Center for Documentary Studies

The Center for Documentary Studies offers an interdisciplinary program in the documentary arts—photography, audio, film/video, narrative writing, and other means of creative expression—that emphasizes active engagement in the world beyond the university campus. Much more than a traditional educational center, CDS encourages experiential learning in diverse environments outside the classroom, with an emphasis on the role of individual artistic expression in advancing broader societal goals. Programs range widely to include university undergraduate courses, popular summer institutes that attract students from across the country, international awards competitions, award-winning book publishing and radio programming, exhibitions of new and established artists in our own galleries, and fieldwork projects in the U.S. and abroad.