Department of EnglishFilm & Media Studies

Film & Media Studies (FMS) offers an innovative and interdisciplinary field of specialization for graduate students earning a doctorate or master's degree in English. Working closely with faculty, you can tailor your degree to fit your interests and professional objectives. Our curriculum fosters critical engagement with aesthetics, cultural and historical knowledge of cinematic forms, and the multiple literacies engaged in reading silent and sound moving-image texts.

There is no denying the impact cinema has had over the last century. Emergent technologies and the "computerization of cinema" promise even brighter horizons to come. What some call the "new M.B.A.," critical studies of film & media reveal significant insight to prevailing social power structures, modes of communication and persuasion, and forms of entertainment. Many graduates of our program are scholars and teachers and all belong to a generation helping to shape 21st-century literacy.

Teaching Opportunities and Professional Development

PhD Candidates specializing in Film & Media Studies frequently have the opportunity to explore pedagogies related to film & media studies and teach their own sophomore-level Introduction to Film Studies course as part of a graduate-teaching appointment. In addition, qualified students can gain valuable experience working and studying in the media labs on campus to reinforce their scholarly interests.

In addition to organized workshops offered through the English Department's graduate program, film & media specialists are encouraged to direct their research and teaching interests toward long-range professional objectives. MA and PhD candidates find strong support for their efforts to publish their scholarship, deliver presentations at conferences, and proactively engage larger communities of film & media scholars.