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Request an application from the Graduate School or Emory College.
To Apply
Students should apply directly to Emory College. You may request an application online. Information on undergraduate financial aid may be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid.Requirements for the Major
Students are required to take forty semester hours (10 courses) in Film Studies, twenty-four hours of which comprise the department's core curriculum. Each of the following courses is required:Requirements for the MinorIntroduction to Film (FILM 270)
History of Film: Beginnings to 1938 (FILM 371)
History of Film: 1938 to Present (FILM 372)
Classical Film Theory (FILM 381)
Contemporary Film Theory (FILM 382)
Documentary (FILM 393) or National Cinemas (FILM 395)
In addition, students are also required to complete sixteen hours (4 courses) in elective film studies credits, four hours (1 course) of which must be taken at the 400-level.
Students minoring in Film Studies must complete twenty-four hours (6 courses), sixteen hours of which comprise the core minor requirements, and eight hours of which are electives. Each of the following courses is required for the Film Studies minor:Introduction to Film (FILM 270)
History of Film: Beginnings to 1938 (FILM 371)
History of Film: 1938 to Present (FILM 372)
Classical Film Theory (FILM 381)
The remaining eight hours of electives must be 300- or 400-level courses and/or Art History 107 (Film, Video and Photography)/207 (Intro to Documentary Filmmaking).
COURSES
270.Introduction to Film
General aesthetic introduction to film as a narrative form, with selected readings in criticism and critical theory. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
356.History of American Television
This course looks at the nature and development of major institutions of American broadcasting and electronic media in order to ascertain the structure, function and social significance of television programming in American society. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
371. History of Film to 1938
American and European cinema from its origins in nineteenth-century technological experimentation through the early years of sound and the outbreak of war in Europe. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
372.History of Film since 1938
World cinema, including Asian and Eastern European, from World War II and the advent of the modem sound film to the present. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
373.Special Topics in Film
Prerequisite: FILM 270 or consent of instructor. Individual topics on film study focusing on a specific period (e.g. primitive era, transition to sound, post-World War 11) or national movement (e.g. Italian neo-realism, the nouvelle vague, das neue Kino, Latin American militant cinema). Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
381.Classical Film Theory
Prerequisite: FILM 270. Introduction to the basic concepts which dominated what is known as "classical theory" in the work of Hugo Munsterberg, Bela Balazs, Sergei Eisenstein, V.I. Pudovkin, Rudolf Amheim, Siegfried Kracauer, and Andre Bazin, focusing primarily on the formalist-realist dichotomy of the medium's first fifty years. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
382.Contemporary Film Theory
Prerequisite: FILM 270, 381. An extension of FILM 381 into the structuralist and post-structuralist era, beginning with the work of Christian Metz and extending through that of Jacques Lacan and Gilles Deleuze. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
388.Classical Hollywood Cinema
Prerequisite: FILM 270. The structural dynamics of the studio system as both a film style and mode of production, with special emphasis on the development of narrative form. Weekly out-class-screenings required.
391.Studies in Major Figures
Prerequisite: FILM 270. An intensive, in-depth study of the work of a recognized major figure in world cinema in the class of Griffith, Eisenstein, Dreyer, Ford, Renoir, Welles, Ophuls, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Bunuel, Antonioni, or Hitchcock. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
392.Genre Studies
Prerequisite: FILM 270. History and theory of one or more major Hollywood genres - the Western, the gangster film, the musical, the horror, film noir, and science fiction - and their international analogues (e.g. the American Western and the Japanese chambara film). Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
395.National Cinemas: Western Cinema
Prerequisite: FILM 270. Close study of the development of a specific national or regional cinema in terms of its aesthetic, theoretical, and socio-political dimensions (e.g. Eastern European, Australian). Weekly out-of-class screenings required.396.National Cinemas: Non-Western Cinema
Prerequisite: FILM 270. Close study of the development of a specific national or regional cinema in terms of its aesthetic, theoretical, and socio-political dimensions (e.g. Japanese, Hong Kong). Weekly out-of-class screenings required.399.Internship: Filmmaking Projects
Prerequisite: FILM 270. An internship of ten hours per week, a journal and an eight-page paper; or a film production project. Students must receive permission from their advisor before the project is undertaken; no retroactive credit will be given.
401.Film Criticism
Prerequisite: FILM 270. A writing-intensive course in critical aesthetics for upper-level undergraduates, with a focus on the critical assumptions underlying various method-ologies. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
402.Scriptwriting
Prerequisite: FILM 270. A writing-intensive course in the construction and formatting of screenplays for upper-level undergraduates which also broaches various aspects of pre-production planning. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
403.Silent Cinema
Prerequisite: FILM 270, 371. An in-depth examination of the aesthetics, reception, and industrial development of the silent motion picture as a unique form of audio-visual communication. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
404.Women and Film: Feminist Perspectives
Prerequisite: FILM 270 or consent of the instructor. Narrative and experimental films analyzed in historical perspective with regard to how societal norms and film language construct the representation of women and how women have used the medium for self-representation. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
405.Experiemental/Avant-Garde Cinema
Prerequisite: FILM 270. An historical/theoretical survey of the experimental avant-garde as an alternative to mainstream narrative, with an emphasis on its wide variety out-of-class screenings required.
406.Reading and Writing Film History
Prerequisite: FILM 270, 371-372. A seminar in film historiography for upper-level undergraduates which involves extensive reading and some primary research. Weekly out-of-class screenings required.
499.Independent Study
A supervised project in an area of study to be determined by instructor and student in the semester preceding the independent study. Requires faculty approval prior to registration. ONLY FOUR CREDIT HOURS CAN BE APPLIED TOWARDS FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRE-MENT OF THE MAJOR.
PLEASE NOTE that all film studies courses require a weekly out-of-class screening session, usually in the evening. Unless otherwise stated, Film Studies 270 is prerequisite to all higher numbered courses except Film Studies 371 and 372.
Graduate Program To apply
Applicants must satisy general admission requirements described in the Emory University Graduate School application, including the submission of scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), transcripts from all colleges attended, and three letters of recommendation. Your three letters of reference ideally should be written by professors with whom you have studied in college courses.In addition, the Department of Film Studies requires two writing samples from the applicant demonstrating your writing ability and analytical skills. The best writing samples are actual papers you wrote for film or humanities courses taken as an undergraduate. When feasible, the applicant should arrange an interview with one or more of the Film Studies faculty. Such interviews are not required for admission, however.
The Film Studies deadline for applications is January 3, 2009 for the 2009/2010 academic year. The deadline remains the same each year.
Students apply through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. You may apply online here. You are also welcome to contact the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to ask to have an application mailed to you. If you want further information from the Graduate School, you may request information here.
Financial Aid
MA candidates accepted to the program receive tuition waivers. Ph.D. candidates receive tuition waivers and departmental fellowships or special fellowships from the Graduate School of Art and Sciences. Information regarding non-university financial aid sources such as loans, work study, and veteran's benefits may be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid.Cost of Study
Tuition for the 2008-2009 academic year is $32,640 ($16,320 per semester) for full-time students taking a full load (three courses). Additional costs include an activity fee, an athletic fee, and an academic computing fee totalling approximately $250 per year. Book costs are estimated at $1,200 per year.Living and Housing Costs
A variety of on-campus and off-campus housing is available. On-campus housing includes a graduate and professional residential complex offering accommodations ranging from a high-rise tower for single to attractive efficiencies and one- and two-bedroom garden apartments. All students must have proof of medical insurance. More information on on-campus housing can be found at the Graduate and Family Housing at Emory web page. Off-campus housing (which can sometimes be cheaper) can be found in the Residential Services Off-Campus Listings.
Introduction
The Film Studies faculty at Emory University offers a master's program and a PhD certificate in the methodologies of film theory, history, and criticism. The program trains its students to be astute and discriminating critics and analysts of film art; it strengthens their critical thinking through an awareness of the the philosophical and aesthetic debates in film theory; and it provides students with a thorough knowledge of the cinema's history as a dynamic form of cultural expression. With this background, our M.A. alumni are well-qualified for continuing work toward the Ph.D. as well as for administrative and/or teaching careers. Our Ph.D. alumni are well-qualified for careers in teaching and scholarly research.Created in 1986, Film Studies at Emory features four full-time faculty members who are widely published and who teach a braod range of courses with a storng commitment to individualized, quality education. The curriculum is comparable to that of the best small programs at private liberal arts universities across the country and offers an opportunity for graduate film study unique to the Southeast. Financial aid in the form of tuition waivers is available to M.A. candidates who study on campus.
For a printable version of our graduate information brochure, please click here. (Requires Adobe Acrobat)
Master of Arts
Students must fulfill the basic requirments for the M.A. degree as set forth in the Graduate School catalog. In addition, M.A. candidates must either already have or be prepared to pursue training equivalent to the core course work of undergraduate majors in Film Studies (comprised of the Introduction to Film course [FILM270], the two-semester History of Film courses [FILM371 and 372], and Classical and Contemporary Film Theory [FILM381 and 382]). Students requiring leveling work may also enroll in FILM500, Introduction to Graduate Film Studies.
Courses of Study
MA candidates can pursue one of two courses of study.
In Plan A, students complete 32 semester hours (eight courses) consisting of seminars in authorship, genre/criticism, history/national cinemas, film theory, and historiography, as well as one 400 and two 500-level courses in Film Studies. Upon the completion of this course work, the student takes a comprehensive, take-home written examination and meets with the examining committee for an oral defense.
In Plan B, students complete 28 semester hours (seven courses), including the five graduate seminars and one elective at the 400 level or higher. In addition, the student takes FILM599R (Thesis Research) and writes a thesis of substantial length on a subject chosen by the student and approved by her/his Film Studies advisor.
In either plan, up to six hours of graduate work from another department may be accepted by Film Studies toward fulfilling the MA requirements. Directed Study (FILM597R) may be used for one elective of four credit hours.
Graduate Course Work
The five core graduate seminars (all of which feature rotating topics) for the M.A. are:
FILM501: Seminar in Authorship
This seminar focuses on the study of one director or filmmaker, or on the comparative analysis of two or more directors. It addresses the general issue of film authorship.
FILM502: Seminar in Genre/Criticism
This course offers a wide range of subjects, including the study of a specific genre (such as melodrama, comedy, film noir, the Western); the theory of genres; the history of film criticism; or the analysis of a specific critical issue surrounding a single film or group of films.
FILM503: Seminar in History/National Cinemas
This seminar's topics can range from a survey of an historical period (the silent era, for example) or a movement, or the study and conceptualization of a specific national cinema (Japanese, etc.).
FILM 504: Seminar in Film Theory
An intensive reading course that examines issues in film theory, either outlining an array of theories or focusing on one influential approach (such as psychoanalysis or narratology).
FILM 506: Historiography of Film and Television
This course involves critical reading of diverse examples of film history, examining assumptions and approaches to film biography, national cinemas, and production and reception history. Students then conduct research with primary materials available on campus and in the Atlanta area.
In addition, students may enroll in any of the following courses offered during their matriculation:
FILM 401: Film Criticism
A writing intensive course in critical aesthetics, with a focus on the theoretical assumptions underlying various critical approaches.
FILM 402: Scriptwriting
A writing intensive coure on the constructionof screenplays.
FILM 403: Silent Cinema
An in-depth examination of the aesthetics, industrial development and reception of the silent film as a unique form of audio-visual communication.
FILM 404: Women and Film: Feminist Perspectives
Narrative and experimental films are analyzed in historical perspective with regard to how societal norms and film language construct the representation of women and how women have used the medium for self-representation.
FILM 405: Experimental/Avant Garde Cinema
An historical/theoretical survey of the widely varied experimental avant-garde film as an alternative to mainstream narrative.
FILM 500: Introduction to Graduate Film Studies
Provides graduate students with the tools and skills to closely analyze film texts, and a familiarity with the various methodologies of film studies.
FILM 573: Special Topics in Film Studies
Focuses on topics ranging from a specific period (e.g., the transition to sound, World War II), national movement (Italian Neorealism, the nouvelle vague), or issue (technologies of cinema).
FILM 581: Classical Film Theory
Studies the basic concepts in "classical theory" (the work of theorists such as Hugo Munsterberg, Rudolf Arnheim, Andre Bazin, Sergei Eisenstein, Siegfried Kracauer, and Vsevolod Pudovkin).
FILM 582: Contemporary Film Theory
Examins structuralist, semiotic, post-structuralist, psychoanalytic and narratological developments in film theory of the past three decades.
FILM 588: Classical Hollywood Cinema
Surveys the structural dynamics of the studio system as both a film style and mode of production, with special emphasis on the development of narrative form.
FILM 591: Studies in Major Figures
An intensive, in-depth study of the work of one or more recognized major figures in world cinema (Such as Michaelangelo Antonioni, Luis Bunuel, D.W. Griffith, Sergei Eisenstein, Carl-Theodor Dreyer, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Max Ophuls, Jean Renoir, martin Scorsese, or Orson Welles.
FILM 592: Studies in Film Genres
History and theory of one or more major Hollywood genres--the Western, the ganster film, the musical, the horror film, film noir, and science fiction--and their international analogues (e.g., the western and the Japanese Chambara film).
FILM 595: Studies in National Cinemas
Close study of the development of a specific national or regional cinema in terms of its aesthetic, theoretical and socio-political dimensions (e.g., Japanese, Eastern European, Latin American, or Australian).
FILM 597: Directed Study
A supervised project in an area of study to be determined by instructor and student. This could involve a topic in film authorship, genre, antional cinema, or other area.
FILM 599: Master's Thesis
A Master's student electing Plan B writes an original work of film scholarship under the uspervision of his/her thesis director. When completed, the work is read by a second Film Studies faculty member.
The Ph.D. Certificate in Film Studies Although we do not offer a Ph.D. degree in our Department, we do offer a Ph.D. certificate in cooperation with other departments on campus. If you plan to pursue a Ph.D. certificate, you must apply to a Ph.D. program at Emory that sponsors students interested in film (these include Art History, Comparative Literature, English, French and Italian, the Graduate Institute for the Liberal Arts (ILA), Sociology, and Women’s Studies). If you are accepted into one of these programs, you may pursue a concentration in film at the Ph.D. level. The certificate is designed to extend graduate students' range of knowledge of the twentieth century's most influential art form, as they specialize in the theories and histories of culture.
Course Requirements
Students in the Certificate Program will fulfill all requirements of the Ph.D. programs of their respective major departments. Of the candidate's total semester hours, the certificate will require a minimum of sixteen semester hours (four courses) in seminars on theory, history/criticism and genres/national cinemas. This does not include any necessary leveling work in film studies (as outlined above for MA candidate preparation). The precise coursework will be determined by each student's needs and the availability of courses.
Advising
Students in the Certificate Program will follow the standard advising procedures of their major departments. In addition, each entering Ph.D. student will consult with the Director of Graduate Studies in Film Studies to determine a curriculum appropriate to the student's overall interests and to the specific goals of study he/she has selected. During the second year, the student chooses a secondary advisor from among the Film Studies faculty, in addition to her/his major department advisor, who will guide the student through all phases of work, including their examinations and dissertation.
Examinations
Participating major departments will recognize film studies as one of the examination fields. The student will draw up an appropriate reading list for the film studies component, and the film studies advisor will serve on the examination committee and formulate examination questions according to departmental procedures.
The Dissertation
The student consults with his or her major advisor and Film Studies advisor to determine the dissertation topic. For those who have fulfilled the requirements of the Certificate in Film Studies, the dissertation must utilize film and the methodologies appropriate to film studies in a manner consistent with doctoral-level work in the major area of study.
What do you require for admission? We require a statement of purpose (stating why you want a graduate degree and what areas you plan to concentrate on during your graduate studies), three letters of recommendation, two writing samples (that demonstrate your skill at analyzing films or other texts), your undergraduate transcripts (and graduate if you have done graduate work elsewhere), and your Graduate Record Examination scores (GREs).
If I don't have term papers from undergraduate courses, what other writing samples can I submit? Other critical writings, such as papers for social sciences courses (psychology, sociology) or film reviews for student newspapers or other publications, are acceptable.
If I have difficulty obtaining letters of reference from college professors whose courses I took, what are other possible references can I use? Ideally, your letters would all be written by people who have instructed you in a classroom setting, college or otherwise. Work supervisors, work colleagues, volunteer work colleagues cannot speak to your performance as a student in an academic environment. Their comments cannot help the admissions committee determine your suitability for a graduate school course of study.
How much emphasis is placed on GRE scores? The GRE is very important, but your statement of purpose, writing samples, and letters of recommendation are of equal significance as we evaluate your application.
If my GRE scores are more than 5 years old, do I need to retake the exam? Yes.
Do you require interviews? We do not. If you are in the Atlanta area, or if you want to visit the program, we encourage you to meet with the Director of Graduate Studies and attend a class or two. But interviews are not required.
If accepted, may I begin my studies in the spring? Only in the most extreme circumstances do we permit accepted applicants to defer their admission for a semester. We find that it puts those students at a disadvantage.
Can I do part-time study? In special circumstances, yes. Ordinarily, we expect you to enroll full time.
Will any or all of my application packet be returned if I am not admitted? No.
When will I know if I have been accepted into the program? Offers are extended to applicants in March and early April.
What kind of financial aid do you offer? If you are admitted to our program, you receive a tuition waiver. You are responsible for paying student fees, activity fees and computing fees, as well as buying your own textbooks. The Office of Financial Aid can help you with work-study work.
Does Film Studies at Emory offer film production? No.
Does Film Studies at Emory offer screenwriting? We offer a screenwriting course every year, and the Creative Writing Program also offers screenwriting. However, our program's focus is on theory, history and criticism of film.
updated 2/24/05