The New York State Education Department recently approved the registration of Documentary Studies and Production as a new BA degree at Ithaca College. This degree program will be housed in the Roy H. Park School of Communications and is one of the first degrees in the school to draw on courses from multiple departments, including Television-Radio, Journalism and Cinema, Photography and Media Arts.
This BA in Documentary Studies and Production presents an exciting new opportunity for students and faculty to explore all the dimensions of documentary--an exploding area internationally--across different theoretical models, departments, platforms, national and international locations, and institutional settings,” said Patricia Zimmermann, professor of cinema, photography and media arts and one of the designers of the new degree. The design team for this new degree also included Ben Crane, associate professor of television-radio; Mead Loop, associate professor of journalism; and John Scott, assistant professor of television-radio.
The new program is the only degree of its kind in the East designed specifically for undergraduates.
Students will learn theories and skills appropriate for engagement as producers, directors, cinematographers, film and video editors, news reporters, researchers, writers, photographers, and production managers, grant writers, digital designers, programmers, curators, advocates, activists, artists, and more. It also provides course work that prepares a student to pursue graduate study in a variety of areas ranging from law, business, public administration, fine arts and academic research.
Around the world, the documentary field has been steadily growing--most productions today across a variety of media platforms are nonfiction. Our interns and alumni currently work throughout the media world, for employers such as the History Channel, the Discovery Networks, HBO, PBS, Conde Nast Publications, UCLA Film & Television Archive, National Geographic, MTV, E!, Ken Burns, Current TV, and as independent producers, directors and journalists.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20090929093704452