How to Find Courses, Events, and Program Information for UW Cinema & Media Studies

The UW Department of Cinema & Media Studies (cinema.washington.edu) organizes its public information around a few main navigation areas: Programs & Courses, Courses, Events Calendar, Faculty Directory, and Alumni & Friends. If you want current course listings, upcoming events, or degree requirements, start with those sections rather than searching the site broadly. The department offers BA degrees in Cinema & Media Studies and Comparative Literature, a Comparative Literature minor, MA and PhD degrees in Cinema & Media Studies, and a graduate certificate in the field.

Courses and featured courses

The site maintains a dedicated Courses entry in its main menu, which is the place to look for what is being taught. The homepage also highlights a Featured Course, giving a sample of the department's range.

For example, the featured listing CMS 320 A: Indian Cinema (Autumn 2026) is described as an introduction to storytelling styles in contemporary Indian cinema, from commercial big-budget films to art and documentary cinema. This tells you two useful things:

• Course pages can carry a specific quarter and section (here, "A" for Autumn 2026), so check the term before assuming a course is running now.
• The department's course range extends beyond Hollywood or U.S. media into world cinema topics.

If you need the full list rather than the featured item, use the Courses link in the main menu; the homepage only surfaces one example at a time.

Degree programs and graduate study

Program information is grouped under Programs & Courses, which lists the department's credentials:

The homepage's Graduate Studies section describes the scope as exploring world cinema, literature, television, and more, with a "View Programs" link leading to the MA, PhD, and certificate pages. Prospective graduate students should treat that link as the entry point for requirements and application details, since the homepage itself only summarizes.

Events and department news

The Events Calendar is a main-menu item, so upcoming screenings, talks, and department events are kept separate from course listings. The homepage also rotates through Student Spotlights, Faculty Spotlights, and Why Major? panels, which function as news and recruitment content rather than schedules.

One recurring news feature is the Faculty Bookshelf, which lists recent publications. Examples shown on the homepage include:

• Jennifer M. Bean and Xin Peng, Feminist Media Histories, Vol. 7 No. 1 (Winter 2021), No. 2 (Spring 2021), and No. 3 (Summer 2021)
• Jennifer M. Bean and Cain Miller, Feminist Media Histories, Vol. 11 No. 4 (Fall 2025)
• Naomi Sokoloff, What We Talk about When We Talk about Hebrew (and What It Means to Americans)
• José Alaniz, Comics of the New Europe: Reflections and Intersections

A "View more research" link extends this list. This is the fastest way to see what faculty in the department are publishing.

Faculty, alumni, and support

The Faculty Directory is a standalone main-menu item, and the homepage's Fantastic Faculty section notes that faculty are involved in teaching, research, and mentorship, with a link to Faculty Spotlights. For research interests specifically, the Faculty Directory plus the Faculty Bookshelf together give you names, publications, and areas of work.

Alumni & Friends is the section for graduates and supporters, useful if you are looking for ways to stay connected or give to the department.

Quick reference

• Course listings: Courses (main menu); homepage shows one Featured Course
• Degree requirements and programs: Programs & Courses
• Graduate programs: Graduate Studies → View Programs
• Events: Events Calendar
• Faculty and research: Faculty Directory; Faculty Spotlights; Faculty Bookshelf
• Alumni and giving: Alumni & Friends

The site does not publish tuition, fees, or application deadlines on the homepage, so those details will need to come from the individual program pages or the university's admissions offices.