prepare them to be leaders in these dynamically evolving industries. The minor also allows enough flexibility for students to customize their study to focus on areas of the media and entertainment industries of great interest to them.
Admission
This program is open to all students under the 2018–2020 catalog who are not majoring in Radio-Television-Film and have a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.
Acceptance into the minor does not come with preference or guarantee of a seat in any RTF course.
Application Steps
- Step 1: Apply for the Media and Entertainment Industries minor here: Media and Entertainment Industries Minor Application
- Step 2: Select “RTF Radio-Television-Film" in the drop-down menu, and then ”Media and Entertainment Industries.”
- Step 3: Begin taking your minor courses. (You do not have to be accepted to the Media and Entertainment Industries minor to take the courses, and any courses taken before applying will be applied once the application is complete.)
Requirements/Rules
The minor requires fifteen hours of coursework, with at least nine hours being upper-division and at least nine hours completed in residence.
All courses must be taken for a letter grade, unless the course is only offered on a credit/no credit basis. Only courses with a C- or better will be counted toward the minor. Courses that appear in multiple lists may only be counted once. If a student chooses to take a 6-hour internship course, only three of the hours may count toward the minor. Six hours of non-internship UTLA coursework may be counted toward the minor. Students must petition the internship coordinator in advance if they wish to substitute another internship course number in place of RTF 330N.
Students must fulfill the following requirements*:
1. RTF 303C - Introduction to Media and Entertainment Industries (required of all students)
2. Three hours from the following courses:
- RTF 330N – Internship in Media Industries
- RTF 350L – Internship course (UTLA)
- RTF 650L – Internship course (UTLA) (only three hours can count toward the minor)
- RTF 347P – The Business of Hollywood
- RTF 367K – Producing Film and Television
3. Nine hours from the following courses:
- RTF 306 – Introduction to World Cinema History
- RTF 308 – Development of Film & Media
- RTF 321C – History of American Television
- RTF 324C – Introduction to Global Media
- RTF 331K.8 – Transmedia Storytelling
- RTF 333 – Introduction to Screenwriting
- RTF 335.3 – Contemporary Television Criticism
- RTF 342S.1 – Global Hollywood
- RTF 345.7 – British Film and Television
- RTF 347C.3 – How Hollywood Works (UTLA)
- RTF 347P – The Business of Hollywood
- RTF 348.2 – Telling & Selling the Story (UTLA)
- RTF 348.3 – Inside the Music Industry (UTLA)
- RTF 348.4 – New Media and Emerging Entertainment (UTLA)
- RTF 359.3 – Asian American Media Cultures
- RTF 359S.13 – Latin American Television
- RTF 365.9 – Media Industries and Entrepreneurship
- RTF 365C.1 – Media, Communication Law, and Ethics
- RTF 367K – Producing Film and Television
- RTF 377H.1 – Media & Popular Culture
*NOTES:
- Some courses may be restricted to only RTF majors at various points of the registration access period.
- Not all courses are offered each semester.
- Most courses are offered at least once within a three-year period.
