Film and Media Studies

The Film and Media Studies Ph.D. program is dedicated to understanding film, television, and digital media texts in relation to questions of power, inequality, and difference. Students are encouraged to think critically about questions of aesthetics, production, and cultural meaning as they manifest in film, television, and digital media both past and present. Students in the Ph.D. program gain a foundation in the humanities-based discipline of Film and Media Studies while also developing innovative research projects that interrogate media in relation to race, gender/sexuality, nation, religion, ability, and other constructions of difference.

Admissions

Applications for admission are accepted in the fall quarter only. Complete applications include:

• A statement of purpose (1,200 words maximum) that describes the applicant's research interests and reasons for seeking a Ph.D. The statement of purpose should indicate how the applicant's proposed research correlates to the program's emphases and how the applicant will benefit from working with core faculty.
• A personal history statement (1,200 words maximum) that describes the applicant's educational accomplishments and goals. Applicants should communicate whether they have experienced unique or significant opportunities, challenges, and/or obstacles in the pursuit of an education. Applicants should describe the career paths they plan to pursue after graduation.
• A sample of academic writing, approximately 20 pages in length, that demonstrates original thinking and clear writing.
• Three letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty with whom the applicant has studied.
• Transcripts.
• Results of the TOEFL or IELTS exam for international applicants for whom English is not their primary language.

View the online application.

For questions about the program or the application process, please email FMSPhD@uci.edu.

Requirements

First-Year Review

Students are required to select and confirm their Primary Advisor by the end of the first year.

At the end of the spring quarter, the Film and Media Studies faculty reviews the performance and progress of each first-year student and provides written evaluation of their work. This evaluation includes an assessment of the student’s ability to complete independent research.

A positive assessment indicates that the student is making good progress.

A cautionary assessment is accompanied by a description of specific improvements that a student must make in order to advance to candidacy in the third year.

A negative overall assessment places the student on Academic Conditional Status. Faculty gives written feedback with specific areas for improvement and a timeline for future expectations of academic progress. Students who fail to demonstrate improvement may be recommended for dismissal from the program without a degree.

MA Requirements

All students apply for and are accepted into the doctoral program.

Students who enter the Ph.D. program with a prior graduate degree (M.A. or beyond) in Film and Media Studies or a related discipline may petition to waive the M.A. exam requirement in recognition of their prior degree; normatively, this is approved. In these cases, students do not complete the M.A. exam requirement nor earn a second M.A. en route to the Ph.D. Film and Media Studies faculty determine what graduate degree fields qualify as related disciplines. Students entering with an M.F.A. typically are required to complete the M.A. exam unless the Graduate Committee determines that the degree is equivalent to an M.A.

Students who have not earned an M.A. in a relevant field prior to matriculating in the Film and Media Studies Ph.D. program must earn an M.A. degree as part of the Ph.D. program. The program does not offer a stand-alone or terminal M.A., except in instances when a student does not continue in the program toward earning the Ph.D.

To earn the M.A. degree, the student must:

• Pass the M.A. Exam
• File the necessary paperwork for conferral of degree with Graduate Division.

For the M.A. exam, the student revises one seminar paper written while in the program and submits the revised paper before the start of the spring quarter in their second year of study.

The requirements for passing the M.A. exam are as follows:

• The revised paper must present a substantive and original argument;
• It must reflect substantial revision from the original paper, demonstrating additional research and/or reconceptualization and responsiveness to feedback;
• It must demonstrate a command of the relevant literature;
• It must present adequate evidence to support its claims;
• It must be clearly written in an appropriate academic style; and
• It must be formatted according to MLA or Chicago Manual of Style guidelines with proper citation and bibliography.

This paper is evaluated by a three-person M.A. committee, which consists of the student’s primary advisor as chair and two additional department faculty members appointed by the Program Director in consultation with the student and the advisor. The committee unanimously decides whether the student has passed the M.A. exam and if they are eligible to proceed toward the Ph.D., taking into holistic account the exam (revised paper) results, input from the core Film and Media Studies faculty during the First-Year Review, and the student’s progress during the second year of course work. There are four possible determinations:

• Positive: The student earns the M.A. and qualifies to continue toward the Ph.D. exams.
• Cautionary: The student earns the M.A. and qualifies to continue toward the Ph.D. exams but with areas for improvement communicated in writing to the student and advisor. This occurs when the student’s holistic performance and promise outweigh a borderline exam or vice versa.
• M.A. Only: The student earns the M.A. but is disqualified from continuing toward the Ph.D. exams. This occurs when the student’s holistic performance and promise do not outweigh a borderline exam.
• Negative: The exam is unacceptable. The student does not earn the M.A. and is disqualified from continuing toward the Ph.D. exams.

Students may revise and resubmit the M.A. paper one additional time in case of a failure to pass.

Language Requirement

Students will consult with the program director and their principal advisor(s) to determine whether they must demonstrate or develop proficiency in a second language for their research.1 If the program director and principal advisor(s) determine that proficiency in a second language is required, the student must demonstrate this proficiency prior to advancing to candidacy. Students will consult the FMS Graduate Handbook and their advisor(s) to determine how to demonstrate proficiency through translation exam, coursework, or an Exemption Exam offered by UCI's Academic Testing Center. In the event a student does not need a second language to conduct doctoral research, they are not required to demonstrate proficiency in a second language.

1 Examples of when a second language would likely be necessary include Spanish proficiency for the study of Spanish-language media, Mandarin proficiency for study of media in Mainland China, or the relevant language for a project on non-English language transnational/diasporic media.

Preliminary Examination

By the end of their second year, students work with their advisor to plan their Examination fields for the following year. Students establish a three-person Exam Committee, chaired by their advisor, with two additional members who must be core faculty in the Department of Film and Media Studies.

The student receives one standardized bibliography, selects one specialty field bibliography, and develops one dissertation bibliography on which they are examined. In the spring quarter of the second year and fall and winter quarters of the third year, the student will enroll in FLM&MDA 296 and complete reading the works on these three bibliographies. The three exam areas should serve to help the student define general areas of specialized competence that aid them in establishing a broad base for the dissertation and in developing college-level courses. Students may not enroll in FLM&MDA 296 until spring quarter of the second year.

The Preliminary Examination is administered by the Exam Committee and includes both a written and an oral component. The written component consists of at least one essay for each exam bibliography for which the student has completed readings. The written component of the standardized and field exams is offered as two remote exams to be completed during one 5-day period; questions and responses are delivered electronically. These two exams are followed by an oral exam covering the standardized and field bibliographies. The third exam will take the form of a Literature Review essay based on the dissertation bibliography. The oral component of this exam takes place in conjunction with the Prospectus Defense during the spring quarter of the student’s third year.

Dissertation Prospectus and Advancement to Ph.D. Candidacy

At the beginning of spring quarter in the second year, students establish a three-person Prospectus Committee. The Prospectus Committee is chaired by the student’s advisor and must consist of at least three faculty members, 51 percent of whom (including the chair) must be FMS Core or Affiliate faculty. The Prospectus Committee can be the same members as the Exam Committee.

The student will enroll in FLM&MDA 298 and complete a prospectus that identifies the scope, approach, and rationale for their proposed dissertation. At the end of spring quarter of the third year, the student presents an oral defense of the prospectus to the Prospectus Committee. This defense serves as the qualifying examination for advancement to Ph.D. candidacy. When the prospectus has been unanimously approved, the student is advanced to doctoral candidacy. Students should have taken their preliminary examination, defended their dissertation prospectus, and advanced to doctoral candidacy no later than the end of their third year. If a student exceeds the three-year normative time to candidacy, they must petition by spring quarter of their third year for an exception, presenting an approved plan for timely progress to candidacy.

If a student does not pass the qualifying examination, consistent with UCI policy (Academic Senate Regulation 467) the student will be allowed one repeat attempt of the examination. This repeat examination will occur during the quarter following the initial examination.

Dissertation

A final examination in the form of an oral defense of the dissertation is required for the PhD. This examination will be supervised by the Doctoral Committee and will be given just prior to the completion of the dissertation. The defense will be open to all members of the academic community. Faculty and graduate students of Film and Media Studies and the Graduate Dean will be given written notice of the date, time, and place of the examination at least five days in advance of the examination.
Time to Degree

The normative time to degree is six years (18 quarters). The first nine quarters are spent in pre-candidacy, the last 9 quarters in candidacy. Normatively, students will complete course work within the first two years and prepare for and pass the Preliminary and Prospectus Examinations in the third year, thus advancing to candidacy. The maximum time to degree is seven years.