<p>Hey, I've applied RD to Claremont McKenna (and Pomona) and am planning on majoring in Film Studies -- I know, it's pretty much the strangest thing in the world to pursue at CMC, but there's a lot about the school that appeals to me -- the pragmaticism and ambition of the student body, the political focus (I'm really into politics, too), the consortium, the size... the list goes on. Basically, I was wondering if anybody knew anything about the department. I know that it's a joint major with English, so I'd most likely be taking several production classes at Pitzer: anything about THAT would also be helpful. (I didn't want to do Media Studies because I'm interested pretty much exclusively; the other parts of that major didn't seem relevant to what I want to do.)</p>
<p>Second, I was wondering how easy it is to get into LA from Claremont. If I went I'd definitely like to do some film-related internships in the city.</p>
<p>Well I'm not a film studies major, but I did do some film studying/making in high school, and I considered the film studies major. It's not a joint major with English, it just has to be a dual major (with any other subject). At CMC, you can double major in two subjects, meaning you have to complete all the requirements for both majors, or you can dual major, meaning they waive a few requirements for each major. So you could potentially dual major in government and film studies (which would probably be a total of 13 courses or so). </p>
<p>There is no film studies department at CMC. I believe the courses for the major are taught by a few literature professors who happen to have some expertise in film. But you could definitely supplement those classes with other film classes in the media studies departments at Pitzer or Pomona. They show films on campus pretty regularly, and there's a student classic film club.</p>
<p>It takes about 45 minutes to drive into LA. Public transportation is available, but it doesn't go to every part of LA. Honestly though, it might not be the best idea to try to get a film-related internship during the school year. It would be pretty tough to balance a time-intensive job with a long commute and your classes. Getting an internship in LA over the summer on the other hand is very doable, and the career services center will probably be good at helping you find one. Something like 70% of CMC students get internships every summer.</p>