MA Film Studies
Graduate Taught (level 9 nfq, credits 90)
The focus is on critical and historical studies of film and television with an emphasis on issues of gender, class, race/ethnicity, consumerism and citizenship within national, international and transnational contexts.
The MA in Film Studies includes topics in television as well as film, a combination unique in Irish Universities
The MA is designed to enhance your fluency in critical media literacy
Sophisticated digital screening facilities at the UCD OKane Observatory
The aim of the course is to provide you with an opportunity to engage at an advanced level with particular topics in screen culture and also to provide you with an opportunity to identity, pursue and develop your particular research interests.
Vision and Values Statement
The MA in Film Studies is aimed primarily but not exclusively at those who have done some formal study of screen cultural practices at undergraduate level. Strong preparation in an adjacent humanities discipline is often sufficient for those who are willing to rapidly acquire discipline-specific vocabularies and concepts. The degree offers good preparation for further research work. It is critical to note that despite the degree name students study television and new media in addition to film.
The focus is on critical and historical studies of film and television with an emphasis on issues of gender, class, race/ethnicity, consumerism and citizenship within national, international and transnational contexts. As noted above, in recent years the curriculum has been expanded to include topics in television and new media as well as in film, a combination unique in Irish universities.
The aim of the programme is to provide an opportunity for engagement at an advanced level with particular topics in screen culture and also to provide students with an opportunity to identify, pursue and develop their own particular research interest in the form of a minor dissertation. The programme features a wide choice of courses through which students will have access to experienced teachers and active researchers. A supportive environment is fostered by a first semester core module in Media Theory and Culture which involves intensive seminars, workshops and presentations.
It is customary in Film Studies to require end-of-term essays that entail significant original research on the part of the student. In recent years, assessment methods have been diversified to incorporate in-class group work, peer review, oral presentation based on assigned readings and a greater variety of short essays, blog pieces and workshops in which students detail essay plans and explore critical concepts.
Some students will see this MA as a preparation for PhD research and an academic career. Most will see it as a way of acquiring knowledge and skills which will help further their careers in the print and broadcast media, the film industry, arts/cultural administration and management, education and cultural institutions including libraries and archives.
Programme Outcomes
On completion of this programme students will have: acquired an advanced understanding of film and television from within and beyond the canon in a variety of genres, periods and forms.
built on their undergraduate work through a more advanced and specialized analysis of media forms, histories and cultures.
acquired critical media literacy skills and put these into use in the writing of essays and in the generation and seeing through to completion of an original, advanced research project.
acquired transferable analytical and practical skills, which will be of benefit in whatever career path they may choose.
acquired advanced critical literacy in relation to media as a life skill that fosters more reflective, engaged citizenship.