Film Studies: Popular Cinema - 2012 entry
MA
/
PGDip
/
PGCert
Overview
This course offers a film education for the 21st century. You are encouraged to develop a broad portfolio of writing and research skills by combining academic and professional writing projects. We cover the history and theory of popular cinema in the US (classical and contemporary Hollywood), Europe and East Asia (especially Japanese cinema), as well as offering a module in advanced screenwriting.
The programme combines the academic rigour of a traditional Film Studies course with creative components enabling you to develop skills which will equip you for a career in academia as well as the media industries. The course is taught by a diverse team of film specialists with different national and cultural backgrounds, as well as by industry professional guest speakers.
All Film Studies staff are active researchers. The research culture in the Film Studies course also benefits from the active involvement of our advisory panel of film industry experts, including leading directors, producers and technical specialists.
Why Brookes?
- The School of Arts offers a unified hub for the arts in the Richard Hamilton Building, with state-of-the-art technical facilities and 24-hour studio access.
- Innovative cross-disciplinary and socially-engaged creative practices, including internationally-renowned programmes in sonic art and social sculpture.
- An advisory panel of leading directors and professionals from the film and media industry who regularly contribute to the programme and our annual series of Film Studies events.
- Research and teaching programmes linked to some of Oxford’s premier cultural organisations such as Modern Art Oxford, Oxford Contemporary Music, and events such as the annual OXDOX International Documentary Film Festival.
- A stimulating environment where creative practitioners and writers about the arts and culture work closely together to form specialist research units and interdisciplinary research clusters in areas including the nineteenth century and modernism.
- Opportunities for international study, with students recently visiting the United States, Europe and Australia.
In detail
School of ArtsCourse content
Course content
Compulsory modules
Students studying for the MA in Film Studies are required to complete the following two compulsory modules:
Research Methods in Film
In this research module, you learn the research conventions and practices of humanities scholarship. It is specifically organised to guide students in developing a successful research topic for their MA thesis in Film Studies.
Optional modules
Independent Study
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching is centred around film screenings, seminars, individual tutorials and, in the case of Story Development, intensive writing workshops.
Assessment activities include writing academic essays and a dissertation, plus professional writing activities - film reviews, feature articles, and screenplays.
Quality
In the most recent external examiner’s report it was noted that research interests and outputs of the staff inform teaching and are reflected in the design and delivery of the curriculum.
“The strength of the programme lies in the commitment of the staff, the breadth of the programme and the way in which students are encouraged to follow a range of interests.”
External examiner’s report, 2011
Career prospects
Having a master's qualification helps you to stand out from the crowd, whether you are joining the MA straight after graduating or returning to study after a break of several years.
Our MA will provide you with the skills and knowledge to embark upon a career in film or to improve your current position. However, an MA in Film Studies can also lead to careers in many other sectors, including teaching, lecturing, publishing, arts administration, journalism, museum work, fundraising and higher education management.
The transferable skills you acquire through studying for an MA also open up wider opportunities in business and law. Many MA students continue onto further research and careers in academia, and our course provides the necessary research training required for doctoral work.
Field trips
MA students have the opportunity to go on a Film trip. In 2010, MA students visited New York and in 2011-12 a group of students attended the Berlin Film Festival with their Film Studies lecturers.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
Faculty
Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment
Department
Course length
Full-time: MA: 12 months, PGDip: 8months, PGCert: 4 months
Part-time: MA: 24 months, PGDip: 3 semesters, PGCert: 2 semesters
Teaching location
Headington Campus, Headington Hill
Start date
September 2012
UKPASS code
P037033
Apply / Entry reqs
Entry requirements
Applicants should normally hold a good honours degree (2.1 or above), or its equivalent, in an Arts and Humanities subject or similar discipline. Previous study of film is desirable but not essential. Selection will be normally made following an interview.
English language requirements
Please see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Preparation courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for this course and also familiarise you with university life. You may also be able to apply for one student visa to cover both courses.
- Take our Pre-Master's course to help you to meet both the English language and academic entry requirements for your master's course
- Take our University English course to help you to meet the English language requirements of your master's course
How to apply
You apply for this course through UKPASS.
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All postgraduate single modules are equivalent to 10 ECTS credits, double modules to 20 ECTS credits, and treble modules to 30 ECTS credits. A full master's course will carry 90 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Fees / funding
TUITION FEES
UK/EU
Full-time: £4,650
Part-time: £2,370
International
Full-time: £11,140
Part-time: £5,680
Fees (part-time and full-time) are for the academic year starting in 2012 only, unless otherwise stated. Fees increase annually by approximately 4%.
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Scholarships and funding
For general sources of financial support, see:
Oxford
Why Oxford is a great place to study Film Studies: Popular Cinema
Oxford has a unique cinematic life and houses many cinemas, which offer a great variety of films in every genre. As one of the world's great academic cities, Oxford is a key centre of debate, with conferences, seminars and forums taking place across education, science, the arts and many other subjects.
As a student in Oxford you'll be at the heart of the UK's most successful economic region and in a centre for leading industries which provides you with a host of learning opportunities.
In addition to our own excellent libraries and resource centres, our postgraduate students have access to the world-renowned Bodleian Library.
Support
Support for students studying Film Studies: Popular Cinema
Representation
The MA programme in Film has a Course Committee meeting every semester. It is responsible for the day-to-day running of the MA programme in the School of Arts. The course committee deals with long and short term academic planning, and any changes to the programmes are first discussed in forum. The Course Committee includes the Course director, course tutors, the Head of School and the Subject Librarian.
The Course Committee also includes student representatives. The reps are also invited to attend the School Board meetings, which take place once a semester. An election for postgraduate student reps takes place at the beginning of Semester 1. Reps normally serve for the duration of their time at the university. Student representation on the Committee ensures that students can make their views known about the running of the course.
Personal tutor
Although MA students are not assigned a personal tutor, the course leader and module leaders are available to provide the support, assistance and advice that a personal tutor would offer at undergraduate level.
Course evaluation
Evaluation offers you the opportunity to voice your opinions directly to those who teach you, and to make sure that changes are discussed in the light of your experience of learning. It is therefore an important vehicle for student representation within the university and you are urged to make every effort to take part in the evaluation of elements and of the course as a whole.
At the end of each module, students have the opportunity to make a formal written evaluation of the content and teaching of the course. Many tutors also conduct an informal feedback session at which students can discuss the element with each other and the tutor.
Tutors are committed to producing a digest of student evaluations and copies are given to student representatives or are available from the Course leader. Student feedback is taken seriously by Film staff and it often leads to changes in the way course elements are run. The Film staff undertake their own collective evaluation of elements at a meeting which takes place at the end of each semester. Student views are taken into account in their discussions.
The opportunity to reflect on and evaluate the course is offered to Film students at the end of the course. Your ideas and opinions are greatly valued.
Academic advice and personal support
You may always seek advice and help about your work on specific units from unit and seminar leaders. Further advice on such matters as the choice of elements, the choice of a Dissertation or Independent Study topic and career possibilities may be sought from any member of Film Studies' staff.
Personal problems can seriously affect you and your academic performance, so be sure to talk to someone quickly if a personal problem arises. Your tutors are able to help with personal problems, but teaching staff may also be able to help; and certainly need to know if you are facing difficulties. Student Services can provide advice and support in all areas of difficulty.
How Brookes supports postgraduate students
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
Research
Departmental research highlights
Dr Warren Buckland
Warren Buckland has seven books to his name: (ed.) Film Theory and Contemporary Hollywood Movies (2009); (ed.), Puzzle Films (2009); Directed by Steven Spielberg: Poetics of the Contemporary Hollywood Cinema (2006); Studying Contemporary American Film: A Guide to Movie Analysis (2002) (with Thomas Elsaesser); The Cognitive Semiotics of Film (2000); the best-selling Teach Yourself Film Studies (1998; fourth edition, 2010); and (ed.) The Film Spectator (1995). He also edits the journal the New Review of Film and Television Studies.
- Film theory
- Hollywood cinema
- Narratology
Dr James Caterer
James Caterer’s doctoral research on film policy and the contemporary British film industry has been published in The Journal of Media Practice and The Journal of British Cinema and Television, as well as in the edited collection Sights Unseen: Unfinished British Cinema.- The international film industry
- British film policy
- Cultural institutions
- Film music
- Film and television-related tourism.
Dr Alberto Mira
- History of Sexuality, in particular perceptions and constructions of homosexuality
- Spanish cinema
- Translation
- Classical Hollywood Cinema (especially screenwriting and gender issues)
- Spanish Literature
Dr Paolo Russo
- Italian and American cinema
- Screenwriting studies
- Film genres (with special emphasis on the horror, noir, and cyberpunk)
- Alternative and cult cinema
- Film and literature
- Postmodernism
- Body, science, and technology in films
- Popular TV series
- Post-war Italian cinema
- Americanization of Italian cinema
- Catholic censorship in Italian cinema
- Popular cinema
- Audiences in Italian Cinema
Research areas and clusters
PhD supervision
The Film Studies staff at Oxford Brookes University have research strengths in film history (with an emphasis on European and British cinema), in film theory, Hollywood and independent American cinemas, and film criticism. We can offer PhD supervision in all these areas.
A number of limited opportunities exist in the department for PhD students to teach on undergraduate film studies modules. Please contact the Daniela Treveri Gennari dtreveri-gennari@brookes.ac.uk for more details.
To apply, please email a member of staff in the first instance to discuss your thesis topic.
