Degree Requirements

A.   Required Core Courses (6 courses):

• FLM&MDA 285A: Film Studies: Theory and Methods
• FLM&MDA 285B: Television Studies: Theory and Methods
• FLM&MDA 285C: Digital Media and Game Studies: Theory and Methods
• FLM&MDA 286A: Film and Media Studies Historiography
• FLM&MDA 286B: Media/Power/Culture
• FLM&MDA 286C: Methods and Research Design

B.  Elective Courses (7 courses)
Students must take three elective courses from within the Department of Film and Media Studies (FLM&MDA 291, 292, 295) and two outside Film and Media Studies. The remaining two electives can be taken within or outside the department.

Students entering with a M.A. may petition to have up to three elective courses waived, subject to the approval of Graduate Division. Students who have had three courses waived must take two elective courses from within the Department of Film and Media Studies and one outside Film and Media Studies. The remaining elective can be taken within or outside the department.

C. Required Practicums in Film and Media Studies (4 courses)

• FLM&MDA 287: Practicum in Pedagogy
• FLM&MDA 288A: Practicum in Professionalization I
• FLM&MDA 288B: Practicum in Professionalization II
• FLM&MDA 288C: Practicum in Professionalization III

D.  Required Supporting Course (1 course)

• FLM&MDA 298: Prospectus Writing Practicum

Students will consult with the program Director and their principal advisor(s) to determine whether they must demonstrate or develop proficiency in a second language for their research.[1] If the program Director and principal advisor(s) determine that proficiency in a second language is required, the student must demonstrate this proficiency prior to advancing to candidacy. In the event a student does not need a second language to conduct doctoral research, they will not be required to demonstrate proficiency in a second language.

If determined to be required, the language requirement may be satisfied by one of the following means:

1. By passing the Film and Media Studies translation exam. A request must be made to the Film and Media Studies staff within the first two weeks of the quarter the student wishes to take the exam.
2. By completing, with a grade of B or better, a language course at the 2C level or equivalent, with the exception of Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which must be completed at the 3C level or equivalent.
3. By attaining a proficiency level of 2C on the Russian Exemption Exam or a proficiency level of 3C on the Chinese Exemption Exam offered by UCI's Academic Testing Center.
4. By petitioning the program. Grounds for a petition might include the student’s being a native speaker in a language other than English or having completed an equivalent language requirement at a different institution. The granting of this petition will remain at the discretion of the Graduate Director, although students dissatisfied with this determination may request the petition be considered by the full faculty. Students who have completed the language requirement at a different institution will need to submit transcripts with the petition. Students will inquire with the Graduate Coordinator to complete a petition.

[1] Examples of when a second language would likely be necessary include Spanish proficiency for the study of Spanish-language media, Mandarin proficiency for study of media in Mainland China, or the relevant language for a project on non-English language transnational/diasporic media.

Students are required to select and confirm their Primary Advisor by the end of the first year.

At the end of the Spring quarter, the Film and Media Studies faculty will review the performance and progress of each first-year student and provide written evaluation of their work. This evaluation will include an assessment of the student's ability to complete independent research.

A positive assessment indicates that the student is making good progress.

A cautionary assessment will be accompanied by a description of specific improvements that a student must make in order to advance to candidacy in the third year.

A negative assessment will place the student on Academic Conditional Status. Faculty will give written feedback with specific areas for improvement and a timeline for future expectations of academic progress. Students who fail to demonstrate improvement may be recommended for dismissal from the program without a dgree.

All students apply for and are accepted into the doctoral program.

Students who enter the Ph.D. program with a prior graduate degree (M.A. or beyond) in Film and Media Studies or a related discipline may petition to waive the M.A. exam requirement in recognition of their prior degree; normatively, this will be approved. In these cases, students will not complete the M.A. exam requirement nor earn a second M.A. en route to the Ph.D. Film and Media Studies faculty will determine what graduate degree fields qualify as related disciplines. Students entering with an M.F.A. will typically be required to complete the M.A. exam unless the Graduate Committee determines that the degree is equivalent to an M.A.

Students who have not earned an M.A. in a relevant field prior to matriculating in the Film and Media Studies Ph.D. program must earn an M.A. degree as part of the Ph.D. program. The program does not offer a stand-alone or terminal M.A., except in instances when a student does not continue in the program toward earning the Ph.D.

To earn the M.A. degree, the student must:

1. Satisfactorily complete six foundational courses (FLM&MDA 285A, 285B, 285C; FLM&MDA 286A, 286B, 286C);
2. Satisfactorily compete FLM&MDA 287;
3. Satisfactorily complete seven electives (three must be within the Department of Film and Media Studies and two outside the Department of Film and Media Studies);
4. Pass the M.A. Exam; and
5. File the necessary paperwork for conferral of degree with Graduate Division.

For the M.A. exam, the student will revise one seminar paper written while in the program and submit the revised paper before the start of the Spring quarter in their second year of study.

The requirements for passing the M.A. exam are as follows:

• The revised paper must present a substantive and original argument;
• It must reflect substantial revision from the original paper, demonstrating additional research and/or reconceptualization and responsiveness to feedback;
• It must demonstrate a command of the relevant literature;
• It must present adequate evidence to support its claims;
• It must be clearly written in an appropriate academic style; and
• It must be formatted according to MLA or Chicago Manual of Style guidelines with proper citation and bibliography.

This paper will be evaluated by a three-person M.A. committee, which consists of the student’s primary advisor as chair and two additional department faculty members appointed by the Program Director in consultation with the student and the advisor. The committee will unanimously decide whether the student has passed the M.A. exam and if they are eligible to proceed toward the Ph.D., taking into holistic account the exam (revised paper) results, input from the core Film and Media Studies faculty during the First-Year Review, and the student’s progress during the second year of course work. There are four possible determinations:

• Positive: The student will earn the M.A. degree and qualifies to continue toward the Ph.D. exams.

• Cautionary: The student will earn the M.A. degree and qualifies to continue toward the Ph.D. exams but with areas for improvement communicated in writing to the student and advisor. This occurs when the student’s holistic performance and promise outweigh a borderline exam or vice versa.

• M.A. Only: The student will earn the M.A. degree but is disqualified from continuing toward the Ph.D. exams. This occurs when the student’s holistic performance and promise do not outweigh a borderline exam.

• Negative: The exam is unacceptable. The student will not earn the M.A. degree and is disqualified from continuing toward the Ph.D. exams.

Students may revise and resubmit the M.A. paper one additional time in case of a failure to pass.

By the end of their second year, students will work with their advisor to plan their Examination fields for the following year. No later than the end of Spring in the second year of study, students will establish a three-person Qualifying Exam Committee, at least 51% of whose members, including the Dissertation Advisor, must be core faculty in the Department of Film and Media Studies.

The student will be examined on three bibliographies: The Standard Bibliography in Film Studies, Television Studies, or Digital Media Studies; the Field Bibliography, selected in consultation with the Exam Committee, and the Dissertation Bibliography. In the Fall and Winter quarters of the third year, the student will enroll in FLM&MDA 296: Reading for the Preliminary Examination and read the works on these three bibliographies. The three exam areas should serve to help the student define general areas of specialized competence that will aid them in establishing a broad base for the dissertation and in developing college-level courses. Students may not enroll in FLM&MDA 296 until all their other course requirements (with the exception of FLM&MDA 298: Prospectus Writing Practicum) have been completed.

The Qualifying Examination will be administered by the Qualifying Exam Committee and will include both a written and an oral component. The written component will consist of at least one question for each Exam bibliography for which the student has completed readings. Students will write at least one essay for each respective Exam. Faculty may offer a range of questions for each bibliography, giving the student a choice of which question(s) to answer. The Standard and Field Bibliography exams will consist of essays in response to a questions from the Exam Committee. These exams will be administered electronically and must be completed within twenty-four hours. The Dissertation Bibliography will consist of a Literature Review. The oral component of the exam will take place in conjunction with the Prospectus Defense during the Spring quarter of the student’s third year.

The student will enroll in FLM&MDA 298: Prospectus Writing Practicum and complete a prospectus that identifies the scope, approach, and rationale for their proposed dissertation. The student will present an oral defense of the prospectus to the Qualifying Exam Committee. When the prospectus has been unanimously approved by the Qualifying Exam Committee, the student will be advanced to doctoral candidacy. Students should have taken their preliminary examination, defended their dissertation prospectus, and advanced to doctoral candidacy no later than the end of Spring quarter of their third year. If a student will exceed the three-year normative time to candidacy, they must petition by Spring quarter of their third year for an exception, presenting an approved plan for timely progress to candidacy.

If a student does not pass the qualifying examination, consistent with UCI policy (Academic Senate Regulation 467) the student will be allowed one repeat attempt of the examination. This repeat examination will occur during the quarter following the initial examination.

The dissertation shall be an original research project of substantial length approved by the Doctoral Committee. The committee shall typically consist of the Doctoral Advisor and two additional faculty. At least 51% of the Doctoral Committee, including the Doctoral Advisor, must be core faculty in the Department of Film and Media Studies. The remaining members of the Doctoral Committee must satisfy Academic Senate requirements.

A final examination in the form of an oral defense of the dissertation is required for the Ph.D. This examination will be supervised by the Doctoral Committee and will be given just prior to the completion of the dissertation. The defense will be open to all members of the academic community. Faculty and graduate students of Film and Media Studies and the Graduate Dean will be given written notice of the date, time, and place of the examination at least five days in advance of the examination.

The normative time to degree is six years (18 quarters). The first nine quarters are spent in pre-candidacy, the last 9 quarters in candidacy. Normatively, students will complete their course work within the first two years and prepare for and pass the Qualifying Examination and advance to candidacy in the third year. The maximum time to degree is seven years.