Program Requirements

General Program Requirements:
Number of Credits Required Beyond the MFA: 37

Required Courses:

Core Courses
Select courses from the following that total 11 credits:11
FMA 5468
Art-Culture-Technology Seminar 1
FMA 5671
Film Theory Seminar 1
FMA 8462
Documentary Arts and Visual Research 1
FMA 8680
Advanced Topics in Media Arts Studies
FMA 9346
Methodologies and Praxis
Additional FMA graduate courses and FMA 9683 Directed Readings 217
Non-FMA graduate course 23
Research Courses 36
FMA 9994
Doctoral Comprehensive Exam Study
FMA 9998
Doctoral Dissertation Proposal
FMA 9999
Doctoral Dissertation
Total Credit Hours37
1

Students who have previously taken FMA 5468, FMA 5671 and/or FMA 8462 are required to substitute a graduate-only course(s) taught by doctoral faculty with approval from the student’s advisor and the Program Director.

2

Students select courses with approval from the Program Director. An additional 3-credit graduate course taken outside the department may be substituted for 3 credits of FMA required courses and Directed Readings.

3

The Graduate School requires that students complete a minimum of 6 research credits that include FMA 9994, FMA 9998 and FMA 9999. Of the 6 credits, at least 2 credits must be earned in FMA 9999.

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 member 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.