Phd Film/Media Studies Advice

[heathercomestolife]

I am about to finish my masters at NYU in cinema studies and am trying to decide which schools to apply to this fall for Phd programs. I am having a hard time deciding where to apply considering many factors (location, financial aid, and most importantly if they will accept me) My main research interest in new asian media such as Korean dramas, Bollywood, Anime, and also video games. As of now I definitely want to apply to Austin, Brown and Berkeley and maybe Concordia, Auckland, Michigan, East Angilia...

There are a lot of options and I want to cast the net as wide as I can afford application fee wise, but not haphazardly.

Also, I was wondering as far as letters of reccomendation go, is it best to get a professor who has a similar research interest as you, or someone who maybe knows you better? I am also worried about asking professors to submit it so many times. Is there a better solution, such as giving them stamped addressed envelopes and physically mailing them instead or do schools frown upon that?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks everyone.

[byrony]

Good luck with your applications! It sounds like you have a lot of great options. I would recommend getting letters from professors who know you better AND who will be known by some of the professors on the admissions committees of the schools you are applying to. Do not worry about pestering profs to write letters-- they are used to it And the online application forms make this process very easy for them.

For Asian new media, you might also want to consider USC and Duke.

[directjw1]

I am also applying for the Ph.D. in Film/Media Studies, and also have an interest in Asian cinema, specifically films from Taiwan and China. I have found that the main schools with faculty who are doing research in Asian cinema for the PhD program are UC Irvine, USC, and UC Santa Barbara. I have already contacted several professors from these schools, and they have written back to me saying that my interests match theirs and that I should apply. I recommend you contact professors from these schools too.

Berkeley also has a few professors doing Asian cinema.