Hello, I wanted to mention another terminal degree in film programs yet to be discussed which is an MFA. It is a stand alone degree (which in some programs includes film studies) not a touchstone. For example, no one goes on to get Ph.D. in Fine Arts. I have also heard it called a "teaching degree". I am curious to hear from other MFA recepients about their professional experiences in addition to programs that offer MFAs in Film/Video/Media. Thanks shane --- Tim Shary <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello everyone-- > > I'd just like to reiterate what David Tetzlaff > said in his message, if > only as a fair warning to Kelly Shindler and others > out there looking to > move from the undergrad to grad level of film > studies. The M.A. is not a > terminal degree, and most programs want to see > evidence of your commitment > to their Ph.D. even if you are just coming out of a > B.A. program. > Personally, I got lucky in getting an M.A. and > getting accepted into a > different Ph.D. program elsewhere, however, I can > tell you that many Ph.D. > programs questioned why I did not originally pursue > my grad studies in their > programs. > > One of the not-so-veiled secrets of the grad > school business is that > Masters degrees provide a lot of cash flow-- > especially at programs that > invite many students to pursue an M.A. and then > admit very few (if any) > students to the Ph.D. Beware of schools like this. > If you want to be a > film academic, as David suggests, you must go for > the Ph.D. anyway. If > you're just going for the M.A., you may have a > second chance later, but > you're also taking a very big risk. > > At any rate, I would not be discouraged, since > there are many ways to > become involved in film studies that don't even > require a Ph.D. Yet if you > do want to be a film professor, the doctorate is an > essential necessity (and > lately it seems you also need a book contract and a > half-dozen published > articles, and an Oscar-winning film would help). > Cast your application net > wide and see what you find, and ask everyone you > know in the film realm all > the questions you can think of. Don't let anyone > tell you that there's one > finite solution to becoming involved in film > studies-- after all, you can > even be a film professor without a Ph.D. at > community colleges, and slowly > but surely some high schools are hiring film > teachers. > > I'd be curious to hear the experiences of others > on this list who can > comment on the M.A. vs. Ph.D. issue. > > Dr. Timothy Shary > Assistant Professor of Screen Studies > Traina Center for the Arts > Clark University > Worcester, MA 01610 > 508-793-7285 > > ---- > Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at > ScreenSite > http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite