j.ruiz

Greetings Gradcafe Community, I am in a ridiculous predicament regarding my education and have resorted to reaching out to this community for advice. I am an undergraduate student at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. I am set to graduate next quarter (June 2013) with an emphasis in screenwriting. The film program is a two year upper-division program and until this past quarter I was able to kid myself into thinking I actually enjoyed this major and wanted to pursue a career in the film industry; I do not. I have set my sights on graduate education in philosophy with an end goal of professorship. This was no arbitrary decision. I am intensely interested in philosophy. That does not even do it justice. I am never-endingly consumed by philosophy and spend all the time I can reading the canons of philosophy and conducting my own writing. The problem is that not only am I not a philosophy student, I’ve never even taken a philosophy class (though I am set to take two during my final quarter). The implications are plain as day – nowhere to turn for recommendation letters and nothing that would stand out in the academic portion of my application as even remotely indicative of philosophical interest. I cannot even describe my elation when I found out I was accepted into UCLA’s film school (2% acceptance rate for transfers like myself). But the joke was on me as I discovered rather too late how much I disliked the program and the entertainment industry in general. Now I am sure of something I would like to pursue in life but find myself ironically ill-prepared. What should I do? Delay my graduation and stay on for a philosophy minor? (not sure if it’s possible at this point but willing to look into it) Are there such things as post-bac programs in philosophy? Should I scramble for recommendation letters in the philosophy courses I’ll be taking next quarter (intro level classes - only ones I could get into - hardly impressive) and apply with what I’ve got? Let me also add that I am not in a terrible rush nor am I insistent upon gaining admission to top-tier institutions (let’s get real, you’re all light-years ahead of me in this game). If you have any crazy ideas for how I might make myself competitive, by all means, throw them out. Likewise, if you think these hopes should be dashed at once, tell me. You’re the ones who have been diligently preparing for what I’ve just now realized I’d like to pursue. Thank you for your help and best of luck to all of you in your academic endeavors. - Jacob