Careers

When you graduate from UVM’s Film and Television (FTS) program, located with the College of Arts and Sciences, you will have the skills required to make considered aesthetic choices while working on video projects. You will know how to use video and audio equipment thoughtfully, with an idea in mind when you set up your shots. You will also understand the implications of both image and sound.

Group of people holding script and shooting a film

Two people working at a light table, examining and preparing film negatives in a photography workspace.

Person looking through the viewfinder of a vintage film camera.

What Can You Do with a Liberal Arts Degree with a Major in Film and Television Studies?

Combining critical analysis, creative practice, and historical context, the Film and Television Studies major equips students with the skills to interpret, create, and critique media in a rapidly evolving industry. Graduates are prepared for dynamic careers in film, television, journalism, and more.

Past UVM FTS majors have gone on to work in careers such as:

Corporate video production
Public video production
Independent video production
Local news production
Independent film production
Stand-up comedy
Acting
Screenwriting
Audio storytelling

Person in winter gear adjusting a camera on a tripod in a snowy mountain landscape.

What You’ll Learn

When you graduate with a Film and Television Studies major from UVM, you’ll have gained the tools you need to be successful in your career, including the top five skills employers are looking for, according to the National Association of College and Employers Job Outlook 2025.

What You’ll Learn

When you graduate with a Film and Television Studies major from UVM, you’ll have gained the tools you need to be successful in your career, including the top five skills employers are looking for, according to the National Association of College and Employers Job Outlook 2025.

UVM Film and Television Studies Students Learn the Top Skills Employers Want

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

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As a Film and Television Studies student, you must think critically about the films you watch and use this thinking as a basis for making your own films.

Teamwork and Collaboration

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Most of our film projects require you to work together with others and understand yourself as part of a team.

Written and Oral Communication Skills

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You will give oral presentations in class and need to articulate your thoughts throughout your time in the program. This is excellent preparation for pitching projects when you become a professional.

Professionalism and a Strong Work Ethic

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Our courses are intellectually demanding and require you to engage with difficult thinkers and filmmakers. In this way, your own future work will reflect the dedication needed to earn your degree.

Initiative

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We encourage each student to obtain an internship and do an independent study with our professors so you can showcase your ability to work on your own and establish your own schedule.

Alumni Spotlights: How the Liberal Arts Shaped Their Careers

Devon White ’21

Body

Person smiling while wearing headphones and standing beside a monitor on a film set.

Lives in: Boston, MA

Major: Film and Television Studies

Why Film and Television Studies? “I found that I had a deep passion for not only film and television production but also for psychoanalytic film theory, which led me to the FTS program at UVM!”

Current position: Freelance Assistant Director/Production Assistant for film and television productions on networks including AppleTV+, HBOMax, Peacock/NBCU, FX, and AMC (previous position: News Videographer/Editor for NBC5 and Boston 25 News)

What work looks like: “As an assistant director, I am responsible for preproduction, planning, scheduling, and being the eyes and ears for the director on set, relaying all necessary information to cast and crew. As a production assistant, I work to aid the production in any way needed, from coordinating with talent to loading and unloading trucks, and everything in between.”

What she loves about it: “I am able to pursue my passion every single day alongside people who are as excited about the craft as I am.”

What she gained from a liberal arts education: “I learned how to critically analyze films, which allows me to connect on a deeper level with the productions I am a part of. I also learned crucial hands-on skills such as camera and editing techniques. In fact, the technical skills I learned allowed me to jumpstart my career as a videographer/editor at NBC5 News and then Boston 25 News, and then to take the leap into narrative film and television. I wouldn’t have been able to start my career without the techniques I learned at UVM, and thanks to the FTS program, I was able to graduate with a developed reel and a VTIFF award for Best Film under my belt. No matter what industry we’re in, though, receiving a liberal arts education helps us have a multifaceted understanding of the world and workforce that we are entering as young adults.”

Veronica Davis ’18

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Person smiling while standing in a sunlit library, surrounded by bookshelves.

Lives in: Durham, NC

Majors: Film and Television Studies, Mathematics

Why Film and Television Studies? “I’ve always had a knack for mathematics and an appreciation for its beauty and clarity, but I fell into the FTS major by accident. In my first year as an undergraduate, I took two courses—Lisa Schnell’s “Gender and the Space of Knowing” and one from Tony Magistrale on horror film. Of course, the classes were fun and interesting, but they were also serious courses that introduced me to contemporary methods in the humanities and to psychoanalytic and feminist interpretive frameworks. It was a way of thinking deeply about film, literature, and pressing political issues, but it was also a philosophical mode of engaging with my everyday life.”

Current position: Doctoral student at Duke University in the Program in Literature

What study looks like: “I’ve been lucky to have the latitude to spend much of my time reading, thinking, and writing, which is the center of my day-to-day routine. My dissertation has crystallized around early 20^th century French and anglophone literature and visual culture. Beyond my studies, I’ve also had the humbling and rewarding opportunity to spend time in the classroom teaching subjects like modernist literature, aesthetic theory, and psychoanalysis.”

What she loves about it: “It’s been a dream to spend my twenties reading and thinking, and to have had the good fortune of conversing with and learning from some brilliant people at Duke. Despite the name, the Program in Literature is a very interdisciplinary program, and it’s been quite enriching to learn from colleagues who work with other national traditions or with distinct modes of inquiry like media studies or intellectual history.”

What she gained from a liberal arts education: “Most fundamentally, it honed my capacity for careful and focused reading of both film and texts, which has not only been the bread and butter of my career as an academic, but has also made me a more curious and well-rounded person. Coming from a background in mathematics, I was a bit surprised to discover how very ordinary dimensions of experience and art, which are sometimes seen a bit pejoratively as ‘soft’ or ‘merely’ subjective, could in fact be analyzed rigorously and systematically. I only realized later how distinctive UVM FTS is in the theoretical depth and sophistication it offers to its undergraduate students, and how lucky I was to benefit from that education.

“University life provides in many ways an ideal opportunity to explore the edges of oneself, to let oneself be changed by modes of thinking and engaging with the world that one would never otherwise have encountered. That’s not to say you can’t remain wedded to a major or a course of study, but don’t squander the opportunity to transform yourself through learning and thinking broadly. The worst thing that could happen is that you’ll become a more well-rounded person!”

Meaghan Blanchard ’17

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Person wearing glasses and a white sweater, sitting on a tufted leather bench.

Lives in: Charlotte, NC

Majors: Film and Television Studies and Political Science double-major

Why Film and Television Studies? “I think storytelling is one of the greatest tools we have to express empathy. With film still being a relatively new medium in the history of storytelling, I liked the idea of understanding how people were using it to enrich that practice.”

Current position: Community Engagement and Operations Manager at The Jay Hurt Hub for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Davidson College

What work looks like: “Our facility helps support students and community members get their business ideas off the ground. I work to create opportunities for our community to interact and connect. There is great diversity in our population, from seasoned professionals to students still finding their path. I love creating opportunities for everyone to learn and get to know each other better. Additionally, I help to ensure our physical space (an old cotton mill) best supports our community’s needs.”

What she loves about it: “I love the people. I get to interact with, support, and learn about some of the most interesting people with wildly diverging interests. It makes every day look different and aids my goal of lifelong learning.”

What she gained from a liberal arts education: “Empathy. After spending my four years studying how people choose to tell stories along with how, throughout history, governments have influenced their citizens’ lives, I am able to relate to the world around me with deeper understanding and sympathy. This is a skill I have found to be crucial as I’ve navigated my professional career. Being able to relate to, read, and understand people will help anyone in a professional career. Whether you are trying to see through the lens of your customer, your coworker, your employee, or your boss, empathy will never fail to aid in your success. Having a liberal arts education widens the lens for what a successful career can look like while also enriching a person’s own values. I am very grateful to all my professors and supporters who guided me through my time at UVM and beyond. It has helped shape the person I am today.”