This year, 49 students are graduating from Tufts with a degree in film and media studies — 36 with a major and 13 with a minor. What is currently the largest humanities program at Tufts, interestingly, didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Branching off from a communications minor, the program was created due to a high interest in the sphere of film and media. In its first year, FMS only had six students. Now, it has over 170.
“We feel [it] is our strength that we have students who are much more well-rounded,” Tasha Oren, associate professor and director of the Film and Media Studies Program, said in an interview with the Daily. Oren expanded on this, noting that the program differs from several other institutions in that it offers an education in film and media studies within a liberal arts context. In the program, students not only learn how to make films and television but they are also taught media literacy. They learn about the history and theory behind films, as well as the cultural impact of media. Though the major is flexible, it requires that students take at least one class in theory, social science, practice and non-U.S. film and media. In this way, students gain exposure to various aspects of the industry.
FMS is still developing, however. “We’ve got more and more people who are joining us and teaching more courses,” Oren said. “We hope that we will grow even more.”
In the last few years, the program has expanded steadily. New faculty have been hired, including Denise Cummings, who specializes in Indigenous media and film, and Tufts alumnus Mat Rappaport (LA’94), who specializes in media art. Cummings has created connections with the Somerville Theatre so that students can view films there, fostering a relationship between Tufts students and the extended community. In the fall, Rappaport will be teaching a class on the media industry’s use of artificial intelligence.
“We want to make sure that we’re always teaching in a media universe that reflects what is out there,” Oren said. “We’re always trying to make sure that we’re giving students tools that are relevant to the world that they live in.”
The media landscape is ever evolving; one of the more sizable changes at the moment is the departure from mass media. With the growth of various streaming platforms and a rise in self-produced content, audiences are increasingly fragmented. Ten years ago, this may not have been an issue; now, students need to be trained to navigate such an environment. The program’s central goal is to supply students with skills that are useful to society; as the media environment develops and changes, the program will shift accordingly.
Beyond this, the program also prepares graduates for a career outside of university. According to Oren, over one-third of graduates work in media industries. Perhaps most unique to the department is its own in-house internship administrator, Leslie Goldberg, whose role is rare among academic departments on campus. Goldberg’s only job is to connect with students and help them find opportunities outside of Tufts. One of these opportunities may be through a Winternship — a program offered by FMS that supplies students with a three-week long winter internship opportunity.
“They are interns between the Christmas break and the new semester, and they get real, practical experience,” Oren said. “People actually end up in positions, either in those same companies or within the same kind of environment that they’ve interned with.” The department also assists in navigating the opportunity to ensure that students are able to get the most out of such a short experience. After graduating, the doors are wide open for FMS students; several go off to work directly within the industry, while others pursue additional schooling.
“We’ve got people who are in Hollywood … in filmmaking and television making ... production and in talent agencies,” Oren said. Some students even go off to pursue careers in entertainment law — the options are endless. But how are graduates in this department so successful? What exactly does the FMS program provide?
“[We teach a way] of thinking a lot more than tools,” Oren responded. “What we’re trying to instill in students is a habit of mind, an ability to look at something and say, ‘I can understand it because I know the history of it … [and] because I understand the ways that critics and philosophers and writers and scholars have thought about it.’”
Oren expanded on this, noting that education in film is multidimensional; skills are only so useful to the current environment. As technology advances, these skills will need to be developed as well — and that can only happen through understanding the historical and aesthetic background.
“When you come out with a Tufts education … you’re in the position to make your own job, create a job that doesn’t exist,” Oren said in reference to this year’s graduates. “The most important skill that Tufts students are learning is how to envision [their] own contribution that nobody has ever had before.”
