By the end of the second year, the student must pass an oral M.A. exam administered by the student's M.A. Committee, based on two research papers written and revised by the student during the first two years of the program. M.A. committees are comprised of 3 members, of which 2 including the chair must be regular Senate faculty members of the Department of Film and Media Studies.    (Click for more details on Masters Exam Policy Guidelines.)

Students who complete the required M.A. graduate work and pass the oral exam with sufficient distinction will be invited to continue working toward the Ph.D. degree.

Media Production Proficiency Prerequisite. Media production proficiency must be fulfilled prior to the awarding of the M.A. degree. It may be satisfied by one of the following (these units do not count toward the degree): 1) Production courses at UCSB, subject to the approval of the Departmental Graduate Committee; 2) A record of prior production courses or experience at other universities, subject to the approval of the Departmental Graduate Committee; 3) A record of previous work experience, or production course work (undergraduate or graduate) from other programs or departments, which resulted in the production of a “substantial, single project,” subject to the approval of the Departmental Graduate Committee.

B. Doctor of Philosophy – Film and Media Studies

The expected time to complete the Ph.D. is three years following the successful completion of the M.A. The student must, sometime between the end of his or her M.A. program and the first year of the Ph.D., investigate potential locations for off-campus research. In the first year of the Ph.D., the student must a) complete six graduate courses, some or all of which will contribute to the development of the student's emerging research program. By the end of the first year of the Ph.D. (i.e., the third year of the M.A./Ph.D.), each student will have taken and passed a total of seventeen courses.

By the time of Advancement to Candidacy, each student will have established a reading knowledge in at least one foreign language. The faculty believes that establishing a reading knowledge in at least one foreign language is an integral part of graduate training in a field that is international in scope and in a department that seeks to come to terms with the global nature of film and media production, distribution, and dissemination.

There are two kinds of requirements for the Ph.D. degree that involve the acquisition of a foreign language. These requirements are separate and independent.

1. If expertise in a specific foreign language is necessary or desirable for the purpose of conducting research for a Ph.D. dissertation, a student's Ph.D. Committee may require competency in that foreign language. This foreign language may, but need not, be the same language that is offered to fulfill the general requirement (see below).

2. All candidates for the Ph.D. degree, prior to Advancement to Candidacy, must demonstrate reading "proficiency" or "competency," not necessarily "fluency," in a foreign language. This is a general requirement for the Ph.D. degree; thus any language courses that a student takes must be in addition to the required seventeeen Film and Media Studies core and elective courses for the MA/Ph.D. degree or the required eleven Film and Media Studies core and elective courses for the Ph.D.-only degree. The standard is “reading knowledge.”  There are three ways in which to achieve this level of ability (these units do not count towards the degree):

1) Completion of a language course at Level 6 (i.e., 6 quarters of study) with a minimum grade of B+; or,

2) Completion of an upper-division literature course conducted in the foreign language with a minimum grade of B+; or,

3) Completion of a reading course for graduate students (e.g. French 6 or 11A-B, German 2G or 6 and Spanish 6) with a minimum grade of B+.

Students whose native language is not English will be deemed to be at least bilingual and thus to have satisfied the foreign language requirement. (Click here for additional information on Language Evaluation Exams)

Formation of Ph.D. Committee and Prospectus. A Ph.D. committee must have four or five members. At least three members must be regular Senate faculty in the Department of Film and Media Studies. At least one member must be from outside the Department. Affliliated faculty, for this purpose, are considered to be outside the home department. A fifth member is optional. The prospectus must consist of an original topic, contributing new
knowledge to the field and offer a solid blueprint for the dissertation research. It should include an extensive rationale for the project, a discussion of methodology, a survey of relevant literature, a bibliography, filmography and videography, a descriptive table of contents, and a firm, realistic timeline. The prospectus should be from 3750 - 5000 words in length (15 - 20 pages) not including the biblio/film/videography.

Timeline for Ph.D. Committee and Ph.D. Qualifying Exam.The Ph.D. Qualifying Exam consists of written and oral portions. By the end of week four of Spring quarter of the third year of the M.A./Ph.D., a student must form a dissertation committee;by the end of week ten of Spring quarter, he or she must choose three areas of specialization, together with appropriate reading lists and filmographies/videographies, relating to the dissertation topic and prospectus developed in consultation with the committee; by the end of week three of the fall quarter of the fourth year, the student must pass a written examination administered by the doctoral committee covering the three areas of specialization, and by the end of week seven pass an oral defense of the of the written exams and prospectus. Upon successful completion of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam, the student will file for Advancement to Candidacy.

Ph.D. Written Exam. The exam will focus on broad questions and the important texts within the three chosen areas of specialization. It consists of a take-home exam, administered over the course of three consecutive days, beginning Monday or Tuesday. Prior to the exam, the student will arrange the time for pick up and drop off of the questions and responses with the student’s Dissertation Committee Chair and the Graduate Program Assistant. Questions will be given out day by day and the student writes a response over a 24-hour period. The typewritten response will be twelve to twenty double-spaced pages in a 12-point font for each question. A choice of two questions for each area will be given, from which the student chooses one. Each student may choose the order of his or her area exams.

Ph.D. Qualifying Oral Exam. The oral portion of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam takes place over a two-hour period and covers the student’s Written Exam and dissertation prospectus. The format of the exam—that is, the allocation of time to presentation by the student, questions from the Committee Chair and members, and group discussion—is determined by the Dissertation Committee Chair in consultation with committee members. The student may be asked about Written Exam questions (answered or unanswered) and any matters related to the three areas of study of the prospectus.

Following the end of the Oral Exam, the designation of Pass or Fail will be given to each of the three Written Exam questions and the prospectus.

Nota Bene: Since faculty are employed on a nine-month year, they are normally unavailable for teaching, mentoring, or consultation responsibilities during the summer.

Ph.D. Dissertation Defense. During the remainder of the fourth year the student will be encouraged to study at a research site abroad or in the U.S. for a period of between three and six months. In the fifth, sixth, and, if necessary, the seventh year, the student will complete the writing of the dissertation based on original research, and then successfully defend it orally before the dissertation committee at a forum open to the public.

II. PH.D.-ONLY REQUIREMENTS

The Ph.D.-only degree is for those students who hold an M.A. or M.F.A. degree in Film and Media Studies or a closely-related discipline.  Forty-four (44) units of coursework are required (eleven 4-unit courses), including the six graduate core courses.  In addition, there are two prerequisites:  (1) media production proficiency requirement, and (2) a foreign language proficiency requirement, both of which must be satisfied before advancement to candidacy (see above for details on both requirements).  Normative time for advancement to Ph.D. candidacy is two years plus one quarter.

The procedures governing the Ph.D Committee, Prospectus, Written Exam, Oral Exam, and Oral Dissertation Defense are indicated above (but occur one year sooner than in the M.A./Ph.D.).