Film and Media Theory

[kwagner]

Anybody out there waiting for results for Film Theory programs? I am more interested in television studies than film studies- so my list of schools weighs a little heavy on the cultural studies side, but here is my list...

NYU- Steinhardt- Media, Culture, and Communication

USC- Cinema Critical Studies

UT Austin- RTF Critical Studies

Northwestern- Screen Cultures

UW Madison- Media and Cultural Studies

Georgetown- Culture, Communication, and Technology

UNC- Journalism and Mass Comm

Brown- Modern Culture and Media

I am still waiting to hear back from all- if anybody has heard from these programs I would love to hear about it! Thanks!!

[domanda]

I was just gonna start a thread like this. Although I only applied to one school overlapping with yours (brown). haven't heard anything from anywhere yet.

[wazi]

I'm so glad to see there are a few more of us out there. I applied to:

Berkeley-Rhetoric, film track

Brown- Modern Culture and Media

Iowa- Film Studies

Northwestern- Screen Cultures

Pitt- French/Film Studies

Santa Barbara- Film and Media Studies

USC- Critical Studies

UT Austin- Film Studies

Wisconsin, Madison- Film

So many different department names, I don't even quite remember all of them. So far I've been accepted to Madison, interviewed with Pitt, and got an invitation to Northwestern's weekend.

What kind of television stuff do you do kwagner? I'm on the film end, but I might do some tv stuff in the future. I wouldn't worry if you haven't heard from Madison. I've only talked to people specifically in film, so I would expect the decisions are done by subsection. Let's keep each other updated!

[kwagner]

wazi congratulations on the acceptance!! well played!! you can relax now!!

my scholarship in television has so far examined the commodification of social movements through television and also how the spectacle of television has evolved...

what are you interested in studying?

I will definitley keep you posted!

[wazi]

my scholarship in television has so far examined the commodification of social movements through television and also how the spectacle of television has evolved...

that sounds really interesting. i only have my BA, so my interests are not completely set, but gender in american cinema post WWII mostly.

where are the people who posted on the results page about UCSB? i logged into my account but no decision for me yet.

wazi congratulations on the acceptance!! well played!! you can relax now!!

thanks! i'm really excited about starting school in the fall. i didn't quite believe it would happen. good luck!

[GenderMediaGrad]

Wow! Both of your lists are almost identical to mine. I have one acceptance (not from your above schools) and haven't heard yet from the others... will post if I do.

Good luck to all of us!

[curiousgeorge]

Hey all,

Figured I should overcome my fear of posting this year and just let it rip. Nice to see a thread like this finally. It seems like there's a lot of overlap between my schools and other people's, too. I'm interested in studying non-commercial/instructional/educational media, masculinity, and youth-- mostly focused in the 20 or so years after the end of WWII (or that's what I put on my SoP at least). Oh and uhh, strictly in America for the moment. My academic interests began in film theory, though, so I'm curious to know what other people are pursuing there as well.

My list (heavy on the critical/cultural side as well):

USC- Critical Studies (Cinema-Television, prob reject as I hear they're normally an early notifier)

Wisconsin- Media and Cultural Studies

Minnesota- American Studies (prob reject-- they've already taken 4 people I think)

UCSD- Communication (in unofficially, no word on funding)

UCSB- Film & Media Studies (out)

Syracuse- English (for steven cohan, basically, who probably has every non-lit person there trying to get his attention)

Indiana- Communication & Culture/American Studies (in with a decent package)

NYU- Media, Culture, Comm (I'm an internal and therefore will most likely not get in...no, of course it won't be my sub par app that's to blame... :wink: )

Texas- RTF (will probably be made or broken depending on who is on the committee this year).

A couple of things I'm curious about at the moment:

1. Does anyone have any conception of the distribution of admits within Wisconsin's comm arts dept? In other words, do they take 4 film, 4 rhetoric, 4 m&cs, 4 comm sci (I chose 4 arbitrarily) or is it unevenly distributed? Are the applications to each dept about even in number?

2. Does anyone have any idea about placement records for any of the schools we're considering (a little "cart before the horse," i know)? I know websites have this kind of info, but they only give you a sense of the successes, not the failures.

Best of luck to everyone! I'll be sure to post new and useful info if and when I get it.

[wazi]

so I heard from USC today. They took me for an MA, which was nice, but I'm guessing it's unfunded. Anybody else get that email or know more about the department? Sort of feels like rejection light.

Speaking of rejection, are the Berkeley or Brown admits around anywhere? (I would love to hear about your interests.) I saw the lone post for Brown a few days ago, so I'm figuring it's off the list. It seems strange that historically all their admits are in February and their rejections in March. I know a lot of schools are like this, but doesn't it seem kind of mean to make everyone wait so long to be rejected?

Hope everyone is hanging in there! Congrats on UCSD and Indiana, curiousgeorge!

[curiousgeorge]

Damn, it really seems like USC tries to put some kind of indelible stamp on the students that go through their program. I've heard that anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 of their Ph.D offers go to candidates from their M.A. class...so if they redirect you (and others?) to their M.A. first then they must really want to grow the future Ph.D's from day one. Sorta seems a little out of step with other programs, but anyway this is all just a roundabout way of saying that I would definitely not just view the offer as rejection lite, Wazi! You prob won't be worrying about this either way, but it's gotta make you feel good at least.

And yeah, it's seriously lame that we have to wait around biting our nails for an extra month while schools sit on decisions that are already made. I just don't understand-- how hard can it be to have some freshman office worker to spend an afternoon sealing rejection letters in envelopes once the acceptances/interview invites go out? The naive and forgiving side of me assumes there must be some good reason...

[dalf]

I'm still waiting to hear back from the bulk of the schools I applied to.

I got into UMiami (notified in December, extremely early!) but am still waiting on USC, WashU, UCLA, Emory, BU, NYU and Columbia.

A bit surprised to hear that USC has already begun contacting people. The only thing I've heard from them is from their financial aid office about missing documentation, but nothing yet from admissions. Has anyone else that has gotten in/been rejected/waitlisted heard anything?

[curiousgeorge]

I think there might have been some sort of problem with the letters that were being sent out-- I'm just taking that from a lone post on gradcafe, though. I called the other day and asked what was going on because my status on the applyyourself page had listed that weird "we've made a decision but can't tell you here-- the letter is on the way" message for over a week and a half. The person I talked to didn't mention anything about a problem, but was kind enough to tell me my decision (I didn't even ask). So, maybe you can figure out some excuse to call and they'll tell you?

Edit: maybe you haven't seen anything yet because they do the M.A. review second? I was applying for Ph.D. Forgot to mention that I guess.

[curiousgeorge]

Also, are there any Wisconsin Media & Cultural Studies admits lurking anywhere? I'd be very interested to know what you study, who you want to do it with, your background...all of that. I really enjoyed being in Madison when I went to do some research at the historical society there earlier this year, so I was pretty bummed to get the letter today (and from Lea Jacobs? I was hoping to at least get rejected by Michele Hilmes...or someone in the department I applied to!). I keep telling myself that I'll end up there someday. Yeah right. If only they knew how disturbingly handsome I am...

[BostonGrrl]

Wazi... has the Northwestern weekend already happened?

[wazi]

Wazi... has the Northwestern weekend already happened?

I couldn't go, since I'm currently far from home. But yeah, it was scheduled for this past weekend.

[kwagner]

So then end of February has come, and I was really hoping to know more by now! Blah!

I am glad to see the acceptances out there! Congratulations everybody!!

I heard back from Georgetown mid February and was accepted. I am so glad that was the first notice I received, because otherwise I would have been a nervous wreck the rest of the month! I got a letter from Madison last friday advising I was not accepted to the MA program. Bummer!

Is anyone else having problems with the USC and N'western status pages?

Ok, Good luck everybody!!

[hornedfrogmeg]

Talked to UT-Austin today... They said they are still reviewing apps, but are "very close" to being done.

Not a lot of info, but something nonetheless.

[pha4545]

Texas has apparently sent some rejections and wait-lists to current MA students.

[hornedfrogmeg]

Texas has apparently sent some rejections and wait-lists to current MA students.

What do you mean current MA Students? Do current students find out who is accepted before those accepted are?

[pha4545]

No, I mean that current MA students who applied to the Ph.D. program have been notified.

[peffy1962]

Anyone heard from Northwestern or WashU yet? I applied to Northwestern's Screen Cultures M.A./Ph.D. program and haven't heard anything yet, which doesn't bode well given that there was an interview weekend recently. I've still got my fingers crossed that I might at least be admitted to their M.A. program. As for WashU, I applied exclusively to the M.A.

I'm just getting antsy, I guess! I've got one rejection so far (Wisconsin)... it's heightened the anxiety!

[curiousgeorge]

I got the acceptance from IU on Feb 6. They definitely sent out one round of admits and rejections, but I'm not sure if they're done accepting for the standalone M.A. or not. 

Northwestern had their interview sessions for finalists this past weekend. I was not invited, but I heard from a friend who went. So, I'm guessing that if we weren't accepted for the chance to fight to be accepted, then we aren't going to be accepted at all. It's all bullshit, dude.

Anyone know what it means when applyyourself application status says "graduate school final review?" Is it really a "review," or is it just one of those cruel ways in which the department lets you know they've made a decision without telling you what it is? Haven't heard a peep from the dept in question, and a few acceptances were posted as early as mid-January. Eek.

[curiousgeorge]

Sorry, didn't notice at first that you were already aware of the Northwestern weekend. But yeah, I think that's still the verdict. Sucks, I know..I wanted to go there too.

[peffy1962]

Yep, I heard from Northwestern and WashU yesterday - rejected from both. I am now 0/3 with 1 to go. I really don't get it. I think I'm going to have to blame it on the economy to maintain my sanity.

[kwagner]

peffy1962 said:

Yep, I heard from Northwestern and IU yesterday - rejected from both. I am now 0/3 with 1 to go. I really don't get it. I think I'm going to have to blame it on the economy to maintain my sanity.

I am sorry to hear about that. You are absolutely right in blaming the economy. We could not be applying at a more difficult time! Not to mention that it could just be that your app did not click with the readers this year, but that doesn't mean it will not happen next year!

So UT said they would be done soon? Hopefully before South by Southwest, because I heard that last year the application reading was completely haulted for S by SW! Not that I can blame them.

I have totally written of N'Western and USC. (Didn't somebody get accepted to USC at like the beginning of Feb?) There is no way those letters are not rejections!!

[pha4545]

UT "shuts down" not for SXSW, but because it's Spring Break...

But I'm betting they'll let us know before then.