Requirements for the MA
General Requirements: The Terminal MA in Film and Media Studies degree will be granted only to those students who have been admitted to the PhD in Film and Media Studies but are subsequently unable to finish the program. The terminal MA provides this group of students the possibility of a terminal degree that acknowledges their time of study. A total of 30 credits are needed, including the three core courses in Film and Media Studies and five electives in film studies.
Master’s Research Paper: The Master’s paper is required for a terminal MA in Film. This project can be based on a paper prepared for a Film and Media Studies class. It should be between 6,000-8,000 words following MLA format. One Film and Media Studies faculty member will supervise the paper (most likely the instructor for the class in which the paper was written). Two other film faculty members including the student’s AOC Department faculty advisor and one other film faculty member will serve as readers. All three must approve the paper for it to fulfill the Film and Media Studies Terminal Master’s paper requirement. To pass, a paper should coherently present original research on a topic or issue relevant to the contemporary study of time-based media and/or their histories, incorporating primary research in a cogent, scholarly fashion.
