Film and Digital Media

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in film and digital media challenges the traditionally conceived borders between creative and critical practice. The program enables dialogue between creative practice and theoretical knowledge as related forms of intellectual work and provides the conditions for students to realize a wide range of possible projects, including those that exist across the traditional divides of critical studies and production. Focusing on a diverse range of cultural production that includes cinema, television, video art, and Internet-based media, Ph.D. interrogate the historical, aesthetic, political, ideological, and technological aspects of these media forms across a range of international contexts, investigating their points of connection and convergence as well as their relationship to broader cultural and historical change. The program thus prepares students for intellectually informed creative practice as well as theoretical and critical production in a range of environments, not limited to traditional academic contexts.

Coursework

• A minimum of 108 units of study in coursework at UCSC. Residence for a minimum of six quarters.

  • Applicants who already hold an M.A. or M.F.A. degree may petition to waive up to 30 credits of coursework; such a waiver is subject to the approval of the director of Graduate Studies.
• Residence for a minimum of six quarters.

• When in residence, students will take a minimum of 36 credits per year until advancement to candidacy.

• First year students will be required to take the three foundational courses (200A-B-C), plus at least two film and digital media graduate elective courses.*

• Second year students must then take at least four film and digital media graduate elective courses.*

• Students are not permitted to enroll in 295 (Directed Reading) classes during their first year and are limited to one during their second year, unless they enter the program with an M.A. or M.F.A.

• Third year students arrange three Directed Readings (FILM 295) to prepare for the three topic areas of their qualifying examination.

• Prior to advancing to candidacy, students will continue to meet the minimum number of credits with other 2-5 credit elective courses as appropriate.

• A student will thus take at least nine film and digital media graduate courses over the degree, not including 295, 297 and 299 classes.

  • The remaining course units may be selected from film and digital media graduate courses or graduate courses other departments, subject to approval from the student’s faculty adviser.

• Students must obtain permission from the Director of Graduate Studies, their faculty adviser to take advanced undergraduate courses.

• Students are expected to complete at least one year of supervised teaching as part of the degree requirements.

*Non-film and digital media graduate courses that are taught by film and digital media faculty can count as film and digital media graduate electives. Graduate electives in this category are listed in the annual and quarterly courses posted on the department’s web site http://film.ucsc.edu/ > Programs > Courses.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. This may include a computer programming language instead of a natural language when such a language is integral to the student’s field of study. The language requirement may be satisfied in one of two ways:

• by passing an upper-division course in a language related to the student’s research

• by passing a reading proficiency test administered by a qualified person approved by the director of Graduate Studies.

A student must pass the language requirement before taking Ph.D. qualifying examinations. There are three exceptions. (Documentation for the exception must be received and approved by the director of Graduate Studies at least two months before the qualifying examination.)

• The “foreign” language requirement may be waived for a non-English native speaker who has passed the proficiency test in English required for admission.

• The requirement may be waived for a student who is a native speaker of another language in addition to English. The student must submit a statement to the director of Graduate Studies attesting to their proficiency in the additional native language.

• The requirement may be waived if a student has proof of proficiency in a language other than English in the form of a language major or minor from recent undergraduate or master’s level education or equivalent. This must have been completed within the past five years at an accredited institution.

Timeline: Course Sequence, Examinations, and Dissertation

During the first year of study in FILM 200A-B-C classes, students will be introduced to the methodologies of developing a critical practice approach. This will occur while students simultaneously strengthen, with the appropriate elective classes, areas of theory or practice that pertain to their focus.

During the second year, the student will focus on selecting classes from the film and digital media elective series numbered 210–289. Students will also be encouraged to take electives from other graduate programs on campus.

At the end of the second year, undergo a second year review which functions as the master’s examination. Students will submit four to five coursework projects for the exam. One of these must be the final project from 200C.  Students will also submit a statement about that work and its contexts, which will form the basis for oral examination questions by faculty members. 

Students may nominate faculty members to the committee. The student’s faculty adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies will assemble the committee, taking into account the student’s nominations.  The committee will have a minimum of three faculty members, at least two of whom must be from the film and digital media faculty. One of those two must be the faculty adviser, who will chair the meeting. The committee must also include the Director of Graduate Studies. (The Director of Graduate Studies will not necessarily sit on the student’s committee for future exams/reviews.) The exam is closed; only the student and the faculty committee will be present.

For students entering without a master's degree, the committee will recommend one of three grades for the M.A. examination: fail, pass, or pass with permission to proceed. Students who fail may retake the oral component of the examination one time. A student with a pass only may leave the program with the degree of master of arts. Students who pass with permission to proceed may enter the third year of coursework toward the Ph.D. For students entering with a master's degree, the committee will discuss the result of the review and its recommendations for further progress in the program, including the timeline to the Ph.D. qualifying exam (QE).

The third year will be spent developing three qualifying exam topics that will lead to the dissertation in close consultation with the student’s faculty adviser. (This may occur earlier for students who enter with a master’s degree.) Students work with three faculty members to develop three distinct topic areas with a corresponding bibliography/mediagraphy in 295 (Directed Reading). Topic areas must be pre-approved by the director of Graduate Studies who will ensure that the breadth requirement is met.

Students will also begin assembling a qualifying exam committee. The QE committee will be comprised of four faculty members, at least one of whom must be from another discipline at UCSC or from another campus. Students will also nominate a faculty member to chair the examination committee. The chair should be a tenured faculty member from the Film and Digital Media Department, holding a Ph.D., but should not be the student’s primary faculty adviser or the person who will chair the dissertation. The composition of the QE committee must be approved by the Graduate Division and must be submitted to the director of Graduate Studies at least five weeks prior to the written examination.

The qualifying exam will typically be scheduled for the fall of the fourth year and no later than the end of the fourth year. (Students who enter with a master’s degree may be eligible to take the qualifying exam before their fourth year.) The QE will consist of a written examination and an oral examination. A student who fails the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam will be permitted to re-take it one time. During the qualifying exam quarter, students may enroll in up to two 299 (Thesis Research) classes with members of their committee.

No later than two academic quarters after successfully passing the qualifying examination, students submit a Dissertation Prospectus. The candidate’s qualifying exam committee must approve this prospectus. After the dissertation prospectus has been approved, the student will schedule a dissertation colloquium open to all film and digital media faculty and graduate students. The colloquium can be scheduled before or shortly after the official advancement to candidacy.

Students will advance to candidacy once they have successfully: 

• Completed all required coursework with satisfactory grade

• Satisfied the language requirement

• Passed the Ph.D. qualifying exam

• Submitted a dissertation prospectus approved by their dissertation committee

• Organize an approved dissertation committee, through the dissertation nomination form.

Completion of the Degree

Upon successful advancement to candidacy, students must then complete the following requirements for the Ph.D.

Dissertation: The dissertation, or Ph.D. thesis, is to be an original contribution of high quality to the field of film and digital media. If a student’s thesis contains a substantial creative component, the thesis project must also include a written component of no less than 75 pages. The dissertation must be approved by a committee consisting of a minimum of three faculty members, at least two must be from the film and digital media faculty. If the dissertation director does not hold a Ph.D. degree, then the majority of the remaining committee members must hold Ph.D.s.

The Ph.D. candidate shall submit the dissertation providing a minimum of 45 days for the committee members to review it. Once the committee has deemed it ready to defend, the candidate will work with the department and committee to schedule the oral dissertation defense.

Oral Defense: The oral defense will be comprised of a brief introduction of the dissertation’s form and content, and an articulation of the scholarly and artistic intervention it forges; the student will then answer questions posed by their dissertation committee. Invited members of the academic community may attend the defense, but the discussion will remain among the candidate and the committee.

Once the student has passed the oral dissertation defense, responds to any questions or suggestions for revisions, and has the dissertation approved by the committee, they will be eligible to “Announce Candidacy for Ph.D.”  by submitting the dissertation and required documents to the Division of Graduate Studies.

Sample Student Program for Each Year (Years 1-4)

Year 1: three core film and digital media courses; three electives, at least two of which are film and digital media courses or courses taught by film and digital media faculty

Fall

FILM 200A, Introduction to Graduate Study
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)

Winter

FILM 200B, Theory and Praxis of Film and Digital Media, Part 1
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)

Spring

FILM 200C, Theory and Praxis of Film and Digital Media, Part 2
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)

Year 2: six electives; at least four of which are film and digital media courses or courses taught by film and digital media faculty

Fall

Elective
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)

Winter

Elective
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)
Student suggests M.A. examination committee; prepares for examination.

Spring

Elective
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)
Student takes M.A. examination. If successful, advances to third year.

Year 3: three required film and digital media courses, three electives from Film and Digital Media or another department

Fall

FILM 295, Directed Reading
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)

Winter

FILM 295, Directed Reading
Elective
Foreign language/colloquium study/other elective (at least 2 credits)
Student develops three topic areas for Ph.D. qualifying exam

Spring

FILM 295, Directed Reading
Elective
Foreign language/other elective (at least 2 credits)
Student assembles Ph.D. dissertation committee, nominates Ph.D. qualifying examination committee.

Year 4

Student takes Ph.D. qualifying examination, registering for FILM 299, Thesis Research. If successful, advances to candidacy and continues research and writing of dissertation.

Designated Emphasis

UC Santa Cruz graduate students enrolled in doctoral programs may obtain a designated emphasis in film and digital media as part of their Ph.D. degree. Students must meet the following requirements in order to obtain the designated emphasis:

• Secure approval from a member of the film and digital media core faculty to serve as the adviser for the designated emphasis.

• Submit a significant piece of writing, or a project that includes both writing and creative practice, that demonstrates competence in the field of film and digital media. A writing submission could take the form of a seminar paper or dissertation chapter. A writing/creative project may be constituted from a range of possible media such as film, video, web-based or other digital media. The submitted project must meet the approval of the student's film and digital media adviser.

• Successfully complete four graduate courses (not independent studies) taught by either core or affiliated faculty of the film and digital media Ph.D. program. The courses must be pre-approved by the student's designated emphasis adviser.

Requirements

• Transcripts. You may upload a scanned copy of your unofficial transcripts to your online application, or send official copies to the Graduate Application Processing address
• Statement of Purpose. Recommended length is a concise 2-4 pages, single-spaced.
• The Personal History Statement is required of all applicants.This statement will be used in conjunction with your application for graduate admission and financial support. Please note that the Personal History Statement should not duplicate the Statement of Purpose.
• A résumé is required for some applications and optional for others.
• All recommendation letters are required to be submitted electronically through the online application.  You must register a minimum of three recommenders, and as many as five, via the Recommendations page of the online application.
• The application fee for the 2016-17 academic year is $105 for domestic applicants and $125 for international applicants. This fee can be paid by credit card or e-check (the e-check option is only available if you have a U.S. bank account). 
• Official GRE scores must be sent from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to UC Santa Cruz, School Code 4860 (no department code necessary).  Official scores must be received prior to the application deadline.
• If you are a non-native English speaker you will be required to take an English language competency exam.  UC Santa Cruz accepts the TOEFL or IELTS test.  Official scores must also be sent from the testing service to UC Santa Cruz, School Code 4860

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Scholarships

• Regents Fellowships. A limited number of these fellowships are awarded to first-year graduate students in master's and doctoral programs. These awards provide a stipend and/or payment of university fees except non-resident tuition.
• Global Education