Swagato

NYU, USC, UC-SB, Northwestern down. Bring on the rest. How're we doing?

Last year, I used Georgia, 12 point, single-spaced. My SOPs were around 2,000 words. Please. Do. Not. Repeat. My. Mistake. Georgia is horrible to read. Georgia 12 point looks terrible. Singles-space is bad, bad, bad. And try not to exceed 2 pages, ever. This year I'm going with Garamond 12, double space. Garamond's a pleasant font, standard enough, but a relief from "yet another TNR." Also, I'm using Chicago style everywhere and am not applying to English programs (film studies), so I hope that will not be held against me.

I am not in English but closely related (film and media studies--sub-focus in early visual culture and space). I'd love to read these examples. And thanks for sharing.

Just call Interfolio and talk to them. They're extremely helpful and you can discuss any of your issues with them.

I don't think even my (film and media studies) programs at the very top-flight departments (Chicago, Berkeley, etc.) expect a writing sample that is of publishable quality. It just doesn't make sense. Several applicants will have conference presentations under their belt (especially if they are entering with MAs, as is increasingly the case across the humanities), but again, not all admitted students will have this. Some may have smaller journal publications (student journals, or online journals), but it'd be very very rare to have an applicant with a *Critical Inquiry* publication. Everything I have heard suggests they look for the indications that the person they admit will probably publish soon, but that's about it.

Hmm, heading into the middle of November and it's a surprisingly low body count here. Either this year will see somewhat fewer applicants, or we're all just working our butts off getting things lined up...

The writing sample, to the best of my knowledge, should simply be a standard sample of your academic writing. It is your best argument for why you deserve a spot amongst the illustrious luminaries of the Department of Holy Ghosts at University of the Flying Cthulhu. You're in the humanities, and that means you likely use MLA or Chicago style. Make it consistent. If your target department prefers something, then consider changing to that, but if not, I don't think it will make a big difference. Cover page? No, I think it takes up one whole valuable page. Remember, your writing sample will at best be read with minimal thoroughness for the first 2-3 pages on the first pass. That's all you have to make your reader think, "Damn, I need to read this one fully." Page numbers? Of course. Why make it harder for the reader? Length? You're one of around 300 applicants--do you really want to distinguish yourself by being one of Those Morons who thought they had so much to gift the field that they couldn't stick to the suggested limits for their -admissions sample-? Don't take anything I said personally; I think my ideas apply to all of us.

Thanks for the quick flurry of responses! The low-down on the MA issue, at least for me, from my advisor: Don't bother about it. Dispose of your MA research focus in a line, *but ensure that you show a continuity between that and your stated research goals*. Then proceed to draw out how your provided writing sample sets you up for your PhD work.

Although I'm applying to film and media studies programs (having completed my MA), I am interested in opinions regarding *not* submitting the MA thesis or part thereof. Is this something that should be addressed in the SOP, or does it just not matter? My reason is that my MA thesis focuses on an area that is quite removed from my PhD research interests this time around. I am a second-round (re)applicant, so my PhD project has changed, under advisement, significantly from last year.

That's really encouraging. Thanks very much! Cities vary of course, but quite honestly my spouse and I (she is the non-academic at least at this time) would do very nicely in the typical "college town." After all, what matters most is getting the job done in a way that opens up the future. So I'm glad to hear that there's a tight fit between faculty and graduate students.

Thanks, but I should point out that I was never going to mention Lit. at all; I was more interested in whether I should address the English department on its own merits (eg., how my project might interleave studies in "English" or how it may benefit from some of the English, non-Film, faculty members). If, as you say, the Film program is wholly integrated into the English department, I would probably be just fine directing my attention solely to film studies. How is Pitt in general? Atmosphere, conviviality, research opportunities outside the university campus (during my MA at UChicago, there was an embarrassment of resources for a film/visual studies person in the city, for example), and so on.

Greetings, letmein. It sounds like you're engaged in television/cultural studies of some sort? All those programs have that in common.

I will be applying to Pittsburgh for Film Studies, joint with English. I have excellent rapport with one of their more recent film scholars, but I'm wondering whether I should address English in my SoP or not. My POI said it is not necessary. My large area of interest is the 18th century Robertson's Phantasmagoria and the problem of space; I will be examining a long dialectic of spatial dynamics within the space of exhibition by looking at various screen practices centering around the Phantasmagoria. This media archaeological emphasis will be balanced by theoretical work on the Unheimlich in Freud and Heidegger, and perhaps Burke/Kant/Lyotard's accounts of the sublime. I can find some very good fits with Film Studies, but I am less sure about English. Thoughts?

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned Brown's Modern Culture and Media program. Yes it is a PhD program, but they are well-known for emphasising feminist, post/colonial approaches in addition to a very inclusive notion of 'modern culture and media'. Mary Ann Doane is, of course, now at Berkeley, but I'd still include Brown in the list.

Hm, just posting since it's strangely quiet in this thread. We're well into October, so presumably most of us are occupied with application prep work. Last year, the cinema studies thread was quite active by this time! Time to come out of the woodwork, everyone.

Hello hapticlicity. I have not yet finalised my list of targets, but broadly I will be focusing on departments with strengths in a mix of the following: early visual culture, international emphases, 'para'-cinema-technology-media, film and visual history, phenomenology/affect/experience/spectatorship, new media/digital visual culture, and space/spatiality. It also helps if a department in cinema studies/visual studies is able to enact cross-disciplinary dialogues with Philosophy, Art History, and English/Comp. Lit. Happily, several departments seem to have such facilities. I'm interested largely in the late-18th century Phantasmagoria and the space of exhibition/screening. I hope I shall be excused if I do not drill down to more specifics just yet, but I'm happy to exchange ideas in private.

Hello everyone, I'm starting this in hopes that this year's applicants (including any re-applicants) will come together in this thread. Feel free to discuss interests, backgrounds, strategies, and anything else. A brief bio for first-time posters would be nice, too. Hopefully, this isn't too early at all. I'm a second-round applicant to film and visual studies/visual culture PhD programs. Last year I struck out across the board, barring one good wait-list. Extremely helpful feedback from faculty helped me identify lapses in my statement of purpose and writing sample, and taking care of those lacks has occupied my summer. GradCafe was very helpful last year, and it's my hope that we can work together as fall creeps in upon us. Best wishes to everyone.

15 seems reasonable. My friend earned his MA from a top department and applied to around 15-16; got into two top English programs.

Nothing against having an extra letter as long as it isn't fluff. I will likely have 4 letters myself as I have some undergraduate spotty spots that need explanation. My undergrad advisor and I are extremely close, so I trust him entirely to bat those issues out of the way in his letter. When it comes to actually discussing my MA work and positioning me directly (academically) for the PhD, I'll have 3 letters from my MA institution.

Brown has a Visual Studies program? Do you mean Modern Culture and Media? Rochester's program is notorious for being one of the most difficult to get into, and consistently produces star faculty. David Rodowick, who was at Rochester for many years, now heads up the Visual and Environmental Studies department at Harvard. I don't know how strong SUNY Buffalo is -today- although they used to be very well-reputed in the past. Brown is very textual in approach, and emphasises a lot of contemporary media research. Wendy Chun has produced terrific work in network theory, network culture, and digital media in general. Brown has also been losing faculty (retirement, or departure--most recently that of Mary Ann Doane to Berkeley). They have been hiring from within. They recently tried to lure away Tom Gunning from Chicago, but it didn't work out. Although Brown has long been a phenomenal department, I am reserving opinion as to their immediate future.

King's College London has a very prominent program. The European Graduate School is also interesting and features many superstar faculty.

Emory, as far as I know, is the only funded film studies MA program in the US. There may be others that can come up with scholarships to cover the cost, or other arrangements, but Emory has a full-fledged MA program which is by default fully funded. It is also quite competitive as admissions is restricted to 6 (or less) incoming students each year.

This varies from department to department. I know, for example, that some departments at Chicago are just fine with having Asst. Profs. on dissertation committees. Besides, as others have said, you do not need to worry about who, exactly, will be on your committee because this will almost inevitably change by the time you get to that point. I would look more closely at departmental fit and list at least 2 people who are tenured and will likely be there, but don't go overboard with it.

Look into Duke's Literature program. They have major stars like Mark Hansen, N. Katherine Hayles, etc. Also consider Brown's Modern Culture and Media program.

Are you interested in the theoretical and critical study of cinema and media, or are you interested in radio/tv/film production? Your post doesn't make it clear, but it sounds like you may be more interested in actual production/technical work (you mention "filmmaking"). The two are very separate, though related, disciplines. There are very few graduate programs in the US that combine production options with theoretical work, and at the moment, I can only think of Harvard's PhD program, which combines a "Critical Media Practice" option that allows you to create a material work as part of your graduate work. Further, the terminal degree for theoretical/critical work is a PhD, while production programs usually end in an MFA. Most graduate programs (and I can only speak to the PhD programs here as I have no experience with MFA nor am I seeking one) offer full funding for the duration of graduate study regardless of national/ethnic origin. Some public institutions may have trouble coming up with the funding especially if they are hard-hit by economic demands, but usually they will reduce their admit rate rather than make unfunded offers.