Cinema/Media Studies for 2012

[ci1717]

It really should be based on your research interests; starting there typically narrows down the options. Once you are accepted the visit helps a lot. I agree though, it is a tough decision - I'm struggling with it myself.

[jesusrules1517]

Seems like NYU has let PhD accepts know, does this mean they've also noified MA applicants? Seems like the trend is to let MA people know a little later, just wondering if this held true this year. Also, does anyone have any thoughts on Columbia's film studies masters program (or NYU's for that matter). I applied to numerous PhD programs, got waitlisted from Harvard but no other acceptances. If things don't go well for me at Harvard, would an MA program be worth it (assuming it's an option)? Thanks gang.

[softparade]

I'd say it depends on funding. You're gambling enough by undertaking a fully funded Ph.D.; IMHO it makes no sense to go into debt for a film studies MA.

Wait to get in somewhere with funding and benefits, whether it's an MA or Ph.D. track.

[Vanilla Tea]

I remain entirely unconvinced about the validity of tiers and ranking in our field. We're not seeking an MBA here. For someone who's interested in South Asian Cinema, Harvard is clearly a misfit even if it's on top of everybody's ranking scale. It makes so sense whatsoever to apply there. Even if a certain school has an extremely renowned scholar in your sub field, he or she might not be the ideal supervisor for you- it depends on so many things, your background, what you intend to study, your interests in the faculty, their interest in you, the PhD trajectories each school follows, what kind of financial support it offers its students- the list is really endless. And i would go ahead and say that even a ranking system based on your sub-field is complicated, as I'm sure we all know very well, our research topics can sometimes get so well defined that it's easy to see that one or two scholars working on diverse aspects of your sub field in a particular department won't suffice. I think if one carefully evaluates all of these and other factors and picks a school, he or she has a much better chance of coming out a well rounded media/film scholar rather than picking a Harvard or Yale when your research interests are a long way away from those of the department. Finally, I don't know what the evaluative criteria for judging one batch of scholars from say a USC to a UT Austin really is (besides placements), 'interesting' is a heavily subjective term.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Vanilatea

[waitingforgodard]

It really should be based on your research interests; starting there typically narrows down the options. Once you are accepted the visit helps a lot. I agree though, it is a tough decision - I'm struggling with it myself.

Hey ci1717,

I was just wondering what you've discovered about USC. What's your opinion about their strengths in terms of specfic research interests? --an open question to anyone else, of course, if you've made any discoveries.

[elbow2332]

Vanilla Tea, your points are well-taken, especially on "interesting." In hindsight, that was a sloppy bit of http://en.wikipedia....egant_variation to avoid reusing the word "leading," which is decidedly less subjective.

Certainly many external criteria enter into our decisions. I like warmth, for one! I had a personal preference ranking of the eight universities I applied to that considered, but did not rely entirely upon, my tierings. I thought Indiana was the bee's knees fit-wise for me, but I also had to bear in mind that they could not offer many of the resources that Yale could irrespective of interests. But then both rejected me anyway, so pah.

All the same, if I were on a hiring committee and there were two candidates, one who went to Georgia State and had advisers with very close interests, and another who went to Harvard and had to be a little more self-directed because there was no South Asian scholar available, I would expect the latter "to have a much better chance of coming out a well rounded media/film scholar." Perhaps you and I would differ in our leanings there.

For what it's worth: although I enjoy batting around these rankings or tierings in personal conversation or on the GF forums, I wouldn't want to take them any further. My worry is that institutionalized hard-and-fast rankings (like the USNWR's or the NRC's) might on the whole not be good for us.

Does anyone think we would be better off with a http://www.philosoph...com/overall.asp or a http://grad-schools....glish-rankings?

Edited March 22, 2012 by elbow2332

[ci1717]

Hey ci1717,

I was just wondering what you've discovered about USC. What's your opinion about their strengths in terms of specfic research interests? --an open question to anyone else, of course, if you've made any discoveries.

I am not from USC, I just have a decent knowledge of the department.

In terms of research interests, the great thing about USC is that they have faculty strengths in almost any area you can think of. They have a number of faculty working in transnational cinema including Nitin Govil (who they just hired this year), Marsha Kinder (who is retiring, sadly), Aniko Imre, and Priya Jaikumar. In media policy and industry studies, they have Ellen Seiter, Nitin Govil, Rick Jewell, and Drew Casper. Tara McPherson is amazing, and she works on digital media. Todd Boyd does race. David James is an expert in experimental cinema. Bill Whittington is great, and he works on science fiction and sound (and has done work on adaptations). Priya Jaikumar, Ellen Seiter, Iniko Imre, Tara Mcpherson and Kara Keeling do gender studies.

Edited March 23, 2012 by ci1717

[tsuga]

I'd like to chime in on the whole useless rankings thing. For example, all of the programs in elbow's tier 1 would be near the bottom of a television scholar's list.

[MrBrooklyn]

I just spoke to someone at Iowa about the Film Studies MA. Was told decisions would "probably go out early next week."

[CU2011]

Columbia's MA decisions went out by Postal Service yesterday, for all waiting on that.

[MrBrooklyn]

And it looks like NYU MAs are starting now, since I just received an email.

[elbow2332]

Good news, I hope, MrBrooklyn?

[MrBrooklyn]

Well, I was accepted, but there are other programs I've been accepted to that I prefer.

[elbow2332]

Oh yeah, now I remember you'd gotten into a few MA/Ph.D.s too.

Congrats on the positive response, anyway!

[MrBrooklyn]

Thanks. And congrats to you on getting accepted to one of my top two choices, which I didn't manage to do.

[andypants]

Hello everyone,

I've narrowed my choices down to USC vs. UCLA (MA in Critical/Cinema Studies), and am leaning towards the latter. What are your thoughts on UCLA's program, its advantages and weaknesses?

Also, is anyone here NOT pursuing an academic career? I'm interested in public programming/curating and writing, but I sometimes have doubts that getting an MA is the best way to go about that... any opinions?

Thanks for your input, and congrats to all who received good news!

[ci1717]

I will just say this - I have heard from multiple UCLA MA grads that UCLA is currently having some structural issues (the faculty do not necessarily get along), and quite a few of them have stated that this negatively affected their academic experience. That being said, I myself applied to UCLA because the faculty strength in my focus area was enough to warrant atleast a strong consideration. So, if UCLA is the best fit, that's wonderful. I would just advice that you email a few current MA students or recent MA graduates at each program to ask about their experiences.

[jesusrules1517]

I'm in the same boat as Andy, but deciding between Columbia and NYU ( though also still hopeful that I may get picked off Harvard's PhD waitlist as I have a "very high" spot). Any thoughts on the MA programs though? I've heard NYU's MA program is not very competitive at this point, while Columbia's is more selective. I'm interested mainly in theory and avant-garde film, so any knowledge of the programs' strenghts would be appreciated.

Thanks and congrats to all!

[andypants]

I will just say this - I have heard from multiple UCLA MA grads that UCLA is currently having some structural issues (the faculty do not necessarily get along), and quite a few of them have stated that this negatively affected their academic experience. That being said, I myself applied to UCLA because the faculty strength in my focus area was enough to warrant atleast a strong consideration. So, if UCLA is the best fit, that's wonderful. I would just advice that you email a few current MA students or recent MA graduates at each program to ask about their experiences.

Ugh. That's not something I even considered, thanks for the advice. I do find UCLA to be the better fit for me, interest-wise (primarily post-WWII European film). May I ask what your focus area is?

[elbow2332]

Jesusrules, by "theory" do have more in mind Eisenstein/Bazin/Metz or Derrida/Deleuze/Lyotard? Or some other theoretical set? My understanding is that with the exception of Dana Polan, NYU tends to steer clear of the D/D/L route. (Or Bordwell's SLAB, for that matter.)

[unrelated note: I deleted my school ranking post, not as an implied retraction but because it just struck me as potentially foolhardy to leave those views in public.]

Edited March 25, 2012 by elbow2332

[CU2011]

@jesusrules I did my undergraduate at Columbia's film program, and ended up taking quite a few of the graduate programs. PM me with any specific questions, but Columbia in general has more professors that tend to study more historical/internation film than theory, with the exception of Nico Baumbach, who is the MA Thesis adviser for everyone.

[Swagato]

So is U. Iowa officially the last remaining major program this year? One person posted a few weeks back that they had been accepted, but I've not seen any further details, and the grad coordinator claims no official word has gone out, positive or negative. I've known her since undergrad days, so I see no reason for her to mislead me on this. (Small benefit of schools in Iowa and similar places == minimal bureaucracy/maximum conviviality.)

[Vanilla Tea]

Finally got rejected from UCSB after they made me wait for a month and half after all other applicants had been notified, saying that I was one of their 'top applicants' and it was mainly a matter of funding. Well, I guess that's how life rolls.

I'm probably headed to UT Austin this fall. Anyone else going there?

[MrBrooklyn]

Same here, VT. Got my rejection tonight, which was disheartening but ultimately remedied with some friends and a bottle of wine. Looks like I'll likely be heading toward IU-Bloomington instead.

[MrBrooklyn]

What is the deal with Iowa this year? Maybe they've just abolished their Master's program.