Ph.D. in Cinema Studies

The Ph.D. curriculum draws on the methods of a number of disciplines, including art history, cultural studies, American studies, psychoanalytic theory, and philosophy. It involves intensive seminar level study in film theory, history and research methods. Graduates of the program have gone onto positions of academic leadership in the field.  The Doctor of Philosophy degree is conferred for advanced studies in which the student demonstrates outstanding original scholarship. It signifies the student can conduct independent research and has both a broad basic knowledge of all areas of his or her field and an intensive knowledge of one field in particular.

Over the first two years of the program, you’ll enroll in nine courses. In addition to the three courses listed below, a number of lectures and seminars are offered each semester in the department. Additionally, you will have the option to take up to two courses in other departments within NYU.

PhD Methodologies

In your first semester, you will meet with your cohort to examine a range of activities entailed in being in the program specifically, and in preparing for a career in cinema and media studies generally.  The course covers professional activities, research protocols, and practical exercises.

Directed Reading

In your third semester, you will complete a Directed Reading in your dissertation topic area with supervision by your anticipated dissertation advisor.

Dissertation Seminar

In your fourth semester, your cohort will come back together to prepare dissertation proposals through in-class debate, written feedback, and guests with experience in the process.  With regular presentations of work in progress, you will spend the semester finishing your dissertation proposal.

Qualifying Exams

You will be required to pass three Qualifying Examinations during your first two years in the program. The two written exams, one each in the fields of Film/Media History and Film/Culture/Media Theory, consist of 10-page essays completed over the course of a week and graded by three faculty members. The oral exam comprises questions relating to your specific area of research during your dissertation proposal, conducted and graded by three faculty members.

Read more about the Ph.D. Comprehesive Examinations.

Language Requirement

You will be expected to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language.  Six languages are accepted toward fulfilling this requirement: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.  Students for whom English is a second language may request an exemption from this requirement.  To demonstrate proficiency, you must pass an exam from either the department or the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

You will be given the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant during your second year of coursework.  Once your coursework and qualifying examinations are complete, you will be eligible to submit course proposals for adjunct teaching positions in the department.

Current students should consult the Ph.D. Handbook for rules and regulations.

FDM logo

You are here

Ph.d. in film & digital media.

Student with equipment crosses street at sunset in tripoli.

The Ph.D. program in Film and Digital Media challenges the traditionally conceived borders between creative and critical practice. The program enables potential dialogue between creative practice and theoretical knowledge as related forms of intellectual work and provides the conditions for students to realize a wide range of possible projects, including those that exist across the traditional divides of critical studies and production. Focusing on a diverse range of cultural production that includes cinema, television, video art, and Internet-based media, the Ph.D. program participants interrogate the historical, aesthetic, political, ideological, and technological aspects of these media forms across a range of international contexts, investigating their points of connection and convergence as well as their relationship to broader cultural and historical change. The program thus prepares students for intellectually informed creative practice as well as theoretical and critical production in a range of environments, not limited to traditional academic contexts. 

Integrating critical and creative practice:  

In our research and teaching, we explore the intersections of what have been, or have become, separated modes in our field of media studies: theory and practice. We seek to nurture dialogue between creative practice and scholarly inquiry as related forms of intellectual work.

Working across media: 

Our approach to media studies and media production incorporates a range of technologies and platforms, stressing their historical and intertextual relationships.

Pursuing new modes of social and political engagement: 

Media literacy, broadly defined, is an essential component of participation in our increasingly mediated lives. A new generation of media makers and media interpreters has the power to re-shape the world.

Fostering global cultural citizenship: 

Making and studying media today necessitates a global and historical perspective. By thinking and working across boundaries of nation, culture and identity, we are creating new forms of knowledge and new media forms that respect and investigate differences of race, class, gender, sexuality and nation.

Film and Digital Media Ph.D. Program Learning Outcomes

Students who earn a Ph.D. in Film and Digital Media will gain the skills, knowledge, and understanding that will enable them to:

1. Demonstrate that student’s critical study of media informs the student’s media-making practices 2. Demonstrate knowledge of video and/or digital media production 3. Demonstrate critical thinking and analytical skills appropriate doctoral work in to the discipline of film and digital media 4. Demonstrate research skills appropriate to doctoral work in the discipline of film and digital media 5. Demonstrate scholarly writing skills appropriate to doctoral work in the discipline of film and digital media

Prospective Applicants:

Candidates must have demonstrated skill in critical, theoretical and historical scholarship, and a demonstrated interest in film, television, video and new media studies. We are particularly interested in candidates with demonstrated experience in some form of artistic production, and an interest in combining creative work with critical and theoretical study. 

Candidates should also be aware that we will prioritize those who, in their application, outline a project or form of work that integrates critical and creative work together in a hybrid form that would be difficult or impossible to pursue in a either a conventional humanities program or a studio or production degree program. The Ph.D. program in Film & Digital Media is designed to provide a platform for the creation of hybrid work that would not be possible to accomplish elsewhere.

For program requirements, please review our  Program Statement

For more information about UCSC applications, consult the  Graduate Division  website and their  Admissions Pages.

  • Interesting for you
  • My settings

Go to your profile page to get personalised recommendations!

Quick links

  • Make a Gift
  • Directories

Ph.D. in Cinema and Media Studies

Contact | Introduction | Admission Requirements | Application  | Program Curriculum | Language Requirements | General Examination | Dissertation | Final Examination  

Use the above links or scroll down for program information.

Students interested in applying for Autumn 2023, please read the following

Message from our director of graduate studies .

Director of Graduate Studies: James Tweedie ( [email protected] )  Graduate Program Advisor: Yuko Mera ( [email protected] )

Introduction

Our five-year Ph.D. program concentrates on scholarship and research as preparation for teaching at the university or college level in cinema and media studies. In addition, Ph.D. students will emerge with:

  • ) an interdisciplinary understanding of the field from a humanistic perspective;
  • ) the ability to assess and implement diverse pedagogical techniques;
  • ) the ability to engage in primary research on a subject of their choosing;
  • ) a sense of the role of cinema and media in national identity, globalization, and other forms of transnationalism;
  • ) a familiarity with a range of historiographic practices in the field;
  • ) an awareness of the importance of media technologies as objects;
  • ) recognition of the crucial role of the aesthetic encounter; and
  • ) advanced reading knowledge in at least one language other than English.

The faculty  in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies have particular strengths in world cinema; silent-era film; documentary cinema; Chinese cinemas; South Asian cinemas; media technologies; television studies; new media; digital studies; race, gender, and media. For more information see our faculty list .

Admission Requirements

Master of Arts degree in Film Studies, Media Studies, or equivalent background. 

Application

Click here for information on applying to the program.

Program Curriculum

(Enrolled students should consult the graduate student handbook for detailed policies and procedures.) 

See chart below for expected progress through the program. 

Course work

Ph.D. students in Cinema and Media Studies will be trained in the general methods and issues in the field, pedagogical techniques, as well as in various subfields of the discipline. Therefore, students are required to take CMS 525 Pedagogy and CMS 520 Methods and Approaches as well as three of the four core seminars: CMS 570 Media Lab, CMS 571 National Frameworks, CMS 572 Historiography, and CMS 573 Aesthetics. An additional 25 credits of graded coursework at the 500 level are also required. 

Language Requirements

Advanced reading knowledge in one language other than English must be demonstrated before the end of the second year after entry into the program. Language competence is attested either by exams or by completion of satisfactory coursework in the language.

General Examination

The General Examination is normally taken in the Autumn quarter of the third year after enrollment. It consists of both a written and oral component, with emphasis on the latter. 

Dissertation

Dissertation topics can be chosen from a broad range of areas with the field of cinema and media studies. Any member of the graduate faculty appointed in Cinema and Media Studies may supervise a dissertation.

Final Examination

Candidates must defend their dissertation via an oral examination administered by the dissertation committee. 

Sample Progress Chart for the Ph.D.

 

CMS 525

CMS 570

Language Acquisition

CMS 520

CMS 571

Language Acquisition

CMS 572

CMS 573

Language Acquisition

Elective

Elective 

Language Acquisition

Elective 

CMS 600 

Language Acquisition

Elective

CMS 600

Language Acquisition

 

CMS 800

General Exams

CMS 800

CMS 800 

Prospectus Meeting

CMS 800

Dissertation Writing

CMS 800

Dissertation Writing

CMS 800

Dissertation Writing

CMS 800 

Dissertation Writing

CMS 800 

Dissertation Writing

CMS 800

Dissertation Defense

  •   Instagram
  •   News Feed

Film and Media Studies Program

The graduate program in film and media studies.

Inaugurated in 2002, Yale’s doctoral Program in Film and Media Studies quickly achieved the international stature it enjoys today. Building on a core faculty that had long overseen an impressive undergraduate major, the graduate program attracted incoming faculty who were eager to help shape it. The quality of the students who have applied has been superior, and the large majority of those selected have chosen to study here. Fifty students have completed, or are in the midst of, their degrees. Our alumni hold positions at a range of institutions, including universities with major graduate programs, and several have already seen their revised dissertations published as books by important presses. 

Graduate students have been able to produce such significant research thanks not least to Yale’s unparalleled resources.  Specialized librarians and curators keep our students in mind as they collect and make available the massive amounts of material held by the Sterling Memorial Library, the Haas library in the History of Art, and especially the Beinecke rare book library that houses the archives of hundreds of filmmakers, writers, and artists.  Two of America’s great art museums, The Yale University Art Gallery and the British Art Center (with buildings designed by Louis Kahn), retain a continuing relation with our graduate students.  As for primary material in our field,  the Yale Film Archive is home to a growing collection of 35mm and 16mm film prints, and is a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). The Archive also oversees a large circulating library of DVDs, Blu-rays, and VHS tapes.

A dedicated, expert projectionist oversees hundreds of screenings each year, mainly in two spaces (the auditorium of 250 in our building and a projection room holding 40 on York Street) that are equipped for 35mm, 16mm, and virtually all video formats. 4K and 2K projections are common.

Graduate students absorb and generate the energy and enthusiasm so important to dynamic film scholarship thanks to the bustling intellectual climate at the Humanities Quadrangle, where faculty and students meet continually—almost daily it seems—around screenings, lectures, conferences and workshops, some initiated by the graduate students themselves. 

By design the doctorate in Film and Media Studies at Yale is always undertaken in combination with one of ten other disciplines in the Humanities (African-American Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Literatures, English, French, German, History of Art, Italian, Slavic Languages and Literatures).   It was thought, and has proven true, that upon completing their degrees, students who are prepared for positions in both Film and Media and in another discipline would hold a particular advantage, and not merely because of the wider range of openings available to them in the job market, but because the calculated interdisciplinarity of their research makes them stand out. Thoroughly grounded in Film and Media Studies, they become expert in certain of its issues by offering authoritative perspectives and methods that derive from systematic work with the outstanding faculty and graduate students in another Yale department or program. Our students are welcomed throughout the Humanities on campus as they enliven traditional disciplines with the images, sounds, and ideas they bring from Film and Media Studies.

The faculty and its curriculum represent a full range of topics that have been at the center of Film Studies from its outset: theory, criticism, and history, plus cultural approaches to American, European, Latin American and Japanese national cinemas.  Naturally, as the field and its discipline evolve, so too do we, though always keeping ourselves based in this tradition. Transnational and global approaches bring the national cinemas, and their specialists, into productive contact. Overarching concerns involving technological, aesthetic, social and cultural issues (especially race and gender), have developed to the point that in 2015 the Program added “Media” to its name and mission. FMS, as our Program is now called for short, officially embraces images and sounds from an array of sources and channels, especially as these coexist and intertwine with cinema, something that has occurred throughout its long history.  We study that history as well as the challenge and possibilities of “new media,” which we know to be on the minds of graduate students. This keeps Yale’s Program vigilant as it looks to the past for cues about ways to best approach the future. The faculty recognizes that graduate students must be in the lead of an evolving discipline, and so encourages them to take up the most current developments and debates. The goal of the Program’s pedagogy is to provide its current students with a steady anchor in what the discipline has been, so that they can confidently and creatively participate at the highest level in its discourse and institutions, leading it forward while passing continuing its legacy.

  • Film & Media Studies

Film & Media Studies is an interdisciplinary field. Students have the option to apply for admission to one of two tracks within the program: either solely to the PhD in Film & Media Studies or to a combined program track involving one of the following disciplines: African American Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages & Literatures, English, French, German, History of Art, Italian Studies, and Slavic Languages & Literatures. In addition to acquiring a firm grounding in the methods and core material of film and media studies (and, for the combined degree track students, another discipline), all students are expected to coordinate a plan of study involving comprehensive knowledge of one or more areas of specialization.

  • Programs of Study
  • PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
  • Combined PhD
  • Film and Media Studies Program
  • Film and Media Studies

John MacKay

Director of Graduate Studies

Katherine Kowalczyk

Departmental Registrar

Dan Rehberg

Departmental Registrar (Spring 2024)

Admission Requirements

Standardized testing requirements.

GRE is not accepted.

Program-Specific Application Requirements

A writing sample is required by this program. 

English Language Requirement

TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic is required of most applicants whose native language is not English.

You may be exempt from this requirement if you have received (or will receive) an undergraduate degree from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction, and if you have studied in residence at that institution for at least three years.

Combined Degree Program Application Deadline

*The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.

Academic Information

Combined phd information.

Film & Media Studies offers a combined PhD in conjunction with several other departments and programs including: African American Studies , American Studies , Comparative Literature , English , East Asian Languages and Literatures , French , German , History of Art , Italian Studies , and Slavic Languages and Literatures .

Program Advising Guidelines

GSAS Advising Guidelines

Academic Resources

Academic calendar.

The Graduate School's academic calendar lists important dates and deadlines related to coursework, registration, financial processes, and milestone events such as graduation.

Featured Resource

Registration Information and Dates

https://registration.yale.edu/

Students must register every term in which they are enrolled in the Graduate School. Registration for a given term takes place the semester prior, and so it's important to stay on top of your academic plan. The University Registrar's Office oversees the systems that students use to register. Instructions about how to use those systems and the dates during which registration occurs can be found on their registration website.

Financial Information

Phd stipend & funding.

PhD students at Yale are normally full-funded for a minimum of five years. During that time, our students receive a twelve-month stipend to cover living expenses and a fellowship that covers the full cost of tuition and student healthcare.

  • PhD Student Funding Overview
  • Graduate Financial Aid Office
  • PhD Stipends
  • Health Award
  • Tuition and Fees

Alumni Insights

Below you will find alumni placement data for our departments and programs.

University Logo

Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies  

The Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS) at Harvard offers a graduate program in Film and Visual Studies leading to a PhD.

The Department also offers a secondary field in Film and Visual Studies for students already admitted to PhD programs in other departments in the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The study of film at Harvard functions within the multi-disciplinary examination of audio-visual experience. From Hugo Münsterberg's pathbreaking forays into the psychological reception of moving images and Rudolf Arnheim’s seminal investigations of "visual thinking" to Paul Sachs’s incorporation of film into the academic and curatorial focus of the fine arts at Harvard and Stanley Cavell’s philosophical approaches to the medium, Harvard has sustained a distinguished tradition of engaging cinema and the cultural, visual, spatial, and philosophical questions that it raises. With their emphases on experimentation in the contemporary arts and creative collaboration among practitioners and critics, the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS) and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts provide a singular and unparalleled site for advanced research in Film and Visual Studies. The program aims to foster critical understanding of the interactions between the making of and thinking about film and video, between studio art, performance, and visual culture, and between different arts and pursuits whose objects are audio-visual entities. The Carpenter Center also supports a lively research culture, including the Film and Visual Studies Colloquium and a Film and Visual Studies Workshop for advanced doctoral students, as well as lecture series and exhibitions featuring distinguished artists, filmmakers, and scholars.

Interdisciplinary in its impetus, the program draws on and consolidates course offerings in departments throughout the Faculty of Arts and Sciences which consider film and other arts in all their various countenances and investigate the place of visual arts within a variety of contexts. Graduate students may also take advantage of the significant resources of the Harvard Film Archive (HFA), which houses a vast collection of 16mm and 35mm film prints as well as rare video materials, vintage film posters, photographs, and promotional materials. The HFA furthers the artistic and academic appreciation of moving image media within the Harvard and the New England community, offering a setting where students and faculty can interact with filmmakers and artists. In early 2003, the HFA opened a new Conservation Center that allows the HFA conservator and staff to accession new films as well as to preserve its significant collections of independent, international, and silent films.

Students and faculty in Film and Visual Studies are also eligible to apply to the Harvard Film Study Center for fellowships which are awarded annually in support of original film, video, and photographic projects. Established in 1957, the Film Study Center provides production equipment, post-production facilities, technical support, and funding for nonfiction works that interpret the world through images and sounds. Among the many important films to have been produced at the Film Study Center are John Marshall's The Hunters (1956), Robert Gardner's Forest of Bliss (1985), Irene Lusztig's Reconstruction (2001), Ross McElwee's Bright Leaves (2003), Peter Galison and Robb Moss’s Secrecy (2008), Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's Sweetgrass (2009), Véréna Paravel and J.P. Sniadecki’s Foreign Parts (2011), Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s Leviathan (2013) and De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022), Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez’s Manakamana (2014), Mati Diop’s Atlantiques (2019), Ernst Karel and Veronika

Kusumaryati’s Expedition Content (2020), and Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós’ Dry Ground Burning (2022).

Images:  Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine  (2005), directed by Peter Tscherkassky, from a print in the collection of the Harvard Film Archive.

Graduate Contacts

Laura Frahm Director of Graduate Studies 

Emily Amendola Graduate Coordinator Film and Visual Studies Program (617) 495-9720 amendola [at] fas.harvard.edu  

FAQs about the Graduate Program

My native language is not english; do i have to take the an english language proficiency exam.

Adequate  command of spoken and written English  is essential to success in graduate study at Harvard. Applicants who are non-native English speakers can demonstrate English proficiency in one of three ways:

When is the application deadline for admission to the Ph.D. program in Film and Visual Studies?

December 15, 2023

Where can I obtain an admissions application?

Applications are found on the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website ( https://gsas.harvard.edu/admissions/apply ). 

Home

Film and Media Studies PhD Program banner

Welcome to the Film and Media Studies Ph.D. Program

UC Irvine’s PhD program in Film and Media Studies offers students the opportunity to study and develop original research on film, television, and digital media. Rooted in the Humanities, we focus on interpreting the histories and theories of media and their cultural contexts.

Our curriculum provides a broad foundation in Film and Media Studies while also centering questions of media and power. Our course offerings emphasize post-colonial and decolonial approaches to film and media, queer theory and histories of gender and sexuality, critical race studies, video game studies, and archival research. We seek students who are deeply invested in understanding the perspectives of those who have been pushed to the margins of media technology, industries, and texts and in exploring the relationships between culture, identity, history, and power.

Located near Los Angeles, UC Irvine offers access to the rich cultural offerings and research institutions of Southern California. Students may choose to supplement their Film and Media Studies degree with interdisciplinary graduate certificates in Asian American Studies , Chicano/Latino Studies , Critical Theory , Feminist Studies , Latin American Studies , and/or Visual Studies .

We admit all students, with BAs or MAs, directly into the PhD program in small cohorts with multi-year funding packages. We encourage prospective students to review our faculty profiles and contact the faculty members who work in their potential areas of interest before applying to learn more about their research, teaching, and advising.

Prospective students interested in the Ph.D. Program in Visual Studies, administered by the Department of Art History, can find more information here .

Meet the Film and Media Studies Faculty and learn about their research interests.

The annual admissions deadline is December 1 .

Complete applications will include:

• A Statement of Purpose (1200 words maximum) that describes your research interests and reasons for seeking a PhD. The Statement of Purpose should indicate how your proposed research correlates to our program's emphases and how you will benefit from working with specific core faculty. You can find information about faculty research interests here.  

• A Personal History Statement (1200 word maximum) that describes your educational accomplishments and goals. It is important to communicate whether you have experienced unique or significant opportunities, challenges, and/or obstacles in your pursuit of an education. Please also describe the career paths you plan to pursue after graduation.

• A sample of academic writing that demonstrates original thinking, clear writing and your preparedness to do graduate-level work in film and media studies.

• Three letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty with whom you have studied.

• Transcripts.

• Results of the TOEFL or IELTS exam for international applicants for whom English is not their primary language.

For academic questions (questions about program requirements, the application review process, funding opportunities, etc.) please contact the Graduate Director, Professor Kristen Hatch ([email protected]). 

For administrative questions (questions about how to apply, paying the application fee, application materials, etc.) please contact the Graduate Coordinator, Amy Fujitani ([email protected]). 

To apply, click here .

Course Requirements

Required Core Courses (6 courses)

FLM&MDA 285A: Film Studies: Theory and Methods.

FLM&MDA 285B: Television Studies: Theory and Methods.

FLM&MDA 285C: Digital Media and Game Studies: Theory and Methods.

FLM&MDA 286A: Film and Media Studies Historiography.

FLM&MDA 286B: Media/Power/Culture.

FLM&MDA 286C: Methods and Research Design.

Elective Courses (7 courses)

FLM&MDA 291: Graduate Seminar in Film and Media Studies. Repeatable as topics vary.

FLM&MDA 292: Graduate Seminar in Film & Media Critical Practice. Repeatable as topics vary.

FLM&MDA 295: Directed Reading. Repeatable as topics vary.

Required Practicums in Film and Media Studies (4 courses)

FLM&MDA 287: Practicum in Pedagogy.

FLM&MDA 288A: Practicum in Professionalization I.

FLM&MDA 288B: Practicum in Professionalization II.

FLM&MDA 288C: Practicum in Professionalization III.

Required Supporting Course (1 course)

FLM&MDA 298: Prospectus Writing Practicum.

Students must take three elective courses from within the Department of Film and Media Studies and two outside Film and Media Studies. The remaining two electives can be taken within or outside the department.

Students entering with a MA may petition to have up to three elective courses waived, subject to the approval of Graduate Division. Students who have had three courses waived must take two elective courses from within the Department of Film and Media Studies and one outside Film and Media Studies. The remaining elective can be taken within or outside the department.

During the third through sixth years in the program, students normally enroll in variable-unit courses as follows:

FLM&MDA 296: Reading for the Preliminary Examination.

FLM&MDA 297: Prospectus Research.

FLM&MDA 299: Dissertation Research.

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 will review the performance and progress of each first-year student and provide written evaluation of their work. This evaluation will include 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 will be 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 will place the student on Academic Conditional Status. Faculty will give 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 PhD program with a prior graduate degree (MA or beyond) in Film and Media Studies or a related discipline may petition to waive up to three electives, subject to the approval of Graduate Division. These students may also petition to waive the MA exam requirement in recognition of their prior degree; normatively, this will be approved. In these cases, students will not complete the MA exam requirement nor earn a second MA en route to the PhD. Film and Media Studies faculty will determine what graduate degree fields qualify as related disciplines. Students entering with an MFA will typically be required to complete the MA exam unless the Graduate Committee determines that the degree is equivalent to an MA.

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

In order to earn the MA degree, the student must

1. Satisfactorily complete six foundational courses (FLM&MDA 285A, FLM&MDA 285B, FLM&MDA 285C, FLM&MDA 286A, FLM&MDA 286B, and FLM&MDA 286C);

2. Satisfactorily compete FLM&MDA 287;

3. Satisfactorily complete seven electives, three of which must be within the Department of Film and Media Studies and two outside the Department of Film and Media Studies;

4. Pass the MA Exam; and

5. File the necessary paperwork for conferral of degree with Graduate Division.

For the MA exam, the student will revise one seminar paper written while in the program and submit the revised paper before the start of the Spring quarter in their second year of study. 

The requirements for passing the MA exam are as follows:

• The revised paper must present a substantial and original argument;

• It must reflect substantive 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.

Ideally, this revised paper will demonstrate promise toward publication and toward the ability to develop a dissertation; however this is not a requirement at the MA stage.

This paper will be evaluated by a 3-person MA 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 MA committee will evaluate the student’s ability to identify a suitable research project and methodology, develop an argument, respond to faculty feedback, and make revisions. The committee will respond with feedback within three weeks of receiving the paper and may ask for a second round of reasonable revisions, to be completed before the end of the term.

The committee will unanimously decide whether the student has passed the MA exam and if they are eligible to proceed toward the PhD, 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 will earn the MA degree and qualifies to continue toward the PhD exams. This should be the outcome in the majority of cases.

Cautionary: The student will earn the MA degree and qualifies to continue toward the PhD 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. This should be the outcome only in rare or extenuating circumstances.

MA Only: The student will earn the MA degree but is disqualified from continuing toward the PhD exams. This occurs when the student’s holistic performance and promise do not outweigh a borderline exam.

Negative: The exam is unacceptable. The student will not earn the MA degree and is disqualified from continuing toward the PhD exams.

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

By the end of their second year, students will work with their advisor to plan their Examination fields for the following year. No later than the end of Winter in the third year of study, students will establish a 5-person Qualifying Exam Committee, at least 51% of whose members, including the Dissertation Advisor, must be core faculty in the Department of Film and Media Studies. At least one committee member must be external to the department.

The student will receive one standardized bibliography and select two specialty field bibliographies on which they will be examined. In the Fall and Winter quarters of the third year, the student will enroll in FLM&MDA 296: Reading for the Preliminary Examination 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 will 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 all their other course requirements (with the exception of FLM&MDA 298: Prospectus Writing Practicum) have been completed.

The Qualifying Examination will be administered by the Qualifying Exam Committee and will include both a written and an oral component. The written component will consist of at least one question for each Exam bibliography for which the student has completed readings. Students will write at least one essay for each respective Exam. Faculty may offer a range of questions for each bibliography, giving the student a choice of which question(s) to answer. The written component will be offered as a series of three remote exams to be completed within three respective 24-hour periods; questions and responses will be delivered electronically. The oral component of the exam will take place in conjunction with the Prospectus Defense during the Spring quarter of the student’s third year.

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. In the event a student does not need a second language to conduct doctoral research, they will not be required to demonstrate proficiency in a second language.

If determined to be required, the language requirement may be satisfied by one of the following means:

1. By passing the Film and Media Studies translation exam. A request must be made to the Film and Media Studies Staff within the first two weeks of the quarter the student wishes to take the exam.

2. By completing, with a grade of B or better, a language course at the 2C level or equivalent, with the exception of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which must be completed at the 3C level or equivalent.

3. By attaining a proficiency level of 2C on the Russian Exemption Exam or a proficiency level of 3C on the Chinese Exemption Exam offered by UCI's Academic Testing Center.

4. By petitioning the program. Grounds for a petition might include the student’s being a native speaker in a language other than English or having completed an equivalent language requirement at a different institution. The granting of this petition will remain at the discretion of the Graduate Director, although students dissatisfied with this determination may request the petition be considered by the full faculty. Students who have completed the language requirement at a different institution will need to submit transcripts with the petition. Students will inquire with the Graduate Coordinator to complete a petition.

Dissertation Prospectus and Advancement to Ph.D. Candidacy

In the Spring of the student’s third year, the student will enroll in FLM&MDA 298: Prospectus Writing Practicum and complete a prospectus that identifies the scope, approach, and rationale for their proposed dissertation. The student will present an oral defense of the prospectus to the Qualifying Exam Committee. When the prospectus has been unanimously approved by the Qualifying Exam Committee, the student will be 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 Spring quarter of their third year. If a student will exceed the 3-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.

In the event that 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

The dissertation shall be an original research project of substantial length approved by the Doctoral Committee. Members of the student’s Doctoral Committee are noted on the PhD Form I: Advancement to Candidacy PhD Degree. The committee shall typically consist of the Doctoral Advisor and two additional faculty. At least 51% of the Doctoral Committee, including the Doctoral Advisor, must be core faculty in the Department of Film and Media Studies. The remaining members of the Doctoral Committee must satisfy Academic Senate requirements.

Dissertation Defense 

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 their course work within the first two years and prepare for and pass the Qualifying Examination and advance to candidacy in the third year. The maximum time to degree is seven years.

[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.

All students receive a five-year funding guarantee at admissions. This typically includes a combination of at least one fellowship year and multiple years of Teaching Assistantships. Additional competitive scholarships, fellowships, and summer stipends may also be available.

Students also receive tuition and fee remission, including non-resident (out-of-state or international) tuition during this period. Domestic students coming from outside of California will be expected to establish state residency during their first year; otherwise, they will need to cover their non-resident tuition fees.

TAships may be in Film and Media Studies undergraduate courses or for courses in other Departments or Programs.

Funding beyond the fifth year is not guaranteed, but TAships or other opportunities are often available.

The graduate emphasis in Film and Media Studies prepares students in any M.A., Ph.D., or M.F.A. program to analyze film and media texts, contexts, and industries. The emphasis requires that students complete four seminars, two of which are in the Film and Media Studies PhD core series (FMS 285A-C, FMS 286A-C) and two of which may be Film and Media Studies core or elective seminars (FMS 291, FMS 292, FMS 295).

Students who are currently enrolled in any MA, Ph.D., or M.F.A. program at UCI are eligible for admission to the Graduate Emphasis in Film and Media Studies.

Students who are interested in pursuing the graduate emphasis should contact the Graduate Director to indicate their interest in applying for the emphasis. Application materials include:

Application

To be considered for the Film and Media Studies Graduate Emphasis, please submit an application . 

Questions? Please contact Amy Fujitani , Graduate Coordinator.

Contact Film and Media Studies

2000 Humanities Gateway Irvine, CA 92697

See the humanities in action

Copyright © 2023 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy

Film & Media

University of California, Berkeley

About the Program

Phd in film and media.

Students in the Film and Media PhD are encouraged to situate moving images within the larger theoretical and analytical frameworks of a range of other disciplines. They integrate the traditions of history, law, literature, cultural studies, gender studies, and political theory to the newer disciplines of film studies and digital media, applying the tools of post-structuralism, psychoanalysis, new historicism, media archaeology, Frankfurt School, feminist theory, queer theory, post-colonialism, and critical race theory. Many combine their degree study with a campus designated emphasis (graduate “minor”) in New Media, in Critical Theory, or in Women, Gender and Sexuality.

Designated Emphasis in Film Studies

PhD students at Berkeley outside the Department of Film & Media may add a Designated Emphasis in Film Studies to their major fields. The designated emphasis provides curricular and research resources for students who want to concentrate on film and media research within their respective disciplines and have their work formally recognized. Designed to bring together faculty and students from different departments, the program provides a unique contliext for rigorous cross-disciplinary thinking and promotes innovative research in the theory and history of cinema and media studies.

Visit Department Website

Admission to the University

Applying for graduate admission.

Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. The Graduate Division hosts a complete list of graduate academic programs, departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website.

Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application and steps to take to apply can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;

A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and

Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.

For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page . It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here .

Where to apply?

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page .

Admission to the Designated Emphasis Program

Applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program at Berkeley and must have completed either FILM 201, offered each fall semester, or FILM 200 , taught every spring.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Course List
CodeTitleUnits
Graduate Film Theory Seminar4
Graduate Film Historiography4
Film Studies Proseminar2-4
Film Electives: Graduate seminars (4 courses)16
Outside Field Electives (2 courses) 8

Designated Emphasis Requirements

Coursework/curriculum.

A minimum of three graduate seminars in Film Studies must be taken at Berkeley. Independent study courses are not acceptable to fulfill this requirement.

Required courses

Course List
CodeTitleUnits
Graduate Film Theory Seminar4
Graduate Film Historiography4
Graduate Topics in Film (or a graduate seminar cross-listed with Film and Media)4

Qualifying Examination (QE)

A member of the Graduate Group in Film Studies must be a formal member of the PhD qualifying examination committee. If applicable, the Film Studies Graduate Group member in the student’s home department will serve in this function. A member of the Graduate Group may also serve as the outside member of the qualifying exam committee. A Film Studies topic must be included as a subject on the qualifying examination.

Dissertation

A member of the Graduate Group in Film Studies must be a formal member of the dissertation committee. The dissertation must contribute to the study of film and moving-image media.

Degree Conferral

Upon completion of these requirements and the dissertation, the student will receive a designation on their transcript to state that they have completed a “PhD in [major] with an Emphasis in Film Studies.”

Film and Media

Film 200 graduate film theory seminar 4 units.

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This seminar will examine both traditional and recent critical approaches to a systematic and historical study of film. Although we will emphasize contemporary structuralist-semiotic, psychoanalytical, and socio-critical methods, we will also study the classical debates in film theory about representation, filmic vs. literary signification, sexual difference, and the social function of images in modernism and postmodernism. Illustrations will be taken from film history from 1910 to 1980. Graduate Film Theory Seminar: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Seminar and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Film and Media/Graduate

Grading: Letter grade.

Graduate Film Theory Seminar: Read Less [-]

FILM 201 Graduate Film Historiography 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The theoretical and methodological issues raised by the recent practice of film history are the focus of this seminar. Intended primarily for first-year film studies graduate students and other students interested in starting work on film history, the seminar provides both a theoretical overview of film historiography and an introduction to the practice of historically oriented film research. The first part of the course uses both overtly historiographic readings and film history examples to raise historical questions of technology, institution-formation, exhibition, cultural history, and spectatorship. Graduate Film Historiography: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 2 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of seminar and two hours of laboratory per week.

Graduate Film Historiography: Read Less [-]

FILM 203 Film Studies Proseminar 2 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 A seminar introducing Film Studies graduate students to the field, the profession, and the faculty practicing film studies. Envisioned as a way for new students to learn what is expected of them and for more advanced students to pass through the all-important last years of their training in an atmosphere of helpful camaraderie. Introduces students to the intellectual and physical resources of the Berkeley campus as well as the Bay Area. By the end of the semester students should gain an understanding of the expectations of their performance in graduate school, have identified the major goals on the way towards getting a Ph.D., and, depending on where they are in their studies, have begun to achieve those goals. Film Studies Proseminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.

Film Studies Proseminar: Read Less [-]

FILM 204 Compact Seminar 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2010 A compact seminar features a distinguished, short-term visitor with expertise in Film and Media. During the stay, the visitor meets intensively with graduate students, who then continue to work on research topics for the remainder of the semester. The seminar meets eight times one hundred and twenty minutes, not including screening time, and a substantial (twenty-five page) research paper is required at the end of the semester. Compact Seminar: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 4 weeks - 4 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Four hours of seminar (meeting two times per week).

Compact Seminar: Read Less [-]

FILM 220 Film Curating 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2011, Fall 2006 An introduction to the theory, history, and practice of film curating taught by Pacific Film Archive curators. What do curators do? How do they decide what to show? What is the role of film archives and film exhibition in the field of film and moving image study? Using the Pacific Film Archive and its programmers as a laboratory, students will go behind-the-scenes of the Archive's curatorial, print traffic, publicity, and editorial departments and learn how to program by doing. The course will culminate in a proposal for a comprehensive film series. Film Curating: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 1-4 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Seminar and One to Four hour of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.

Film Curating: Read Less [-]

FILM 221 Film Curating Part 2 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2007 Students will develop and present a film series for presentation at the Pacific Film Archive. Possibly refining a series proposed in 220. PFA curators will have final approval of the series topic and the film/video selection. Students will locate and book all films, write program notes, do outreach, and introduce programs. Guest speakers will include local press, writers, and artists. Local film and videomakers will trace the history of a work from production through exhibition. Film Curating Part 2: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 220

Film Curating Part 2: Read Less [-]

FILM 230 Graduate Production Seminar 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2012 Intensive study of the basic elements of film and digital video production and post-production. Graduate students will develop a working knowledge of film and video making through hands-on production experience that will enable them to film and edit their own productions. They will also acquire training to teach basic video and film production classes. The uses of specific technologies and formats will be discussed in relation to aesthetic and theoretical questions. Training includes pre-production-scripting and storyboarding, production elements including image capture, and post-production strategies and aesthetics for non-linear digital editing programs. The course will also introduce problems of how to format video/films for exhibition and approaches to distribution, exhibition, and funding. Classes will consist of technical lectures and hands-on workshops, creative exercises, seminar-style discussion and critique, film screenings, assigned readings, and visiting artists and speakers. Graduate Production Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 3-5 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Lecture and Three to Five hours of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.

Graduate Production Seminar: Read Less [-]

FILM 240 Graduate Topics in Film 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Selected topics in the study of film. Graduate Topics in Film: Read More [+]

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week.

Graduate Topics in Film: Read Less [-]

FILM 297 Dissertation Writing Seminar 4 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 Students having completed doctoral qualifying examinations and now working on a dissertation or prospectus will undertake a structured process leading to the completion of a finished piece of work, in most cases a dissertation chapter. Each week, students will discuss one or more works in progress, and will have an opportunity both to learn from other students’ process and research, and to receive feedback from a diverse group on your own writing. Alongside the work of participants, students will read relevant theoretical texts and discuss research methods, questions of genre, tools for moving through blocks, and avenues for publication. Dissertation Writing Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Students must have successfully completed their doctoral qualifying examinations and advanced to candidacy

Additional Format: Three hours of seminar per week.

Dissertation Writing Seminar: Read Less [-]

FILM 298 Special Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2021, Fall 2017 Designed to allow students to do research in areas not covered by other courses. Requires regular discussions with the instructor and a final written report. Special Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Graduate standing

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 3 weeks - 5-20 hours of independent study per week 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 2-7.5 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1.5-6 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Individual conferences. Individual conferences.

Special Study: Read Less [-]

FILM 299 Directed Research 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2020 Open to graduate students who have passed their Ph.D. qualifying examinations. Directed Research: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 1.5-22.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Twelve hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. One and one-half to Twenty-two and one-half hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks.

Directed Research: Read Less [-]

FILM 375 Teaching Reading and Composition through Film & Media 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021 This course serves as introductory training for first-time R&C GSIs who are interested in incorporating moving-image materials and instructional strategies into their teaching repertoire. Teaching Reading and Composition through Film & Media: Read More [+]

Objectives & Outcomes

Course Objectives: This course exposes students to current research on teaching student writing, encourages discussion of strategies and practices for R&C courses using both readings and moving-image media in the instructional content, and creates a structured space for current GSIs to workshop and troubleshoot issues from teaching in progress during the semester’s instruction.

Student Learning Outcomes: 2. be able to create and evaluate the effectiveness of lesson plans and assignments that employ active learning strategies (e.g., discussion, collaborative problem solving, applied practice) in the study of moving-image media materials; 3. know the standards of ethical conduct by which they and their students must abide and how to provide a welcoming and respectful learning environment for a diverse student body; 4. know general and field-specific University policies and resources for teaching film and media composition courses on the Berkeley campus, such as those pertaining to students with disabilities, students in distress, student athletes, sexual harassment, academic integrity, and instructional technology; 5. know how to assess student learning and grade student work fairly, consistently, and efficiently, with special attention to the structural and cultural differences in preparation that present barriers to learning effective writing; 6. be able to use feedback and assessment tools such as mid-semester evaluations to improve teaching; 7. be able to reflect upon teaching and learning and explain why they make the choices they do as teachers in their field; 8. know how to effectively communicate and collaborate with members of a teaching team (e.g., faculty instructor, head GSI, co-instructors, fellow GSIs, Readers, course support staff). Upon completion of the course, GSIs should: 1. know effective practices, current directions, and resources for engaging students in writing about film and media;

Prerequisites: Current or upcoming first-time appointment as GSI

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two hours of seminar per week.

Subject/Course Level: Film and Media/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers

Teaching Reading and Composition through Film & Media: Read Less [-]

FILM 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018 Individual study in consultation with faculty director as preparation for degree examinations. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-6 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 1.5-11 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Six hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. One and one-half to Eleven hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks.

Subject/Course Level: Film and Media/Graduate examination preparation

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Department of film and media.

7408 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-1415

Fax: 510-642-8881

[email protected]

Film & Media Department Chair

[email protected]

Film & Media Graduate Advising Office

Graduate Student Advisor

7407 Dwinelle Hall

[email protected]

Print Options

When you print this page, you are actually printing everything within the tabs on the page you are on: this may include all the Related Courses and Faculty, in addition to the Requirements or Overview. If you just want to print information on specific tabs, you're better off downloading a PDF of the page, opening it, and then selecting the pages you really want to print.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Fully Funded PhD Programs in Cinema and Media Studies

Ivy Clad Halls at the University of Chicago PhD Programs in Cinema and Media Studies

Last updated May 10, 2022

As part of our series  How to Fully Fund Your PhD , here is a list of universities that fully fund PhD students in Cinema and Media Studies. PhD in Cinema and Media Studies Studies can lead to a variety of careers in the film industry, academia, and more.

“Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission as well as an annual stipend or salary during the entire program, which is usually 3-6 years. Funding usually comes with the expectation that students will teach or complete research in their field of study. Not all universities fully fund their doctoral students, which is why researching the financial aid offerings of many different programs, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad, is essential.

The  ProFellow database  for graduate and doctoral study also spotlights external funding opportunities for graduate school, including dissertation research, fieldwork, language study, and summer work experiences.

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines? Download the FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards !

Cornell University, PhD in Performing and Media Arts (Ithaca, New York): All PhD degree candidates are guaranteed four years of funding (including a stipend, a full-tuition fellowship, and student health insurance) and also summer support for four years.

Harvard University, PhD program in Film and Visual Studies (Cambridge, MA): Harvard guarantees full financial support to PhD students—including tuition, health fees, and basic living expenses—for a minimum of five years. This multi-year funding package includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments.

University of British Columbia (UBC), Phd in Cinema and Media Studies (Vancouver, BC, Canada): All students accepted and registered full-time in their graduate programs will be eligible for financial assistance from teaching assistantships and the Graduate Support Initiative (GSI). A funding package of at least $22,000 for each of the first four years of their Ph.D.

University of Chicago, PhD in Cinema and Media Studies (Chicago, IL): Doctoral students will be guaranteed to have funding support from the University of Chicago, external sources, or a combination of the two for the duration of their program including Full tuition coverage, Annual stipend, Fully paid individual annual health insurance premiums. Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. students who matriculate in Autumn 2022 will receive a stipend of $33,000.

University of Toronto, PhD in Cinema Studies (Toronto, ON): The Cinema Studies Institute provides base funding for all graduate students enrolled in a four-year Ph.D. program. It will include tuition and fees, and $20,000. The base funding may include income from a variety of sources including external awards.

York University, PhD in Cinema & Media Studies (Toronto, Ontario): Domestic PhD students receive more than $24,000/year along with healthcare benefits and other forms of research support. In recent years, most Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) Ph.D. students have received additional funding through awards.

Need some tips for the application process? See my article  How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors .

Also, sign up to discover and bookmark more than 1300 professional and academic fellowships in the  ProFellow database .

© Victoria Johnson 2020, all rights reserved

Related Posts:

Fully Funded PhD Programs , PhD in Cinema and Media Studies , PhD in Film Studies , PhD in Media Studies

From Footballer to Shakespearean: Looking Back On A Fulbright Experien...

An immersive summer experience in education policy: the urban leaders ..., find and win paid, competitive fellowships.

Be alerted about new fellowship calls for applications, get insider application tips, and learn about fully funded PhD and graduate programs

Fellowship Resources

Fellowship Tips

ProFellow is the go-to source for information on professional and academic fellowships, created by fellows for aspiring fellows.

©2011-2024 ProFellow, LLC. All rights reserved.

OnlineDoctorate.org

Online Doctorates in Film & Drama

Online doctorate programs found in world's top 500:.

PhD in Screen Cultures

The Screen Cultures Ph.D. program at Northwestern University is a leading doctoral program that conducts and mentors innovative research in the history, theory, and criticism of film, television, digital, and sound media. Integrating interdisciplinary opportunities both within Northwestern’s Department of Radio/Television/Film and departments across campus, the Screen Cultures program provides an exceptional humanities-based course of study.

Students work with interdisciplinary faculty across Northwestern and Chicago, including internationally known scholars in film, television, digital media, and sound studies. Students may opt to take courses from a variety of disciplines within the School of Communication and the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, including Sociology, English, German, French and Italian, Art History, Comparative Literature, Music Studies, African American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Performance Studies, Theatre, and Communication Studies.

In addition to core subjects in the history and theory of film, television, digital, and sound media, students can enroll in specialty seminars with topics such as: Feminist Media Studies; African American cinema; TV, Video, and Media Arts; Postcolonial Cinema, Screen Technologies; Cultural Theory; Media Places; Media and the Environment; the Video Essay; and numerous author and genre courses.

The program attracts visiting speakers and artists through its speaker series and colloquia, exposing students to celebrated researchers and media makers. State-of-the-art production and viewing facilities allow for screenings of the latest media and lively discussions with preeminent scholars.

The rich and rigorous experiences found within the Screen Cultures program will prepare you for the academic job market and mentor you in the art of writing for scholarly publications, while creating exciting intellectual exchange.

The University of Edinburgh home

Postgraduate study

Film Studies PhD

Awards: PhD

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Programme website: Film Studies

Discovery Day

Join us online on 21st August to learn more about postgraduate study at Edinburgh.

Find out more and register

Research profile

The PhD in Film Studies is a three-year full-time or six-year part-time degree programme, which allows you to pursue a research topic in depth and produce a thesis of approximately 80,000 words.

As well as being a highly respected qualification from a top-ranking university, a postgraduate research degree in film studies places you at the heart of a vibrant, artistic city with a flourishing film culture.

Our expert academic staff and extensive library of books, journals and films will support and inspire you in your research. There is easy access to the impressive collections of the National Library of Scotland and local cultural centres. The city is home to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, along with many other festivals, cinemas and film organisations.

We can provide supervised research on a wide range of topics, such as film aesthetics and film and philosophy, various national cinemas, the work of individual filmmakers, cinema in relation to other art forms, and film exhibition.

We will consider thematic projects and research on genres, movements and theories. For interdisciplinary topics, expertise is on hand from within the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) and beyond, including staff researching literature, anthropology, art history, music and more.

Be inspired by the range of PhD research in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

Read our pre-application guidance on writing a PhD research proposal

Training and support

The Edinburgh Film Seminar gives you access to presentations, discussions and lectures by leading film academics and film professionals.

You will also be involved in the activities of the Edinburgh Film Research Network including conferences, presentations and study days.

Student-led screenings, discussion groups, Work-in-Progress seminars and film clubs are among the numerous ways in which we will encourage you to widen your experience and develop networks that will help carry you into an academic career or employment related to film and the moving image.

On hand are all the amenities you would expect, such as computing facilities and study areas as well as a high specification digital screening room.

We have an extensive collection of film books and journals, a large number of films available to stream and an impressive DVD library.

The National Library of Scotland provides a remarkable choice of texts on film. Cultural centres located in Edinburgh, such as the Institut Francais d'Ecosse and the Italian Institute, also house DVD collections and host regular film screenings.

Entry requirements

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree and a masters degree, or their international equivalents, in a related subject. We may also consider your application if you have equivalent qualifications or experience; please check with the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) before you apply.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Read our general information on tuition fees and studying costs:

Scholarships and funding

Featured funding.

There are a number of scholarship schemes available to eligible candidates on this PhD programme, including awards from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Please be advised that many scholarships have more than one application stage, and early deadlines.

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

Further information

This programme is not currently accepting applications. Applications for the next intake usually open in October.

Start date: September 2024

Awards: PhD (36 mth FT, 72 mth PT)

Application deadlines

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.

Deadlines for applicants applying to study in 2024/25:

Round Application deadline Places awarded by
1 24 November 2023 15 December 2023
2 30 April 2024 14 June 2024

Before you formally apply for this PhD, you should look at the pre-application information and guidance on the programme website. This will help you decide if this programme is right for you and help us gain a clearer picture of what you hope to achieve in your research.

For this PhD, the pre-application guidance includes a downloadable template for completing your PhD research proposal, one of the most important aspects of your application.

You should also include a sample of written work of about 5,000 words (this can be a previous piece of work from an undergraduate or masters degree and should preferably be written in English), and supply two references.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Cinematic Arts

PhD featured image

Doctor of Philosophy in Film Studies

It is no stretch to say that the University of Iowa helped to invent Film Studies as a discipline. The first graduate thesis on film at UIowa dates all the way back to 1916, and our own program has been producing doctoral work in Film Studies since 1960 (when John Kuiper wrote a dissertation on Sergei Eisenstein in what was then called the Division of Radio, Television and Film). Today, the list of former UI graduate students reads like a “who’s who” of pioneering figures in the field: Dudley Andrew, David Bordwell, Mary Ann Doane, Aaron Gerow, Barbara Klinger, Patrice Petro, David Rodowick, Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano, and many more. Iowa alumni are also very well represented among the winners of the prestigious  Distinguished Career Award from the Society of Film and Media Studies, the highest honor our field can bestow.

Today, our PhD program offers students comprehensive training in film theory and history amidst a stimulating interdisciplinary environment in one of the country’s best small cities for the arts.  Our students also acquire the entire range of skills they need for employment in the academic job market, as well as numerous transferable skills. With guaranteed financial support, nearly all graduate students can expect to gain extensive experience in the classroom. Students also regularly organize conferences and events and work with local institutions such as FilmScene.

Our students also enjoy a rich graduate student community. Film Studies graduate students regularly collaborate with graduate students from the MFA program in Cinematic Arts, and they take seminars with other graduate students across the university.

For a good overview of what your trajectory might look like, you can consult our Graduate Student Handbook of Policies and Procedures , especially the section outlining the PhD timeline with milestones by semester. And for more information on the course requirements for the PhD degree, please consult the university’s general catalogue.

To see our recent PhD placement record, please see the Careers and Opportunities page.

For more information on graduate student funding, please our Funding page here.

If you think you might be interested in applying, it's good to start by consulting faculty profiles available on our People page. Active faculty in Film Studies include Paula Amad, Michael Cowan, Corey Creekmur, Chris Goetz, Hayley O'Malley and Andrew Owens. Departmental research strengths include  early modernist cinemas, game studies, European film, Black cinema, Queer cinema, documentary, animation, postcolonial approaches and media archaeology.

For instructions instructions, deadlines and minimal requirements for PhD applications, please consult the Graduate Admissions page.

For any further questions, you may also contact our Director of Graduate Studies, listed on the People page of this website.

PhD in Film Studies (General Catalog)

NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity working to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.

York University

PhD in Cinema & Media Studies

The PhD in Cinema & Media Studies is a dynamic program in which students pursue innovative and interdisciplinary research into the full range of sound and moving image media practices and traditions.

Each year the program selects a small group of exceptional students who will join a lively intellectual community at York University, attend innovative research events, and receive close attention from faculty supervisors.

We welcome applicants with educational backgrounds in Film Studies, Media Studies, Communications, Cultural Studies, Art History, English, Women’s Studies, Queer and Sexuality Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Education, History, Area Studies, and other disciplines that nurture theoretical, historical and critical frameworks of research in sound and moving image media, including research-creation. Two of our students are profiled in the FGS Knowledge Now series:

Michaela Pnacekova

Aaron Tucker

Domestic PHD students receive more than $24,000/year along with healthcare benefits and other forms of research support. With York University’s emphasis on access in higher education, our graduate students pay the lowest graduate tuition in Ontario.

In recent years, most Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) PhD students have received additional funding through awards like SSHRC Doctoral Awards ($20K & $35K/year), Elia Scholars Award ($30K/year), GFAD ($20K/year), OGS ($15,000/year), and Susan Crocker and John Hunkin Scholarship in the Fine Arts ($12,500/year), in part due to the Program's emphasis on strong professional development, including grant writing.

Three current CMS PhD students hold Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships ($50K/year), Canada's top award for graduate student academic and leadership excellence, Alison Humphrey , Claudia Sicondolfo and Debbie Ebanks Schlums .

Our renowned faculty , who number among Canada’s finest cinema and media studies researchers and practitioners, offer a diverse selection of courses and in-depth mentoring that provide students with a core formation in the critical, theoretical, and historical analysis of a broad range of cinema and contemporary media. Faculty members pursue wide-ranging research in cinema and cultural theory, media technologies, archives, documentary and experimental film and media, digital media (including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and film history. York University’s mission of social justice is reflected in the Program’s strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in relation to the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, Indigeneity, and ability.

Many of our faculty pursue interdisciplinary research methodologies, including research creation. Four faculty members are current or former Canada Research Chairs and all of our faculty participate actively in international and Canadian conferences and publications.

Teaching, publication, and professional academic development are key components of this minimum four-year degree. After completing course work and comprehensive exams, students write a research dissertation that makes a decisive intervention in the discipline. Several students incorporate research creation as part of their courses and dissertations.

The PhD prepares students for academic and research careers in cinema and media studies and related fields like cultural and visual studies and communications research. Students’ highly developed historical and contemporary knowledge of cinema and media work is applicable to careers in the arts, entertainment and other media-related research areas.

PhD students benefit from York University’s rich tradition of being at the vanguard of interdisciplinary research, social justice, knowledge mobilization and emerging technology, and directly participate in the many research-intensive initiatives and media labs housed in the School of Arts, Performance, Media and Design (AMPD) and across campus:

phd in film online

The Graduate Program in Film at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.

Connect with Film

Theater & Performance Studies Ph.D.

Embark on a journey that delves into cross-cultural, interdisciplinary explorations of performance, broadly defined.

phd in film online

The Ph.D. in Theater and Performance Studies program crafts world-class research that magnifies the cultural and historical significance of theater and performative acts in a global frame.

The innovative Ph.D. program in Theater and Performance Studies, produces scholars renowned for their expansive research.

Admitting 1-3 students annually, the program offers personalized mentoring, focusing on diverse dissertation projects. These projects intertwine critical theories and performance studies, with recent topics ranging from digital performance to African American music and Chicana performance.

Beyond the department, students collaborate with interdisciplinary centers like the Bunche Center for African American Studies and the Hammer Museum.

World-Class Faculty

Suk-Young Kim

Suk-Young Kim

Michelle Liu Carriger

Michelle Liu Carriger

Felipe Cervera

Felipe Cervera

Sean Metzger

Sean Metzger

Requirements.

Course Requirements

During the first six quarters (two academic years), students must complete 13 courses, including Theater 220, 216AS, 216B, and 216C, as well as nine elective seminars or tutorials (200 or 500-level). Students are regularly enrolled in one seminar within the department and one outside the department. No more than two electives may be tutorials. Electives must augment the required courses so as to constitute a definable area of study associated with the dissertation topic. The dissertation is a historical, critical, analytical, or experimental study of a theater or performance studies topic.

Foreign Language Requirement

There is no departmental foreign language requirement for the Ph.D. degree. However, specific qualifying examination areas may require students to demonstrate mastery of a language other than English before taking that qualifying examination.

Visit the UCLA Graduate Division website for a complete overview of the  Theater & Performance Studies doctoral program  requirements, and click on the “Program Requirements” tab.

United Kingdom

Online Ph.D. Degrees in United Kingdom

Film studies degrees.

Film Studies is a discipline that explores the relationship between film, culture, and society. By studying Film Studies, you'll learn to appreciate films as works of art and understand their historical and theoretical contexts. Specialisations in Film Studies include Film and Media, Cinema Arts, and Film and Television. Throughout the program, you'll develop skills in research, critical thinking, communication, and organisation. Popular courses include Film and History, Film and Form, Film and Genre, and Film and Human Experience. A Film Studies degree opens doors to careers in fields such as art, journalism, academia, and marketing.

Not sure if Film Studies is for you?

Study in United Kingdom

Universities in the UK are some of the most highly regarded in the world, and for good reasons. Some of the world's most highly regarded research takes place in British universities, which are regularly featured in international rankings. While studying in the UK, you will be able to develop in a highly multicultural environment with high chances of pursuing lucrative careers after graduation. The teaching in the UK is designed to encourage new idea generation, encouraging individual research and group cooperation, through class discussions and creative assignments.

Can you handle the weather in United Kingdom?

Distance Learning

Distance or online learning is a mode of study that allows students to study most or all of a course without attending at a campus-based institution. Distance can refer to both material and interaction. Distance learning provides access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both.

During this type of education students communicate with the faculty and other students via e-mail, electronic forums, videoconferencing, chat rooms, bulletin boards, instant messaging and other forms of computer-based interaction.

The programmes often include a online training system and tools to produce a virtual classroom. The tuition fees for distance learning vary from institution to programme to country. It is certain that the student saves expenses related to accommodation and transportation, because you can maintain your current living expenses. Distance learning is also a great solution for people that already have a job, and still want or need further education.

10  Film Studies Online Programmes in United Kingdom

Faculty of Arts

Bristol, England, United Kingdom

Faculty of Arts

Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries

Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom

Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries

London South Bank University

London, England, United Kingdom

London South Bank University

University of Birmingham

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

University of Birmingham

Go to your profile page to get personalised recommendations!

Film Studies

Useful Links

Film Studies Online

Online certificates and courses.

Jump to: Enroll | Courses

Undergraduate Certificate in Film Studies Graduate Certificate in Videographic Criticism

University of Massachusetts Undergraduate Certificate in Film Studies

Do you want to obtain a Certificate in Film Studies ? You just need 6 courses!

The Certificate Program in Film Studies offers undergraduates a comprehensive course of study in the history, criticism, theory, aesthetics, and production of the moving image in the unique context of an interdisciplinary program. Since the Film Studies Program began in 1991, our graduates have used the Certificate to compete successfully for admission to prestigious film schools and graduate programs; for positions in film and video production; for employment in film and video distribution and exhibition, digital and new media, and as editors, producers, actors and independent filmmakers. Film Studies now offers an comprehensive online version of our traditional certificate. Whether you want to complete the 18-credit certificate or take an individual courses, the online program offers you the opportunity to study with award-winning professors and professional filmmakers of national and international acclaim. You’ll find classes in general and specialized filmmaking, screenwriting, film theory, film criticism, and other subjects.

Admission and Enrollment

Admission to all classes is open, and anyone can enroll . You do not have to be a UMass Amherst student. There is no admission procedure. Students may register for courses up until the course begins, but we strongly suggest you enroll at least two weeks before the class starts because many classes fill up quickly. Matriculated UMass Amherst students should register through Spire . Non-UMass students should use this link instead . All courses are offered online through University+ Session at UMass Amherst. Classes in the online program are designed to be the online equivalent of undergraduate courses and serve diverse student needs. Students who complete the requirements listed below will earn a Certificate of Film Studies. UMass Amherst students are welcome to enroll in online classes. The online courses earned through the Certificate count fully toward the face-to-face UMass Films Studies Certificate and will satisfy the GenEds and Global Eds their in-the-classrom versions normally satisfy. Online courses are not, however, covered by regular UMass tuition. Limited financial aid applies.

Please also check our Frequently Asked Questions

Requirements for Online Certificate in Film Studies

Minimum course requirements to obtain the Certificate: 6 courses (of 3 credits or more) , in the following 5 Categories (each course counts for only one category):

Current Course Offering

Eric

Cost (Summer 2024)

The fee is $525/credit for undergraduate courses and $656/credit for graduate courses, which makes it $1,575 for a 3-credit undergraduate course. There is an additional non-refundable registration fee of $85 per term. The registration fee is paid only once each term, regardless of how many courses a student enrolls in. Summer counts as one term. Please note that CPE/UWW limits the number of credits in Summer to a maximum of 15.

The total cost for the entire Certificate depends on which courses you take and how many terms you take to complete the courses. If you were to take the 6 courses (18 credits) over 2 terms (for instance Summer and Fall), you would have to pay a total of around $9,550.

Continuing and Professional Education course costs and class information

Financial Aid

The Certificate of Film Studies is not a degree-granting program. That means that if you are not otherwise enrolled in a matriculating degree program at a university or college, you cannot use federal financial aid, such as Pell Grants, toward individual Certificate of Film Studies classes. If you are currently enrolled at UMass Amherst, including the University Without Walls program, please contact the UMass Amherst Financial Aid Office to determine your eligibility. If you are a student at another university, please contact your financial aid officer there for information. If you are not currently a student, you can also explore personal loans . If you are a veteran, the GI Bill might pay for your online credits, but you will need to verify that before you enroll. Please get in touch with the UMass Veteran Services Offices to discuss eligibility.

University+ Bachelor's Degree Online with a focus in Film and Media Studies

Film and media pervade every aspect of our lives- our families and schools; our communities and politics; our workplaces and careers. More than ever, we need film and media professionals who are prepared to think critically and lead with integrity. At UMass UWW you can finish your bachelor's degree online with a focus in film and media studies and position yourself for advancement within this rapidly evolving field.

Whether you work in film and media, or have a passion for the subject, UMass UWW will provide you with the theoretical foundation and applied skills you need to enhance your career within a host of dynamic professions, including film and video production, distribution, exhibition, and editing, digital and new media, TV and radio, public relations, film and media criticism, arts journalism, arts management, and more. And best of all, our flexible degree completion program gives you the opportunity to bring in or earn up to 105 credits for your prior coursework, prior learning, and work and life experience. This accelerates your degree and saves you money. Award-winner instructors. Film and media studies courses you need.

Course topics include: filmmaking, digital narrative production, screenwriting, TV pilot script, visual storytelling, media programming and institutions, media literacy, film theory, film criticism, media representation of sex and race, media and education, public relations, news writing and reporting, social media, film and TV law, and more.

Learn more about the University+ Bachelor's Degree Online

Geraldine Jennings excited to debut in movies, beauty pageant

At a glance.

Aside from her film career, Geraldine is set on entering a national beauty pageant.

449049070_449899661316672_2592199760522774532_n.jpg

Newbie Irish-British-Filipino actress Geraldine Jennings stated that she is fully committed to pursuing a career in the Philippine showbiz industry after obtaining her college degree in London. However, that's two years away. She is determined to graduate from the University of London with a degree in economics and finance.

During a mini press conference in Timog, Quezon City, Geraldine recently expressed her excitement about her debut film, "La Isla Babuyan," which is now in post-production.

"La Isla Babuyan"  tells the story of Anastassia (Geraldine), a young half-Filipina and half-European girl who comes to the Philippines to be with her Filipino mother, Rose (Lotlot De Leon). 

Anastasia meets and falls in love with the handsome Jordan (Jameson Blake), who is the scion and heir of a wealthy family. But the conflict begins when Jordan's stepmother (Nathalie Hart) cannot accept Anastassia and will do everything to keep them apart.

Jessie Vilabrille wrote the screenplay from a story he conceptualized with Leo Dominguez and Bam Salvani. Dennis Evangelista line-produced it, and Abdel Langit directed it.

“La Isla Babuyan” is inspired by director Bigas Luna’s film “Jamon, Jamon,” starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem (1992).

On working with Jameson, Geraldine said:  “Very professional naman si Jameson. I am an actor, he is an actor, and he was super helpful to me. He was very comfortable to work with. That’s part of the job.

“He was a very good actor and a very nice person. I was really surprised at how willing he was to help. He was very mabait and very easy to talk to. I was very comfortable working with him," said the  Irish-British-Filipino talent.

448590524_772114241780289_7470995823667977443_n.jpg

Of all the existing beauty pageants nationwide, Geraldine said she's interested in Miss World Philippines.

“I want to start with Miss World, not Miss Universe right away. I don’t just want to be known as beautiful. I want to show my talent," she said. The stunning 5'8" woman stated that she is willing to undergo rigorous training for the competition.

Geraldine also shared about her upcoming songs under Star Music.

“I also have two upcoming songs, ‘Pwede Ba?’ and ‘Don’t Go,’ written by Viktoria (Agbayani). She gave me the song, Don’t Go, and I will add a remix to make it upbeat for my generation. Viktoria is also under the LBD (Management) of (the late) Leo Dominguez. I miss Leo so much. I also have an original song that’s upcoming," she said.

Geraldine added:  "At a young age, I loved singing. My mom enrolled me in singing and guitar classes. I just loved it. I studied it in Los Angeles. And I grew to love the craft. Finally, I got the chance to do it. It's my passion. I love the arts."

On her showbiz influences, Geraldine said: "While I was growing up, it was Miley Cyrus. I love her music. 'Party In The USA' was my favorite. I still love her now. Her new album 'Flowers.' She's my inspiration musical-wise. Right now, Dua Lipa. I love her style. I love how she sings and how she performs. Acting-wise, I will have to say Gal Gadot. She's my favorite in 'Wonder Woman,' 'Red Notice.' Also, Margot Robbie. She is amazing in 'Barbie,' very versatile. Those are my influences." 

When she moved to the United Kingdom in 2009, she returned to the Philippines thrice a year during vacation. She has a second home in Manila.

Geraldine's mom is Gina Cariaga, a Filipino housewife and businesswoman from Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, and her father is Frank Jennings, a Northern Irish international businessman.

Her mom's side comes from politics and teaching. Her mom's grandfather, Nicasio Cariaga, was the police chief and a teacher who graduated from the Philippine Normal University.

Geraldine is the second child among three equally talented sisters. She also loves equestriansports, polo, clay pigeon shooting, and. fitness and exercise. "I love pilates, indoor cycling, spinning, and running."

an image, when javascript is unavailable

‘I Am: Celine Dion’ — How to Watch the Singer’s Revealing Documentary Online

By Anna Tingley

Anna Tingley

how to watch celine dion documentary online streaming

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.

Celine Dion ‘s highly anticipated documentary “ I Am: Celine Dion ,” detailing the Canadian singer’s diagnosis with Stiff Person Syndrome, is now available to stream on Prime Video.

After postponing several of her European tour dates in December 2022, Dion announced that she was diagnosed with the life-altering neurological disorder, that creates spasms that affect her ability to walk and use her vocal cords to sing the way she used to.

Popular on Variety

Related stories, is netflix about to turn into a franchise factory, 'sing sing' star colman domingo hopes prison drama's profit-sharing budget model will inspire more films to be 'equitable above and below the line'.

Dion made her first public appearance since announcing her diagnosis at the 2024 Grammy s, during which she presented the album of the year award to Taylor Swift for “Midnights.” Speaking on stage, she said “those who have been blessed enough to be here at the Grammy Awards must never take for granted the tremendous love and joy that music brings to our lives and to people all around the world.”

In his review of the documentary , Variety film critic Peter DeBruge writes that the “icon’s power ballads take on fresh resonance in a deeply personal look at her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome.”

“Like all things Celine Dion, ‘I Am’ feels intensely personal and sincere, but also managed to within an inch of its life,” he wrote. “That doesn’t mean Dion failed to give [director Irene] Taylor full creative control, but there’s a sense the filmmaker didn’t want to include anything her subject wouldn’t approve of either. Surely, it was difficult enough for Dion to let her fans see the impact of SPS on her life and her voice.”

Stream “I Am: Celine Dion” on Prime Video:

More from Variety

Why are japanese anime films enjoying outsized success in china the answer is a combination of culture, politics and the past, ame institute to host “state of the creative industries” panel, sponsored by variety vip+, henry selick developing ‘the ocean at the end of the lane’ with neil gaiman, will revive ‘the shadow king’ as graphic novel, ‘savages’: how claude barras went from his oscar-nominated ‘zucchini’ to the jungles of borneo for next stop-motion epic, why long-form tiktok videos make perfect sense, annecy: thailand-china animation ‘out of the nest’ picked up by all rights entertainment, more from our brands, france vs. belgium livestream: how to watch the euro championship match online, 7 fresh hotel openings and renovations hitting new england this summer, caitlin clark and fever bring road show to sellout crowd in phoenix, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, orphan black: echoes’ creator anna fishko weighs in on [spoiler]’s big return, verify it's you, please log in.

Quantcast

COMMENTS

  1. Cinema & Media Studies (PhD)

    The Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. program explores the intricate histories, aesthetics, and cultural impacts of visual media. The Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) Program at UCLA has played a central role in the development of the field, notably through scholarship grounded in critical theory, cultural studies, close textual analysis, archive ...

  2. Ph.D. in Cinema Studies

    Ph.D. in Cinema Studies. Apply. Spring 2024 Courses. Fall 2023 Courses. The Ph.D. curriculum draws on the methods of a number of disciplines, including art history, cultural studies, American studies, psychoanalytic theory, and philosophy. It involves intensive seminar level study in film theory, history and research methods.

  3. Ph.D. in Film & Digital Media

    Students who earn a Ph.D. in Film and Digital Media will gain the skills, knowledge, and understanding that will enable them to: 1. Demonstrate that student's critical study of media informs the student's media-making practices. 2. Demonstrate knowledge of video and/or digital media production. 3.

  4. 9 Online PhD programmes in Film Studies

    21,995 EUR / year. 4 years. The IPhD (Integrated PhD) is a four year programme of study. In the first year you will follow taught courses in Film alongside our MA students and undertake a series of assessments (essays and presentations).The Film programme is offered by the University of Southampton. Ph. D. / Full-time, Part-time / Online, On ...

  5. Ph.D. in Cinema and Media Studies

    Ph.D. students in Cinema and Media Studies will be trained in the general methods and issues in the field, pedagogical techniques, as well as in various subfields of the discipline. Therefore, students are required to take CMS 525 Pedagogy and CMS 520 Methods and Approaches as well as three of the four core seminars: CMS 570 Media Lab, CMS 571 ...

  6. PhD: Film & Media Studies

    The PhD in Film and Media Studies with English as the Associated Department is an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental degree that stresses the history, theory, and aesthetics of international cinema, video, television, and new media. While the student will earn a PhD in Film and Media Studies (granted by the Film and Media Studies Program), he or she will also be a full

  7. The Graduate Program in Film and Media Studies

    The Graduate Program in Film and Media Studies. Inaugurated in 2002, Yale's doctoral Program in Film and Media Studies quickly achieved the international stature it enjoys today. Building on a core faculty that had long overseen an impressive undergraduate major, the graduate program attracted incoming faculty who were eager to help shape it.

  8. Apply to Cinema & Media Studies (PhD)

    Have at least a 3.0 GPA. Satisfy the University of California's Graduate Admissions Requirements. Complete equivalent to a 4-year U.S. Bachelor's Degree. Complete equivalent to a U.S. Masters Degree. Complete the . Indicate Ph.D., Film and Television, Cinema and Media Studies as the program. Upload the Statement of Purpose.

  9. Film & Media Studies

    Film & Media Studies is an interdisciplinary field. Students have the option to apply for admission to one of two tracks within the program: either solely to the PhD in Film & Media Studies or to a combined program track involving one of the following disciplines: African American Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages & Literatures, English, French, German ...

  10. Graduate

    The Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS) at Harvard offers a graduate program in Film and Visual Studies leading to a PhD. The Department also offers a secondary field in Film and Visual Studies for students already admitted to PhD programs in other departments in the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

  11. Welcome to the Film and Media Studies Ph.D. Program

    The graduate emphasis in Film and Media Studies prepares students in any M.A., Ph.D., or M.F.A. program to analyze film and media texts, contexts, and industries. The emphasis requires that students complete four seminars, two of which are in the Film and Media Studies PhD core series (FMS 285A-C, FMS 286A-C) and two of which may be Film and ...

  12. Film & Media

    PhD in Film and Media. Students in the Film and Media PhD are encouraged to situate moving images within the larger theoretical and analytical frameworks of a range of other disciplines. They integrate the traditions of history, law, literature, cultural studies, gender studies, and political theory to the newer disciplines of film studies and ...

  13. Fully Funded PhD Programs in Cinema and Media Studies

    Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. students who matriculate in Autumn 2022 will receive a stipend of $33,000. University of Toronto, PhD in Cinema Studies (Toronto, ON): The Cinema Studies Institute provides base funding for all graduate students enrolled in a four-year Ph.D. program. It will include tuition and fees, and $20,000.

  14. Best PhDs In Film Studies

    The Ph.D. in film and video studies program at Cornell University builds advanced competency in film through specialized study. The private university offers competitive doctoral programs in 106 subject areas. Many of the doctoral programs offer online options in addition to on-campus enrollment.

  15. Online Doctorates in Film & Drama

    Established: 1900. Country: UK. Online. Online Doctorate Program Name: Drama and Theatre Studies PhD. Category: Humanities - Film & Drama. Residency Requirements: Required to visit the University once per full year of study for duration of two weeks. The Drama and Theatre Arts department offers you the opportunity to carry out research in a ...

  16. Interdisciplinary PhD

    The Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh is currently transitioning to a new admissions platform called Liaison (Select "Film Studies-PHD" then choose your area of specialization on another pull-down menu). The portal to accept applications for Fall 2024 admission to the doctoral program in Film and Media Studies should be online and open to applicants sometime ...

  17. PhD in Screen Cultures

    The Screen Cultures Ph.D. program at Northwestern University is a leading doctoral program that conducts and mentors innovative research in the history, theory, and criticism of film, television, digital, and sound media. Integrating interdisciplinary opportunities both within Northwestern's Department of Radio/Television/Film and departments across campus, the Screen Cultures program ...

  18. Film Studies PhD

    Research profile. The PhD in Film Studies is a three-year full-time or six-year part-time degree programme, which allows you to pursue a research topic in depth and produce a thesis of approximately 80,000 words. As well as being a highly respected qualification from a top-ranking university, a postgraduate research degree in film studies ...

  19. Doctor of Philosophy in Film Studies

    The first graduate thesis on film at UIowa dates all the way back to 1916, and our own program has been producing doctoral work in Film Studies since 1960 (when John Kuiper wrote a dissertation on Sergei Eisenstein in what was then called the Division of Radio, Television and Film). Today, the list of former UI graduate students reads like a ...

  20. PhD in Cinema and Media Studies

    The PhD in Cinema & Media Studies is a dynamic program in which students pursue innovative and interdisciplinary research into the full range of sound and moving image media practices and traditions. ... The Graduate Program in Film at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our ...

  21. Theater & Performance Studies (PhD)

    The innovative Ph.D. program in Theater and Performance Studies, produces scholars renowned for their expansive research. Admitting 1-3 students annually, the program offers personalized mentoring, focusing on diverse dissertation projects. These projects intertwine critical theories and performance studies, with recent topics ranging from ...

  22. 10 Online PhDs in Film Studies by universities in United Kingdom

    Ph.D. Film and Media (Distance Learning) Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries. Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom. Ph.D. Arts and Creative Industries. London South Bank University. London, England, United Kingdom. Film Studies degrees at universities and colleges in United Kingdom - Find 10 studies in Film Studies to study abroad.

  23. Film Studies Online : Film Studies : UMass Amherst

    Film Studies now offers an comprehensive online version of our traditional certificate. Whether you want to complete the 18-credit certificate or take an individual courses, the online program offers you the opportunity to study with award-winning professors and professional filmmakers of national and international acclaim.

  24. Geraldine Jennings excited to debut in movies, beauty pageant

    Geraldine Jennings . Newbie Irish-British-Filipino actress Geraldine Jennings stated that she is fully committed to pursuing a career in the Philippine showbiz industry after obtaining her college degree in London. However, that's two years away. She is determined to graduate from the University of London with a degree in economics and finance.. During a mini press conference in Timog, Quezon ...

  25. How to Watch Celine Dion Documentary 'I Am' Online Streaming

    Celine Dion's documentary "I Am: Celine Dion" is now streaming on Prime Video. Here's how to watch Celine Dion's documentary online streaming.