Documentary Arts and Visual Research, Ph.D.

About the Program

The Ph.D. program in Documentary Arts and Visual Research is designed for students who have developed a professional level of technological artistry in sound and image production through the completion of an M.F.A. degree and who want to apply their skills to develop visual research projects or to reflect critically on traditional and digital forms of cinema through scholarship and technological analysis. The Ph.D. program offers M.F.A. graduates the opportunity to use their creative education to take on the intellectual challenge of our technological age: the expression of ideas, once communicated entirely by written means but now through multiple forms of media.

In the Ph.D. program, students explore research questions based in field-based research, critical analysis, and/or history of nonfictional forms in film, media arts, and emerging technologies. The intertwining relationships of theory and practice are at the heart of this interdisciplinary program. Students enter with both a professional mastery production in cinema and media arts or a related field as well as strong scholarly skills. Thus, they can create groundbreaking work that moves fluidly between creative and critical approaches to images and the stories they tell. Doctoral projects may draw from multiple disciplines and research methods in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The projects may take many forms, such as those of critical, digital, and visual research in the humanities, interactive and emergent forms of writing, and cross-disciplinary visual ethnography.

Learning outcomes include the ability to:

Apply advanced visualization technologies and creative methods in the pursuit of original scholarly research;
Expand critical research from both theoretical and applied perspectives;
Pursue scholarly careers in a vital and emerging technological field; and
Work with research teams that are engaged in digital scholarship and visualization in such diverse fields as anthropology, geography, and media studies.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 3 years

Campus Location: Main

Full-Time/Part-Time Status: The degree program is expected to be completed on a full-time basis.

Interdisciplinary Study: The program requires students to take one appropriate interdisciplinary elective from inside or outside of the department.

Ranking: Temple's Film and Media Arts graduate programs are ranked among the top 10 film/video programs nationally and within the top three programs offered by public institutions.

Areas of Specialization: Dr. Roderick Coover, Program Director, has been a pioneer of visual research, interactive documentary cinema, and visual ethnography since the 1990s. Dr. Paul Swann's scholarship focuses on documentary film history, the international culture trade, and media in the city. Dr. Nora Alter publishes books and other critical works on essay films, German nonfiction cinema, and other related topics. Dr. Chris Cagle publishes books and essays on documentary theory and practice.

Additionally, many of the program's practice-oriented faculty, including Professors Warren Bass, Peter D'Agostino, Sarah Drury, LeAnn Erickson, Michael Kuetemeyer, David Parry, Eran Preis, Jeff Rush, and Rea Tajiri, make documentary works or works integrating documentary praxis. Students also have opportunities to work with faculty in related departments both within the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts and beyond.

Job Prospects: Graduates are prepared for advanced career opportunities in academia, research-based documentary production, cultural institutions/foundations, research institutions, arts curating, emerging media technologies and industries, and critical writing wherein both interdisciplinary and applied perspectives are invaluable.

Non-Matriculated Student Policy: Coursework is limited to those matriculating in the Ph.D. program.

Financing Opportunities: Contact the department directly for more information.

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Application Deadline:

Fall: December 15

Applications are evaluated together after the deadline has passed. Late applications may be considered for admission.

APPLY ONLINE to this graduate program.

Letters of Reference:
Number Required: 3

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained from college/university faculty familiar with the applicant's academic competency and/or professionals working in film, media arts, and documentary forms, or other closely related fields.

Coursework Required for Admission Consideration: Students who earned their M.F.A. at a university other than Temple should contact the Ph.D. Program Director, Dr. Roderick Coover, at roderick.coover@temple.edu to ensure that their graduate work prepares them for the Ph.D. degree.

Master's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: All applicants must have earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in film or media arts or be in the final year of their M.F.A. program. The Ph.D. program is designed for students seeking to integrate production and theory who have finished their M.F.A. degree by the end of the summer before the Ph.D. program begins.

Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: All applicants must present credentials that are the equivalent of the appropriate baccalaureate degree at Temple University.

Applicants educated in China should review the information found on the Graduate School website regarding the submission of education documents to Temple University. See https://grad.temple.edu/admissions/international-applicants/before-you-apply. The admissions committee for the Documentary Arts and Visual Research Ph.D. program will review your materials to determine your admissions status provided the required documentation is submitted in support of your application.

Statement of Goals: In approximately 500 words, describe your primary goals and areas of interest for your doctoral studies, as well as your long-term professional aims and relevant biographical information.

Standardized Test Scores:
Applicants who earned their baccalaureate degree from an institution where the language of instruction was other than English, with the exception of those who subsequently earned a master’s degree at a U.S. institution, must report scores for a standardized test of English that meet these minimums:

TOEFL iBT: 100
IELTS Academic: 7.0
PTE Academic: 68

Portfolio: Applicants must submit a portfolio, which should include film, video, media arts, visual art, creative writing, photography, or other media related to their proposed doctoral goals. The applicant's role in each work must be clearly indicated.

Resume: Current resume required.

Writing Sample: Submission of a scholarly writing sample related to the applicant’s doctoral goals is also required.

Advanced Standing: The Ph.D. in Documentary Arts and Visual Research program consists of 37 discrete credits taken beyond the M.F.A. degree. At the time of admission, the entire M.F.A. degree serves as advanced standing credits. These credits are not counted toward the 37 required credits of the doctoral degree. However, students may transfer into the doctoral degree up to 6 graduate credits in coursework taken beyond the M.F.A. degree. Typically, this coursework is reviewed after admission to the Ph.D. degree and must be approved by the Film and Media Arts committee.

Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the M.F.A.: 37

Required Courses:

Year 1
Fall		Credit Hours
FMA 5671	Film History and Theory¹	3
FMA 8462	Documentary Arts and Visual Research¹	4
Elective²		3
	Term Credit Hours	10
Spring
FMA 5468	Art-Culture-Technology Seminar¹	4
FMA 9346	Methodologies and Praxis	4
FMA 9683	Directed Readings	1
	Term Credit Hours	9
Year 2
Fall
FMA 9345		4
FMA 9994	Doctoral Comprehensive Exam Study	2
Elective²		3
	Term Credit Hours	9
Spring
FMA 9998	Doctoral Dissertation Proposal³	3
	Term Credit Hours	3
Year 3
Fall
FMA 9999	Doctoral Dissertation	3
	Term Credit Hours	3
Spring
FMA 9999	Doctoral Dissertation	3
	Term Credit Hours	3
	Total Credit Hours:	37

Students who have previously taken FMA 5468, FMA 5671, and FMA 8462 are required to substitute a graduate-only, non-production course with approval from the student’s advisor and the Program Director.

Electives are to be taken at the 5000 level and higher. A list of approved electives is provided in the table below. Students may also request to take other courses, provided the work contributes to their research agenda. Students should consult with their advisor, the Program Director, and topic specialists to structure the coursework.

The dissertation proposal is due no later than March 30.

Approved Electives:

Course List
Code	Title	Credit Hours
ANTH 8408	Approaches in the Anthropology of Visual Communication I	3
ANTH 8409	Approaches in the Anthropology of Visual Communication II	3
ARTH 8440	Seminar: Problems, Period, Style	3
DANC 9852	Dancing the Popular	3
ENG 9300	Seminar in Critical Theory	3
FMA 5672	History of Documentary Film	4
FMA 5673	Time-Image Arts/Cinema Praxis	4
FMA 5674	Media Arts Thry-Practice	4
FMA 8244	Experimental Methods	4
FMA 8670	Topics in Media Studies	1-4
FMA 8673	Historical Film Research	4
FMA 8675	Seminar: International Film	4
FMA 8870	U Penn Critical Studies	4
MUST 8743	Seminar in Stylistic Analysis	3
MUST 8749	Current Topics in Musicology and Theory	3
PDS 8501	Theories Visual Represnt	3

Culminating Events:
Comprehensive Exam:
The list of examiners must be submitted to the Program Director no later than the first week of the term in which the exam is anticipated. The exam is conducted with at least three doctoral-level faculty of the Graduate School of Temple University. The examination committee chair must be faculty in the Department of Film and Media Arts. Additional doctoral-level examiners are permitted. The exam must be conducted no later than the 14th week of the term in which the exam is anticipated and signed approval must be submitted according to the Graduate School guidelines.

Proposal:
The formation of a dissertation committee must be submitted to the Program Director no later than the first week of the term in which a dissertation proposal is to be submitted. Students develop their dissertation proposal through individual tutorials and group workshops. The dissertation proposal is due no later than March 30. The Dissertation Examining Committee Chair must be a tenured or tenure-track doctoral faculty members from the Department of Film and Media Arts. The dissertation proposal deadline is set by the committee and is conducted according to the Graduate School guidelines.

Dissertation:
Students work with their dissertation advisor to complete the dissertation. Doctoral dissertation projects are to employ the latest visualization technologies.

Early in the term in which a defense of the dissertation is anticipated, the major advisor notifies the Associate Dean that it is time to appoint the Dissertation Examining Committee (DEC). The DEC consists of the Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC) plus an "outside" reader, who is an additional graduate faculty member from Temple or another university, but not from the faculty of the student's home department.

Doctoral candidates must schedule a defense of the dissertation with the Associate Dean at least one month before the requested defense date. The "Announcement of Dissertation Defense" form, found in TUportal under the Tools tab within “University Forms,” must bear all appropriate signatures and be submitted to the Associate Dean.

Two weeks prior to the oral defense, the student submits individual copies of the abstract and the completed dissertation to the Associate Dean and each member of the DEC. The graduate secretary notifies the Graduate School and posts notices of the impending defense on bulletin boards located within the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts. All members of the DEC attend the oral defense and then vote to pass or fail the dissertation and its defense after the conclusion of the public presentation.

Courses

FMA 5241. Cinematography Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

The art, theory, and technology of film production with special attention paid to location lighting, location sound, cinematic composition, and film structure. This is a dual level course, intended for both the experienced filmmaker and the media-aware but inexperienced graduate student ready for intensive, accelerated study in the design and solution of cinematographic problems. Note: This course is required for the fall semester of the first year of the MFA program.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5242. Videography. 4 Credit Hours.

Lectures, demonstrations and practical exercises in the art, theory, and technology of video and electronic media production. Note: This course is recommended for the spring semester of the first year of the MFA program.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5243. Audio Production and Aesthetics. 4 Credit Hours.

A production workshop on audio as a form of aesthetic expression. Students will explore theoretical concepts as they use digital audio recording and editing systems to complete projects. Lectures, demonstrations, hands-on instruction, exercises, critiques and discussions.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5244. Lighting for Film & Video. 4 Credit Hours.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5248. Introduction to 3D Modeling. 4 Credit Hours.

This course introduces the concepts and techniques of three-dimensional digital graphics, using Lightwave3D software. The first half of the semester introduces a broad palette of techniques and formal ideas, while the second half is spent on a major project of your own design. Previous experience with graphics or animation software is not required. The course offers a unique skill set and formal perspective.

Field of Study Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Fields of study: Film and Media Arts.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5341. Scene Analysis for Writers and Directors. 4 Credit Hours.

Analysis and exercises dealing with the conventional language of mainstream narrative film, including how this language, traditionally presented as the only way to organize narrative films, actually serves to circumscribe the kinds of stories that may be told.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5361. Writing for Media I. 4 Credit Hours.

A seminar and workshop exploring various approaches to screenwriting, including documentary treatment, experimental appropriation, performative conceptions, and narrative screenplays. Through weekly exercises and a final project, each student will begin to develop a personal integration of these approaches leading to a "voice" of his/her own. Note: This course is required for the fall semester of the first year of the MFA program.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5362. Serial Writing. 4 Credit Hours.

This is a writing workshop focusing on dramatic serial writing in which students learn to work in close collaboration with other class members. In preparation for the class, students will be required to read or view several dramatic serials as well as read several pilot scripts. The class itself will hear "pitches" for a serial, select one story, and then begin to develop it.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Master of Fine Arts.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 5361|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 5440. Topics in Production. 4 Credit Hours.

A workshop in film, video, audio, or emerging new technologies. The course will address a particular production issue (an aspect of technology or an aesthetic approach) each time it is offered, such as color correction, 3-D computer animation, special effects, digital audio applications, and multimedia.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 5451. Animation Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

A creative workshop exploring the concepts, aesthetics, and techniques of independent animation in a number of media from cards and cels to digital design and manipulation. Note: Offered summer only.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5452. Digital Animation, Compositing and Modeling. 4 Credit Hours.

Animation, image compositing and object modeling have facilitated the crossover between animation and photographic imaging, mingling the fictive and the realistic image in digital film and videomaking. This workshop explores the techniques and effects of processing and layering the moving image within film/video language and within non-linear structures. Primary focus is on 2D animation and compositing using Adobe AfterEffects with other software packages introduced as time permits.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5468. Art-Culture-Technology Seminar. 4 Credit Hours.

This seminar introduces a broad array of theories and critical perspectives on cinematic arts and alternative media. The course explores how the emergence of differing media technologies such as cinema, video and computing have shaped paradigms of cultural and political organization as well as personal, physical and cognitive self-understanding. Topics include spectatorship and viewer participation, the gaze and identity construction/deconstruction, transmedia documentary, rhizomatic narrative, multiple screen installations, video art, sound art, interactivity, spatiality and new urbanisms, networked and geolocated media, net art and hacktivism, user-generated media, virtual worlds, and game theory. The course explores interdisciplinary approaches to scholarly and creative inquiry, with research and readings traversing fields of the arts, humanities and sciences.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 5674|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 5473. Moving Camera Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

Moving Camera Workshop is a graduate level workshop course that explores the art and practice of moving camera media production. The course covers the range of techniques including hand-held, dolly, jib, virtual/motion sensors and Steadicam operation. Class time will be spent on group discussions/exercises, lectures/screenings, lab instruction and critiquing work. Through a series of production projects, students will work through the aesthetics of moving camera and gain the technical and physical expertise necessary for successful projects. This course will also explore the theory and history of camera movement as well as blocking and directing techniques. Locative and mobile media projects extend the work outside the classroom. Research on new camera movement technologies is used to move toward innovative student media projects.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 5242|Minimum Grade of B|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 5553. Color Correction. 4 Credit Hours.

Advanced Color Correction is a graduate level workshop that explores the aesthetic considerations and technical aspects of color in modern postproduction and cinematography. Color has a subconscious influence on emotion in storytelling. With the advent of modern digital cinema, every film and television production undergoes some level of color grading. Cinematographers must understand the process to maintain creative control of the images they produce. Editors must understand the process to perform basic color correction on low budget productions. This class is a combination of lecture and workshop with each student striving to efficiently navigate the art and practice of color correction.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 5241|Minimum Grade of B|May not be taken concurrently
OR FMA 5242|Minimum Grade of B|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 5670. M.F.A. Colloquium. 1 Credit Hour.

Wide variety of discussions, screenings, and lectures from guest image makers, exploring and integrating a range of theoretical, conceptual, and pedagogical aspects of film and video production. This course must be taken a second time for fulfillment of the MFA degree in FMA. Note: This course is required for the fall semester of the first year of the MFA program.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 5671. Film History and Theory. 3 Credit Hours.

This course surveys major filmmakers who have theorized their practice in journals, workbooks, lectures, interviews, essays, etc., including theorist-practitioners like Sergei Eisenstein, Jean-Luc Godard, Atom Egoyan and Jane Campion. Historical and cultural contexts of theorist-practitioners and related critics are considered in relation to the conditions of experimentation and innovation in significant genres and aesthetic movements.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5672. History of Documentary Film. 4 Credit Hours.

An international, historical survey of the factual film, including creative documentary, anthropological film, television news film, direct cinema, and cinema verite.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5673. Time-Image Arts/Cinema Praxis. 4 Credit Hours.

This screenings-oriented seminar examines how writers such as Deleuze, Taussig, and Robbe-Grillet and media makers such as Antonioni, Frampton, and Viola expand our ideas about time-based images and the production of space in a globalizing technological era. Students respond to readings and screenings through short biweekly papers that launch seminar discussions. Students conclude the course with a paper (M.A./Ph.D. students) or project (M.F.A. students) and a cross-disciplinary critique of each other's works. Note: Cross-listed with Philosophy and Art History.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5674. Media Arts Thry-Practice. 4 Credit Hours.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5676. Anthropological Film/Media. 3 Credit Hours.

Anthropological perspectives on media studies in terms of both cultural organization and anthropological research tools; includes anthropological and communication theory, history of ethnography, and research methods with special emphasis on visual recording modes.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5680. Topics in Film Study. 4 Credit Hours.

Lectures and screenings on a special topic arranged each semester. Topics may include: Advanced Film Theory, Third Cinema, Soundtracks, Exile Cinema, The Idea of Art Cinema, Hollywood Cinematographers, Hybrid Cinema, Gender and Sexuality. Please consult with the instructor.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 5770. Topics in Producing. 3 Credit Hours.

A workshop in film and media art producing. The course will address a particular producing issue each time it is offered, such as budgeting, scheduling, project development, or entertainment law.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Master of Fine Arts.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 5771. Producing. 4 Credit Hours.

An overview of the processes of financing, managing, promoting, and distributing a documentary, fiction, or experimental production. Emphasis is on projects produced independently, outside the commercial mainstream, and without institutional sponsorship or governance. Students will produce a comprehensive proposal for a viable film or videotape project.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5772. Fundraising for Independent Media. 3 Credit Hours.

This course is a workshop class where students must come prepared with a project around which they will create a fundraising campaign. During the course of the semester students will be exposed to information on grant writing, non-profit and for-profit media entities and the legalities of media producing. At the conclusion of the course, students will have a full funding proposal ready for dissemination to various funding sources.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 5773. Entertainment Industry Perspectives. 4 Credit Hours.

This course explores career paths and current trends in the entertainment industry through weekly guest lecturers who are working professionals in a variety of related fields. Students also study and learn professional skills and industry conventions relevant to their future careers. Writing assignments will include critical responses to trade journal articles about the student’s chosen field as well as a series of student-conducted case studies of and interviews with practitioners in the student’s area of focus. NOTE: Student must be a graduate participant in the FMA LA-Away program.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8240. Special Problems in Film and Media Arts. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Special seminars typically taught by distinguished visiting faculty. Inquire at departmental offices for details, since these seminars often are scheduled on short notice.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8241. Advanced Cinematography. 4 Credit Hours.

Advanced theory and practice in the making of films with personal vision and crewing each other's productions in Super 16mm, 35mm or High Definition 24P digital video, along with technical and aesthetic exercises deconstructing cinematographic/videographic moviemaking.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8242. Experimental Media Wksp. 4 Credit Hours.

An advanced workshop to develop projects in experimental, documentary, or narrative forms using portable video, TV studio, and computerized image and editing facilities.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8243. Film Sound. 4 Credit Hours.

A production workshop on audio recording, editing and mixing of dialogue, foley, effects and music for film and electronic media. Lectures, demonstrations, hands-on instruction, exercises, critiques and discussions.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8244. Experimental Methods. 4 Credit Hours.

An introduction to formal concepts and experimental methods of film production with a workshop emphasis on optical printing, hand painting on film, manipulating the film image and exploring the material nature of the film medium. The course includes readings in the theories and history of experimental film and media arts production.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8245. Documentary Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

Design, pre-production planning, production, and subsequent evaluation of individual documentary projects.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8246. Advanced Documentary/Fiction Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

Designing and executing individual documentaries, dramatic projects, or works that intermix the strategies of documentary and fiction while dealing with socially significant material. Each project will involve one month of planning and scripting, one month of field production in film or video, and a final month of editing and postproduction. Lectures, demonstrations, critiques, and crew assignments on each other's projects will accompany the intensive fieldwork.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8340. Topics in Production. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8341. Screen Directing Theory and Practice. 4 Credit Hours.

Theories of directing, dramatic form, and acting are examined through lectures, demonstrations, readings, and applied exercises to establish a theoretical and practical foundation in film and television directing.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8361. Writing for Media II. 4 Credit Hours.

The preparation of a scenario and complete television or motion picture script.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8362. Joint Writing Workshop 1. 4 Credit Hours.

This is an advanced workshop course designed for students in the Film and Media Arts MFA in Screenwriting. It will be offered in conjunction with a similar Writing Workshop offered by the Theater MFA in Playwriting. Students will complete the first draft of a feature screenplay or serial bible.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Master of Fine Arts.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 8361|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 8363. Joint Writing Workshop 2. 4 Credit Hours.

This is an advanced workshop course designed for students in the Film and Media Arts MFA in Screenwriting. It will be offered in conjunction with a similar Writing Workshop offered by the Theater MFA in Playwriting. Students will polish and complete the final draft of a feature screenplay or serial bible.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Master of Fine Arts.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 8362|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 8450. Topics in Media. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8451. Digital Animation. 4 Credit Hours.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8452. New Technology Laboratory. 4 Credit Hours.

Exploration, study, design, production, and implementation of hypermedia projects including interactive and computer controlled video, computer graphics, digital sound, videodisc, virtual reality, and other emerging technologies. Interdisciplinary collaborations will be encouraged between FMA, Computer Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, Art, and Music.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8461. Interractive Narrative. 4 Credit Hours.

A creative course within a critical frame in which students make and study interactive narratives; textual, audio and graphics/video based stories that incorporate explicit user choice. Weekly exercises and readings, followed by a substantial final project.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8462. Documentary Arts and Visual Research. 3 to 4 Credit Hours.

Students examine theories, methods and interdisciplinary approaches to nonfiction representation and depiction in order to develop documentary research and/or documentary projects. Students are expected to complete highly developed papers and/or documentary projects that are directly related to their thesis topics, methods, and goals. The course is open to graduate students from across the university with permission of the instructor.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8551. Digital Post-Production. 4 Credit Hours.

Advanced tools and concepts of digital non-linear editing of film and video with emphasis on fine-cut preparation, file management, ProTools, foley, looping, multi-track mixing, compositing, titling, EDL generation, and film matchback.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8670. Topics in Media Studies. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8673. Historical Film Research. 4 Credit Hours.

Major trends in theatrical film history and the methods and issues in the writing of film history.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8674. Critical Methods Seminar. 3 Credit Hours.

Methods and approaches to issues of media history, theory, and critical analysis are covered through lectures, discussions, screenings, and directed research as practical preparation for comprehensive examinations. Note: This course is required of fourth semester MFA candidates.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8675. Seminar: International Film. 4 Credit Hours.

A critical and historical examination of the films of a particular country or world region. Topics vary per semester. May be repeated (as long as the specific topic is not duplicated).

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8680. Advanced Topics in Media Arts Studies. 4 Credit Hours.

Advanced Topics in Media Arts Studies is a variable-content topics history/theory course in such media art topics as new technologies, sound, interactive video, mobile media, visual ethnography and other areas of interdisciplinary media art. This is a media arts studies course for graduate students.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8771. Exhibition/Distribution. 3 Credit Hours.

The objective of this course is to expose students to methods and approaches for exhibition and distribution of independent media. Students will investigate popular media outlets such as film/video festivals, microcinemas and internet exhibition possibilities, to name only a few. The course will serve dual functions in that it will prepare students to distribute their own work while also exposing them to industry opportunities in exhibition and distribution.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 8870. U Penn Critical Studies. 4 Credit Hours.

Recipient of the Temple (FMA)-UPenn Exchange Award that is given to one student per year to engage in studies in the University of Pennsylvania Program in Cinema Studies. The exchange has been officially approved by the Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 8985. Teaching in Higher Education, Arts. 3 Credit Hours.

This course focuses on the research on how people learn and best teaching practices, with the aim of preparing students for effective higher education teaching in the arts.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 9085. Professional Field Experience. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Field work on an outside professional production or media presentation with a position of creative, curatorial or managerial responsibility. May be repeated. Up to four credits may count toward the MFA degree.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9086. Study-Away Internship. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Students apply for and perform internships in wide variety of entertainment industry fields. Students also study opportunities available to emerging professionals in their areas of specialty. Students submit weekly journals related to their internship experiences and assigned readings, as well as a final written reflection on their field experience, personal growth, and knowledge gained. NOTE: Internship placements subject to student qualifications and availability of openings. Must be admitted into Film and Media Arts LA-Away Program. Contact FMA’s internship director.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9245. Thesis Development Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

This writing intensive workshop is designed to aid in the conceptualization, development and preproduction phases of the final thesis production. Through a diverse range of creative exercises, writing assignments and visiting lecturers, students will complete their thesis proposal with clear plans for executing their thesis film.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 8674|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 9246. Thesis Production Workshop. 4 Credit Hours.

This production workshop is designed to support the production of final thesis projects. Through a diverse range of workshops and visiting lecturers, the course is designed to support the production phases of final thesis projects with the goal of completing production by the course's end.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Master of Fine Arts.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 8674|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.

FMA 9282. Directed Projects. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Individual production projects proposed by advanced students under the tutorial supervision of a faculty member.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9346. Methodologies and Praxis. 4 Credit Hours.

This seminar offers core training in doctoral research methods across film and media arts and related fields. Drawing upon scholarly traditions in visual research in the humanities and social sciences, the course is designed to help students gain deep understanding of differing research approaches to develop research methods best suited to their dissertation projects. Student learn to systematically develop their research projects, combine research from archival, data and field sources, and integrate quantitative and qualitative research materials into their arguments. Students learn to develop annotated bibliographies, contrast research approaches to their potential thesis questions, and position their work for differing audiences. In developing strategies of implementation, students are instructed in IRB and other research protocols and engage readings on ethics and academic standards.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Degree Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Degrees: Doctor of Philosophy.

Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.

FMA 9683. Directed Readings. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Individual research/theory projects proposed by advanced students under the tutorial supervision of a faculty member.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9994. Doctoral Comprehensive Exam Study. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.

Open only to PhD candidates in Film and Media Arts for preparation for their doctoral comprehensive examination. A maximum of six credit hours will be counted toward the degree.

Field of Study Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Fields of study: Documentary Arts + Visual Res.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9995. M.F.A. Project. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.

Open only to MFA candidates in Film and Media Arts for their final project. May be repeated for credit during all semesters the final project is in progress, although only a maximum of six hours will be counted toward the degree.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9998. Doctoral Dissertation Proposal. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.

Open only to PhD candidates in Film and Media Arts for their doctoral thesis proposal research, writing and presentation. A maximum of six credit hours will be counted toward the degree.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

FMA 9999. Doctoral Dissertation. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.

For PhD students actively completing thesis work.

Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Student Attribute Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Student Attributes: Dissertation Writing Student.

Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.

Pre-requisites:
FMA 9998|Minimum Grade of B-|May not be taken concurrently.