2023 Applications: Cinema and Media Studies

[wanlichangcheng]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:34 AM, cinemastudies1408 said:

Any tips on preparing for grad school interview? I've only done interviews for UK programs where the emphasis is on discussing the thesis proposal that is a core element of UK applications.

-Prepare several concrete reasons "why (university)" 
-Prepare to describe auxiliary/secondary research interests
-Prepare to describe what life/intellectual experiences led you to your present research topic/question
 

Good luck!

[mwdsl190]

Congratulations on your offer! I actually am familiar with the forum  I only applied after the funding deadline but I'm hoping to hear back soon. 

[nomis97]

On 3/4/2023 at 6:34 AM, cinemastudies1408 said:

Any tips on preparing for grad school interview? I've only done interviews for UK programs where the emphasis is on discussing the thesis proposal that is a core element of UK applications.

I think the U.S. is similar when it comes to PhD application. Statement of purpose might sound a bit more loose than a thesis proposal, but I think the competition has become so intense that a good SOP has to be a feasible dissertation-size project.

In any case, some likely questions (I've done 5 interviews so far) are: what's your project in simple terms (since many of our research can be so complicated nowadays)? What is your methodology and intervention? Where does the idea of your project come from? Why our school? I think almost all my interviews had these questions. They usually also try to leave 5 minutes for you to ask questions, so definitely take advantage of that. 

[cinemastudies1408]

1 hour ago, nomis97 said:

I think the U.S. is similar when it comes to PhD application. Statement of purpose might sound a bit more loose than a thesis proposal, but I think the competition has become so intense that a good SOP has to be a feasible dissertation-size project.

In any case, some likely questions (I've done 5 interviews so far) are: what's your project in simple terms (since many of our research can be so complicated nowadays)? What is your methodology and intervention? Where does the idea of your project come from? Why our school? I think almost all my interviews had these questions. They usually also try to leave 5 minutes for you to ask questions, so definitely take advantage of that. 

This was more-or-less the case for my interview today. Although we only had 20 mins so didn't really cover everything! Thanks 

[Sugarscoop]

Please let Toronto know if you are not planning on attending! 

[PhDApplicant23]

On 3/7/2023 at 4:31 PM, wanlichangcheng said:

-Prepare several concrete reasons "why (university)" 
-Prepare to describe auxiliary/secondary research interests
-Prepare to describe what life/intellectual experiences led you to your present research topic/question
 

Good luck!

Prepare questions as well, like "How would x center help support my research?" Don't ask something basic like "What housing is good in x city?"

[cinemastudies1408]

Got waitlisted at NYU RIP. If anyone isn't planning on attending please do pull out ASAP  

Got offers from Cambridge, Concordia and King's College London so I suppose I better make my choice. If anyone has any views on these other schools I would love to hear them!

[nomis97]

5 hours ago, cinemastudies1408 said:

Got waitlisted at NYU RIP. If anyone isn't planning on attending please do pull out ASAP  

Got offers from Cambridge, Concordia and King's College London so I suppose I better make my choice. If anyone has any views on these other schools I would love to hear them!

What do you work on? All great schools, but I love Concordia! Very strong emphasis on global media and got a lot of great scholars working on media technologies in recent years. BTW, I do plan to decline NYU offer soon (they are only giving me 2 weeks to consider anyway), so I hope this helps!

[cinemastudies1408]

1 minute ago, nomis97 said:

What do you work on? All great schools, but I love Concordia! Very strong emphasis on global media and got a lot of great scholars working on media technologies in recent years. BTW, I do plan to decline NYU offer soon (they are only giving me 2 weeks to consider anyway), so I hope this helps!

I research historical and contemporary film collectives across the UK and North America. Got a pretty relevant RAship lined up if I go to Concordia on post-colonial solidarity films which would be great. Supervisor at Cambridge works on feminist art and film collectives so would also be really relevant. 
 

Did you get NYU Cinema Studies offer or MCC? 

[nomis97]

12 minutes ago, cinemastudies1408 said:

I research historical and contemporary film collectives across the UK and North America. Got a pretty relevant RAship lined up if I go to Concordia on post-colonial solidarity films which would be great. Supervisor at Cambridge works on feminist art and film collectives so would also be really relevant. 
 

Did you get NYU Cinema Studies offer or MCC? 

I got an offer from NYU Cinema! They called yesterday.

I think these are all great schools, probably just depending on which one offers the best funding and quality of life...Being in UK definitely gives you easier access to archives there, and sometimes UK degrees might be perceived as more prestigious than Canadian ones globally (which was the ultimate reason why I didn't apply to Concordia). This is, of course, a very problematic phenomenon, but also an important factor to consider. 

[cinemastudies1408]

1 minute ago, nomis97 said:

I got an offer from NYU Cinema! They called yesterday.

I think these are all great schools, probably just depending on which one offers the best funding and quality of life...Being in UK definitely gives you easier access to archives there, and sometimes UK degrees might be perceived as more prestigious than Canadian ones globally (which was the ultimate reason why I didn't apply to Concordia). This is, of course, a very problematic phenomenon, but also an important factor to consider. 

Ye my main concern about Cambridge vs Concordia is the prestige issue. Hate that it’s a concern but can’t avoid it for career things. But I do prefer the North American PhD system with the years of seminars before. Concordia’s PhDs have got great post-phd placements recently too, especially in the UK so who knows. 
 

Impossible decision to make. Will see if I move off the NYU waitlist too.

Thanks for your advice!

[cinemastudies1408]

Does anyone know what this format means next to the results pages: 0a/10r/1p, 4a/2r/4p etc. ?

 

is this number of acceptances, rejections? 

[LilyLi]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:12 PM, cinemastudies1408 said:

Does anyone know what this format means next to the results pages: 0a/10r/1p, 4a/2r/4p etc. ?

 

is this number of acceptances, rejections? 

Hi! I think it means acceptances, rejections, and pending

[LilyLi]

Hi all, I'm wondering if has anyone heard back from UCLA's MA/PhD track program?

[nomis97]

7 hours ago, LilyLi said:

Hi all, I'm wondering if has anyone heard back from UCLA's MA/PhD track program?

I didn't apply there, but I doubt that the PhD acceptances haven't gone out yet...There is a chance, however, that you are on their waitlist? It's definitely worth it to send an email to ask. It happens to me for UCSB too. I haven't heard anything from them officially, but my MA advisor who knows their faculty pretty well said that I am probably waitlisted.

Edited March 17, 2023 by nomis97

[LilyLi]

On 3/17/2023 at 3:10 AM, nomis97 said:

I didn't apply there, but I doubt that the PhD acceptances haven't gone out yet...There is a chance, however, that you are on their waitlist? It's definitely worth it to send an email to ask. It happens to me for UCSB too. I haven't heard anything from them officially, but my MA advisor who knows their faculty pretty well said that I am probably waitlisted.

Just in case anyone reading this thread is also curious. I asked and they said the decisions will be out in early April. How ridiculous. 

[ShirinZZZ]

4 minutes ago, LilyLi said:

Just in case anyone reading this thread is also curious. I asked and they said the decisions will be out in early April. How ridiculous. 

Hi Lily, did you receive any interview invitations or do you know if they conduct any? They are really the program with the slowest results and the most expensive application fees…

[LilyLi]

7 hours ago, ShirinZZZ said:

Hi Lily, did you receive any interview invitations or do you know if they conduct any? They are really the program with the slowest results and the most expensive application fees…

I didn't get interview. Also, I'm not exactly a good match for their program so I'm taking this as an indirect rejection. Maybe the ones who got interviewed or have stronger profiles would hear back from them before April.

[baja-blast]

On 3/16/2023 at 4:53 PM, LilyLi said:

Hi all, I'm wondering if has anyone heard back from UCLA's MA/PhD track program?

Hi! I was accepted into their PhD program after interviewing. They accepted 3 students this year. 

[Jayded]

Hey everyone, not sure if anyone is still here since it looks like most of you have gotten your results back. I was just wondering if anyone was willing to offer application tips. I applied to one film studies master's program this year and the rest were filmmaking and so far I have not gotten anything and considering previous timelines for the university I applied to for film studies--I am quickly starting to lose hope. So since film studies is a bit different than like your english majors and stem majors--any tips on improving your application? Is it your resume that stands out most or your statement of purpose? (btw for reference, I am an American that applied to American schools)

I studied film for my undergrad, had a very solid gpa, had some old professors review my SoP, put my interests in the subject and university in there so I really don't understand what I am doing wrong. Any tips? Thanks guys and congrats to you all!

[LilyLi]

hi, does anyone get accepted by UC santa cruz film and new media phd program? I didn't get anything..