Undergraduate Minor

To initiate your declaration of the PMA Minor, please fill out and submit the online PMA Minor form. Your PMA Minor form will be reviewed by the PMA Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) and the Undergraduate Course Coordinator, and you will receive a system generated email informing you of PMA department approval. Please note that the review process can take up to two weeks. If you have any questions or concerns about your PMA minor, please contact our Director of Undergraduate Studies at pma-dus@cornell.edu. 

Read the PMA Undergraduate Guide for additional information.

The Department of Performing and Media Arts offers four undergraduate minors: Performing and Media Arts, Dance, Film and Theatre. In addition, the Department administers the interdisciplinary Media Studies minor. 

Minors in Performing and Media Arts, Dance, Film, Theatre

Requirements for the minors are flexible yet ensure that students understand fundamental elements in their areas of interest. Courses explore history, theory, and criticism in combination with performance, authorship, design and technology.

Through their involvements in PMA, students will develop the following:

• The capacity to engage aesthetic categories and develop language for critical discussion
• Creative and critical skills in performance and media
• Understanding by study and through experience the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of creative work
• Understanding how creative work is made
• A deepened historical knowledge of inter-cultural traditions on a global scale

• Fulfill the requirements for the desired minor listed below. 
• Pass all courses with a letter grade of C or higher. 
• No S-U grades are accepted unless there is no letter grade option.
• First-year Writing Seminars do not count for the minor.
• All credit toward the minor must be from PMA courses taken at Cornell, or from PMA courses taken with Cornell-affiliated programs (such as Cornell-in-Washington). Courses taken through Study Abroad programs, other than those directly affiliated with Cornell (such as Cornell-in-Rome), cannot be used toward the minor.
• Minor must be declared before week three of the final semester of enrollment at Cornell. Students should declare as early as possible to gain the appropriate advising to fulfill the minor.
• Credits earned from Production Labs can only be used to fulfill the Production Lab requirement.

Performing and Media Arts Minor 

• One of three global studies courses: PMA 3550 - Global Cinema and Media or PMA 3750 - Global Theater and Performance or PMA 3226 - Global Dance and Decolonizing Movement. 

• PMA 2100 - Introduction to Performing and Media Arts
• One PMA course in the area designated by the Design rubric 
• One PMA course in the area designated by the Creative Authorship rubric 
• One PMA course in the area designated by the Embodied Performance rubric 
• One Production Laboratory course of either PMA 1410 or PMA 1610

Dance Minor 

• PMA 2300 - Dance Composition
• PMA 3226 - Global Dance and Decolonizing Movement
• Three additional courses focused on dance, excluding Production Laboratory courses
• One Production Laboratory course of either PMA 1410 or PMA 1610

Film Minor 

• PMA 3550 – Global Cinema and Media or PMA 3551 – Global Cinema II (note PMA 3551 offered only before 2024)
• PMA 3531 – Screenwriting I, or PMA 3532 – Screenwriting in LA, or PMA 3570 – Film and Video Production 1, or PMA 3510 – Documentary Production 1, or PMA 3571 – Documentary Filmmaking 
• Three additional PMA courses focused on film, excluding Production Laboratory courses 
• One two-credit Production Laboratory course of either PMA 1410 or 1610 

Theatre Minor 

• PMA 3750 – Global Theatre and Performance or PMA 3751 – Global Stages II (note PMA 3751 only offered before Fall 2024)
• PMA 2800 – Introduction to Acting, or any PMA course in Design (DE)
• Three additional PMA courses focused on Theatre, excluding Production Laboratory courses 
• One two-credit Production Laboratory course of either PMA 1410 or 1610 

Ready to declare?

Step 1. Contact the PMA DUS for an initial minor advising appointment: PMA-DUS@cornell.edu

Step 2. Meet with the Undergrad/Grad Field Representative to complete the formal declaration of the minor.

Once we have you in the Cornell enrollment system as an official minor in PMA, you’ll be all set to enroll in PMA classes and have them count toward your degree.

Please note that we are not able to process any new minors during the pre-enrollment periods.

After you declare, if you have follow-up questions about whether a specific class counts toward the minor requirements, or to confirm the satisfactory completion of all minor requirements before graduation, contact the Undergrad/Grad Field Representative, Donna Miller (dm246@cornell.edu).

Visit the Prospective Students section for helpful information as you explore Cornell for your undergraduate education. You can also browse our Frequently Asked Questions.

We do not grant transfer credit for any of the PMA minors. All requirements for the minors must be fulfilled with PMA courses taken at Cornell or through Cornell-affiliated programs (e.g., Cornell-in-Washington, Cornell-in-Rome).

See more information for transfer students.

The interdisciplinary minor in Media Studies draws on courses from many departments. Two core classes, Thinking Media (COML 2701, ENGL 2703, GERST 2703, MUSIC 2703, PMA 2703) and Making Media, are required, as is a one-credit Media Studies Minor Colloquium (PMA 2000). Students take three additional Media Studies courses at the 2000 level or above. You can find more information about the minor, and information about what courses count toward the Media Studies minor on the Media Studies website. If you have questions or want to declare the minor, please contact the Media Studies DUS for an initial minor advising appointment: Jeremy Braddock (braddock@cornell.edu)