No longer is cinema simply projected images in a darkened room. Now filmmakers create work that is viewed on multiple devices and platforms, from TV screens to smartphones. The purpose of the M.A. in Screen Studies Program is to provide students with a comprehensive education in cinema history, theory, criticism and aesthetics, and to encourage the scholarly exploration of cinema as a form of art and a means of social communication. But you will also be prepared to engage with the rapidly changing media landscape through an understanding of its broadest aesthetic and cultural implications.
Students are required to complete a total of 36 credits, which may be pursued either on a full-time basis in two years or part time. Because the degree program will be housed in the same facility as the M.F.A. in Cinema Arts — Steiner Studios — students will be able to deepen their knowledge within the context of a larger community of filmmakers and cinema scholars. The program’s interrelationship with the M.F.A. and its connection to the film and media industries makes it truly unique.
The following elective titles are rubrics only. Topics will change every semester so that students can take a particular course more than once.