2021 Application Discussion - Film & Media Studies / Cinema Studies

[m00dyjewel]

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Edited March 5, 2021 by m00dyjewel

[m00dyjewel]

1 hour ago, Biupiupiu said:

Hey all the peers of cms! Just kind of going off a little bit, I am a junior undergrad double major in French and Film studies, and I want to kindly ask if it is possible in general for an undergrad to be accepted by a phd program? If yes, what are the essential/imperative factors that will lead to consideration of admission office?

Besides, any advice for the writing sample to be submitted for application? In particular, is it necessary/better to align my writing sample with my research interests reflected in the personal statement? I am planning to apply for master programs in the fall, but I would also like to give it a shot for phd programs.

I would appreciate it for any response and advice!

 And of course, best of luck to ALL of you! What is yours will eventually come by your side.

 

In my personal experience, and based off of the opinions of academics I’ve consulted, it’s very rare these days to be admitted from undergrad straight into a PhD program— I’ve actually never heard of it. Some programs, like NYU Tisch PhD in Cinema Studies, don’t accept anyone without a Masters as a rule. Others may have different experiences though or have heard of students making that progression! It was my original hope to do what you’re describing so I totally understand where you’re coming from, but unfortunately the humanities are quite limited in terms of funding these days so I think admissions teams tend to look for people with a more “proven” track record of excellence in the field, which usually means a masters. 
 

In terms of writing samples, I think having a sample that’s close to want you want to study is very helpful for the PhD, but not as essential for masters applications. Just something film focused is usually good enough for the masters level! 

[lysfaye_]

9 hours ago, Biupiupiu said:

Hey all the peers of cms! Just kind of going off a little bit, I am a junior undergrad double major in French and Film studies, and I want to kindly ask if it is possible in general for an undergrad to be accepted by a phd program? If yes, what are the essential/imperative factors that will lead to consideration of admission office?

Besides, any advice for the writing sample to be submitted for application? In particular, is it necessary/better to align my writing sample with my research interests reflected in the personal statement? I am planning to apply for master programs in the fall, but I would also like to give it a shot for phd programs.

I would appreciate it for any response and advice!

 And of course, best of luck to ALL of you! What is yours will eventually come by your side.

Hi! So while I'm not super sure, I did ask Dr. Groening a sort of similar question regarding this. (I was stressing out about getting accepted for the PhD program and asked whether they ever consider rejected PhD applicants for MA, even though I have one in a related field?). But he said: 

"If an applicant has an MA in a related field their file gets placed in the PhD pool. All of the applicants in the MA field have only Bachelor’s degrees."

So I think that it might maybe default to master's? But I'm not quite sure. It never hurts to ask! Best of luck to you as well and enjoy your studies! 

[Biupiupiu]

9 hours ago, m00dyjewel said:

 

 

In my personal experience, and based off of the opinions of academics I’ve consulted, it’s very rare these days to be admitted from undergrad straight into a PhD program— I’ve actually never heard of it. Some programs, like NYU Tisch PhD in Cinema Studies, don’t accept anyone without a Masters as a rule. Others may have different experiences though or have heard of students making that progression! It was my original hope to do what you’re describing so I totally understand where you’re coming from, but unfortunately the humanities are quite limited in terms of funding these days so I think admissions teams tend to look for people with a more “proven” track record of excellence in the field, which usually means a masters. 
 

In terms of writing samples, I think having a sample that’s close to want you want to study is very helpful for the PhD, but not as essential for masters applications. Just something film focused is usually good enough for the masters level! 

Thanks so much for your information! Hope you guys get excellent results in the end.

 

1 hour ago, lysfaye_ said:

Hi! So while I'm not super sure, I did ask Dr. Groening a sort of similar question regarding this. (I was stressing out about getting accepted for the PhD program and asked whether they ever consider rejected PhD applicants for MA, even though I have one in a related field?). But he said: 

"If an applicant has an MA in a related field their file gets placed in the PhD pool. All of the applicants in the MA field have only Bachelor’s degrees."

So I think that it might maybe default to master's? But I'm not quite sure. It never hurts to ask! Best of luck to you as well and enjoy your studies! 

I really appreciate it! I truly feel for you guys browsing through these posts... Hold out for the upcoming offer! 

[baja-blast]

To add to this conversation, I can say this holds true for my experience this year. 

I am someone who tried applying to PhD programs with just a bachelors degree. I've been rejected from everywhere so far, except for USC. They asked to redirect my application to the masters because they thought I needed more experience in the field and then waitlisted me (oh the pain). 

Does anyone know of masters programs that try to full fund you? Need to reevaluate my plan for next year, sigh.

 

 

[jkv152]

3 hours ago, baja-blast said:

To add to this conversation, I can say this holds true for my experience this year. 

I am someone who tried applying to PhD programs with just a bachelors degree. I've been rejected from everywhere so far, except for USC. They asked to redirect my application to the masters because they thought I needed more experience in the field and then waitlisted me (oh the pain). 

Does anyone know of masters programs that try to full fund you? Need to reevaluate my plan for next year, sigh.

 

 

I believe UW offers full funding for MA students.

[fossati]

19 hours ago, Biupiupiu said:

Hey all the peers of cms! Just kind of going off a little bit, I am a junior undergrad double major in French and Film studies, and I want to kindly ask if it is possible in general for an undergrad to be accepted by a phd program? If yes, what are the essential/imperative factors that will lead to consideration of admission office?

Besides, any advice for the writing sample to be submitted for application? In particular, is it necessary/better to align my writing sample with my research interests reflected in the personal statement? I am planning to apply for master programs in the fall, but I would also like to give it a shot for phd programs.

I would appreciate it for any response and advice!

 And of course, best of luck to ALL of you! What is yours will eventually come by your side.

I would recommend you apply for both PhD and MA programs. 

It is indeed possible for an undergrad to be accepted by a PhD program. I just talked with a friend and they said that in their program, a highly competitive one, she was one of the few people with a Master's degree. Most of the other students came straight from undergrad. 

That being said, my other friends pursuing film studies were rejected from every PhD program without a Master's. You can't go wrong with a Master's degree. It will make you more competitive and show your commitment to pursuing scholarship, strengthen your academic interests, etc. I think most people who apply to a PhD from undergrad are generally have very competitive or recognized achievements in their respective fields. So you should work on publishing a book review, applying to conferences, etc to compensate for a lack of a Master's degree. 

But by all means, apply for both! 

[fossati]

2 hours ago, jkv152 said:

I believe UW offers full funding for MA students.

I also heard USC does offer some funding for a few MA students. 

[jkv152]

Another Monday, a new week. We are getting closer to mid-March. Hopefully we'll all start to hear back soon. Happy Monday!

[fossati]

I just got an e-mail from NYU that said they suspended PhD admissions for Cinema Studies. 

[jkv152]

5 minutes ago, fossati said:

I just got an e-mail from NYU that said they suspended PhD admissions for Cinema Studies. 

Received the same email. That’s a shame but I can understand why they’ve made that decision. 

[crunchyfallleaves]

24 minutes ago, jkv152 said:

Received the same email. That’s a shame but I can understand why they’ve made that decision. 

Venting about ethics of this: I actually find it so concerning that schools are comfortable taking prospective students for a ride, neglecting the labor, cost, and time of applying to their specific program, all in the name of this final-hour decision to support current students. Many, many schools made the decision to suspend admissions in the Fall, and NYU, I am sure, was more than aware of this discourse and demands of their students. And yet somehow they are only now, mid-March, communicating this decision to us. Rather than provide current students and us with the clarity we both needed, they decided to keep everyone in the dark until now (assuming current students didn't know about their funding extensions until last/this month). This is the type of stuff that perpetuates access issues in academia.

[jkv152]

42 minutes ago, crunchyfallleaves said:

Venting about ethics of this: I actually find it so concerning that schools are comfortable taking prospective students for a ride, neglecting the labor, cost, and time of applying to their specific program, all in the name of this final-hour decision to support current students. Many, many schools made the decision to suspend admissions in the Fall, and NYU, I am sure, was more than aware of this discourse and demands of their students. And yet somehow they are only now, mid-March, communicating this decision to us. Rather than provide current students and us with the clarity we both needed, they decided to keep everyone in the dark until now (assuming current students didn't know about their funding extensions until last/this month). This is the type of stuff that perpetuates access issues in academia.

Yes, I can understand your perspective. I am disappointed that they waited so long. UCLA let us know before applications were even open that they would not be accepting applicants this year. However, a lot of folks experienced hardships in 2020. Between personal health and deaths within families, I do appreciate that NYU is standing behind their current students and giving them an additional year to get back on track with their research. No one could have foreseen what was going to happen and I truly believe this is circumstantial. We have never experienced a global pandemic at this scale in our lifetime.

[jkv152]

I received word yesterday that I’ve been waitlisted at UW. Not what I was expecting, but I hope I still have a shot here. 

[Kaharim]

9 hours ago, jkv152 said:

I received word yesterday that I’ve been waitlisted at UW. Not what I was expecting, but I hope I still have a shot here. 

I guess you are the one who published their results in the page. No news here on the MA front, at least for now.

[andylee0427]

Has anybody applied to Iowa film school?

[Kim2016]

21 hours ago, jkv152 said:

I received word yesterday that I’ve been waitlisted at UW. Not what I was expecting, but I hope I still have a shot here. 

Sorry to hear that especially since you had an interview w/ them earlier. Did they tell u how many people are on the waitlist? I'm still waiting to hear back from UW and hadn't had interview yet but the grad coordinator said they are still reviewing applications! 

[jkv152]

5 hours ago, Kim2016 said:

Sorry to hear that especially since you had an interview w/ them earlier. Did they tell u how many people are on the waitlist? I'm still waiting to hear back from UW and hadn't had interview yet but the grad coordinator said they are still reviewing applications! 

No word on how many are on the waitlist. To be honest I have no idea how many people universities traditionally put on a waitlist, let alone in the midst of a pandemic. 

I spoke with my recommenders to understand my chances in being accepted and the overall influx of applications to universities, scholarships and fellowships. This year is overwhelmingly competitive. 

[Aciah]

Hello... Has anyone heard back from NYU's Cinema Studies MA program? I tried emailing two different contacts, but none have replied back 

[Kim2016]

8 hours ago, Aciah said:

Hello... Has anyone heard back from NYU's Cinema Studies MA program? I tried emailing two different contacts, but none have replied back 

I applied to their PhD program was notified that due to Covid19 they suspended the admissions. Not sure if that's the case for MA program too!

[Kim2016]

9 hours ago, jkv152 said:

No word on how many are on the waitlist. To be honest I have no idea how many people universities traditionally put on a waitlist, let alone in the midst of a pandemic. 

I spoke with my recommenders to understand my chances in being accepted and the overall influx of applications to universities, scholarships and fellowships. This year is overwhelmingly competitive. 

I c ... UT Austin seemed to wait list a lot of folks this year and I was rejected sadly. 

UW is my last hope this cycle so keeping my fingers crossed and everybody who is waiting! 

[fossati]

Honestly, good job everyone waitlisted and accepted. This year was exceedingly tough for our field. UChicago, UCLA, NYU, Brown MCM, Harvard FVS, some of Yale, plus other related humanities programs closed their doors this year. I am positive I am forgetting some schools. This year was not an easy application cycle, at all! 

Edited March 13, 2021 by fossati
remembering some schools

[Kaharim]

I got a rejection from UW today. Kinda saw it coming but I remained hopeful until the last moment. Well, I hope you were all luckier than me! ??

[andylee0427]

16 minutes ago, Kaharim said:

I got a rejection from UW today. Kinda saw it coming but I remained hopeful until the last moment. Well, I hope you were all luckier than me! ??

very sorry to hear that. have u received it in email?

[Kaharim]

22 minutes ago, andylee0427 said:

very sorry to hear that. have u received it in email?

I got an email, yep, but I guess you might have some new info in your application portal if you check it.