Priorities:Pepperdine University Student Priorities

Overview

Coming soon: Your Video (Session 5)

Strategy #1 Collaboration Between Departments and Campuses

Something that everyone at Pepperdine can agree upon is the lack of collaboration in academics. It seems as though every department and campus (along with their resources) is isolated from the others. There are many ways different ways one can address and tackle this problem. But in light of our new Institute for Entertainment, Media, and Culture (IEMC), along with our small film program, UIF candiadtes Keeyana Kian and Moises Barba knew which direction they wanted to go in.

As film students, filmmakers, and representatives of the IEMC Innovation Catalyst Team, we wanted to utilize resources from the undergraduate and graduate schools, the business school, and the law school to completely reinnovate the film program at our school. While certainly promising with its many incredibly talented students, it is still not quite on par with the programs of other universities in the greater Los Angeles area. So for our prototype, we decided to create a theoretical dream major, Cinematic Arts, and its would-be curriculm. 

To begin, we looked at Pepperdine's exisiting undergraduate film programs, Film Studies and Media Production, and pulled all the courses with thought were beneficial to film students. Next, we looked at the MFA Film Program, and added courses that we thought were essential to an undergraduate's education. Afterwards, we perused through course catalogs for the business and law schools. We were able to find invaluable courses in entertainment law/intellectual property from the law school. The business school, unfortunately, doesn't offer many promising courses for film students...yet. 

Our prototype can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zevTEARG82uoHXz1bjjHQQRPmaHkb0BMi-EPuOCt-RQ/edit?usp=sharing 

After we had drafted our prototype/proposal for the major, we met with three faculty stakeholders, two of which were Media Production professors. We also conducted a focus group comprised of current Film Studies and Media Production students. The feedback we got from both sides was invaluable, and really helped outline our next steps, which are summarized in the milestones below.

Milestones/ Target Dates:

- 2/26/17: Collaborate with business school UIF Candidates (Charchil and Stephen) to come up with a potential course/courses that would benefit both film students and MBAs looking to get into the entertainment industry.

- 3/26/17: Create sequences so that film students may select an emphasis/specialty within the program by their junior year.

- 4/26/17: Come up with new and innovative film courses unique to Pepperdine that would distinguish it from other film programs

- 4/26/17: Present updated proposal to faculty stakeholders, students.

- 9/26/17: Complete the recommened adjustments by stakeholders, and present the updated proposal to them once more.

- 10/28/17: Present completed proposal to the Executive Board of IEMC, with stakeholders' support.

- 11/28/17: Make any adjustments needed, and either present to faculty stakeholders, or, if ready, present to Seaver Undergraduate Academic Council.

Strategy #4: Foster Greater Student Mentorship

Intercampus Real World Career Mentorship Program 

• Two students from each the business school, law school and undergraduate school are put in groups to discuss, learn about and simulate real world entertainment/media career projects, sponsored by a collaboration of each school’s career center.
• Film industry example
  • A group has an interest in working in the film industry (i.e. 2 undergrad media production/film studies majors, 2 law students with interest in the film industry, and 2 business school students with interest in finance/marketing for films)
  • They receive training on group dynamics and how the film industry works then come up with a project to work on. This group decides they want to work on creating/producing/submitting a short film for a festival.
  • They strive towards this collective goal with their specific expertise and are coached by alumni mentors through each school’s alumni network, professors and the on-campus industry specialists.
• The overall goal of the program is to serve as a hands on experience for all areas of a production/project for a multi-disciplinary team. 
  
  

Related Links

Spring 2017 UIF:

Kelly Rodriguez

Keeyana Kian

Stephen Baillet

Charchil Shah

Tracy Smith

Moises Barba

Aundene Szmolyan