Documentary Storymaking Minor

Explore the world through film and learn how to communicate and tell stories visually.

Lehigh’s Documentary Storymaking Minor gives students a unique opportunity to engage in the art of visual storytelling through the lens of documentary filmmaking. This interdisciplinary program blends theory with practice, preparing students to explore film traditions across the world, interpret visual narratives, and produce their own projects.

This minor offers students opportunities to think critically and creatively about film, television, and other forms of visual culture. Film students can also take film production courses as their electives to build up their own portfolios, preparing them for documentary storymaking after their studies.

Key Benefits

• Diverse Coursework: Spanning film history, documentary ethics, and global cinema, the minor grounds students in the critical study of film and visual culture.
• Portfolio Building: Our film production electives encourage students to build professional portfolios of their filmic projects. Students often go on to work in film, television, advertising and marketing after graduation.
• Cross-Registration at Multiple Institutions: Through partnerships with Lafayette College and Muhlenberg College, students can also take courses in documentary filmmaking at these participating institutions for credit toward the minor.

Coursework

Any undergraduate student at Lehigh University can declare this minor. Some courses may require instructor permission.

The minor will consist of four courses (15-16 credits) and will include FILM 001 Introduction to Film, a course on non-English-language film, and two electives, one of which may be a course in the production of visual images or film, and one of which must be at the 300- or 400- level.

Documentary Storymaking Degree Contact

Vera Stegmann, Director of Film and Documentary Studies Program: vss@lehigh.edu