Program recs for Film/Visual/Media Studies

[larajean_p]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying to MA programs (also considered PhDs, but I've sat on this for so long now that I think it's a little late this cycle to really commit to it) in Film/Visual/Media Studies. I'm considering programs in the US, Canada, and Europe. I am basically hoping for the best in terms of funding (which is why I'm open to European programs), so any advice on that would be great. I graduated in 2014 and have been living at home for the past year working a service (but living wage) job, so I have been able to save quite a bit of money and as long as I get a decent % of tuition remission, I think I can make it work.

I have a 3.5 from undergrad from a top 25 university with a major in English and a minor concentration in Art History. GRE scores are 165/165/4.5. I'm a little concerned about my writing score and the fact that my undergraduate studies do not quite align with what I want to focus on in graduate school, especially considering that my English program was not theory-heavy. I focused mostly on Creative Writing (creative non-fiction and documentary writing).

However, because I only have a minor in Art History, I only had to take one survey course and actually focused primarily on film and cultural studies, so I hope I'm not too far off. On the other hand, I was actually pre-med during undergrad, so my thesis was creative non-fiction but had more to do with public health than anything I'm interested in now. I do have a pretty good paper from a Feminist Art course that I plan on using as a writing sample. This is also part of why I want to pursue an MA before a PhD.

What I want to study: video art (mostly 80s and 2000s), shifts in viewing practices/spectatorship in new media, feminist film and art, code-switching in literature and film, East Asian and Southeast Asian (particularly Korean and Thai) cinema--My interests are fairly cohesive in my mind, but I can tell I may have a hard time clarifying everything in my SOP. 

Any recommendations for programs? I'm also open to Art History programs and English/Comp Li programs with concentrations in Media/Film/etc. I am at the intermediate level in German and French and have reading knowledge of Korean and Japanese. However, my skills are probably not enough to do a full program in German or French without some kind of intensive study first.

I appreciate any help on this! Thank you!

Edited October 20, 2015 by larajean_p

[toasterazzi]

Hi. You might want to check out this post in which someone else is also soliciting suggestions about film/media programs: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/69877-filmtv-studies-in-english-lit-program-suggestions/.

I commented there about being at OSU, and I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you might have about the program via PM. I'll add though that the Art History program here is one that overlaps with film. I don't know much about that component as that's not really my area, but I do know that they regularly offer classes that fall under the film umbrella. I also know that many of the different language departments here provide film coursework as well. And I did specifically take a Feminist Film Theory class in the Women's and Gender Studies department last year that I'd be happy to talk to you about as well.