Advancement to Candidacy

 

Advancement to Candidacy

Advancement to candidacy for a PhD in Film and Visual Studies consists of three components:  a qualifying paper, a written general examination, and an oral examination. The examinations are designed to test the students' command of their scholarly fields and their ability to write a dissertation. They will normally take place together in March after spring break of the third year of study and will be supervised by an Examination Committee appointed each year from members of the FVS Graduate Committee.
 

Qualifying Paper

The qualifying paper is required of all students, including students who have completed a master's thesis elsewhere. It is ordinarily developed from a seminar paper, research paper, or portion of a master's thesis. It is approximately 5,000 to 10,000 words in length, including notes. The paper should demonstrate the student's independence of thinking and research, their ability to use primary source materials, and their proficiency in writing and presentation.  Following close consultation with their field advisors, students at the beginning of their third term of residence will submit to the DGS the proposed topic of the paper and a timetable for its completion. The paper should be submitted two weeks before the general examination.  A student may request that a master's thesis written for another institution be substituted in lieu of a qualifying paper; this request must be approved by the DGS and two members of the Film Visual Studies (FVS) Faculty.
 

Written and Oral Examinations and Syllabi

The general examination tests students’ knowledge of film, media, art, and visual studies in two areas:  film and visual studies, and a special topic of the student’s choice (e.g. performance, documentary, media archaeology, sound art, animation) that should be related to their prospective dissertation topic.  The Film and Visual Studies General Exam must be field-defining.  It should not simply be historiographical.  The idea behind this is that it should allow you to demonstrate command of the discipline, hybrid and unruly though it may be, and develop your own profile in relationship to it.  Both sections of the general exam, Film and Visual Studies and Special Topic, must also include an annotated syllabus for a course you would be prepared to teach on the subject.
 
By mid-March of their second year, students select a faculty reader to supervise preparation in both of these areas. Ordinarily, film and visual studies readers will be members of the Film and Visual Studies Faculty Committee; the special topic reader may but need not be. The two readers constitute the committee and will administer the written and oral components of the examination. One of them will serve as chair of the committee. In addition to the reading lists (which must be approved in advance by the two readers), students are expected to be familiar with a corpus of visual material related to the exams (including but not limited to works of art, films, etc).   
 
Students will compose and submit an annotated syllabus of your own for an undergraduate introductory survey course in the field of Film and Visual Studies, widely construed,  which may  encompass orientations towards film history, media studies, art history or visual studies. At minimum the syllabus should include a written introductory course description followed by thirteen weeks of topics to be covered and accompanying readings. Include a brief paragraph explaining and contextualizing the choice of each weekly topic.
 

Scheduling the Examinations

Students are required to select their two readers and finalize the film and visual studies list by May 30th of the second year. The special topic list should be finalized with the special topic adviser by September 30th of the third year. Ordinarily, the written examination takes place in mid-March, the week after spring break of the third year, and the oral examination a week after the written examination in late March, early April.
 
The written examination (two days)
Students will be asked to respond to questions prepared by the examiners; they are ordinarily given at least three essay questions for each bibliography from which they choose one. The first day of the written exam covers the film and visual studies section of the exam. The second day of the written exam covers the special topics section of the exam. Students will receive the questions each day at 9 a.m. and will be given a quiet place in which to work; they will submit their essay by noon. Normal standards regarding originality and citation apply; please see the GSAS Handbook for information regarding these standards.
 
Oral examination (two hours)
Students will be asked to review, clarify, and defend arguments presented in the written examinations as well as their syllabi. Candidates should also expect to present and discuss preliminary ideas and research for their proposed thesis topic. Students whose performance on the examination is not satisfactory will be given one opportunity to repeat all or a portion of the examinations.