MA Film & Media Studies Curriculum

Students in the MA Film & Media Studies program complete a minimum of 24 points of graduate level course work (4000 – 9000 level) within either 1 academic year (full-time students) or 2 academic years (part-time students). Upon completion of the required course work for one of the tracks of study, students enroll for one additional semester of Extended Residence to work on a thesis project under the supervision of faculty. Students must complete all course and thesis requirements in no more than three semesters (full-time) or five semesters (part-time). Note: Students in the MA Program in Film Studies are not eligible to enroll in MFA Directing, Screen/TV Writing or film production classes.

In the Extended Residency (thesis) semester (fall only) students enroll for 6 additional points of course work associated with their thesis project (FILM AF 8900 Thesis Prep Seminar and FILM AF9700 Graduate Research Thesis) and do not take other academic courses. In these classes, students complete a 50 to 60-page written work of original scholarship on a topic chosen in consultation with the faculty.  

Students in the MA Film & Media Studies program can choose between two different tracks of study for their 24 credits of academic course work.  Students must choose a track for purposes of graduation certification and complete the required courses for that track.  Some students may opt to complete the requirements for both tracks, although only one is required.  Any deviation from these tracks or course substitutions must be discussed with and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies for the MA Program.

Cinema/Media Track — 4 required courses

  1. Film AF5700 Cinema/Media Historiography 
  2. Film AF5710 Pro-Seminar in Film Theory
  3. Film AF8900 Thesis Prep Seminar (fall only)
  4. Film AF9700 Graduate Thesis Research (fall only)

Emergent Media Track — 5 required courses

  1. Film GU4951 New Media Art
  2. Film AF5720 Media Archaeology
  3. Film AF8900 Thesis Prep Seminar (fall only)
  4. Film AF9700 Graduate Thesis Research (fall only)

Including the required courses for each track, the student must complete at least 24 graduate credits of approved classes prior to beginning the thesis semester.  The thesis semester is offered only in the fall term and students will complete the final 6 academic credits for their degree by researching and writing a thesis paper.