Applicable only to students admitted during the 2017-2018 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 211A, 213, and 215B are required core courses. In addition, Film and Television 200 is required of all students. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, 596C, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in dismissal. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, producing/directing, producers program, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A total of 18 courses (72 units) is required for the degree, five (20 units) of which must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: two of these must be approved cinema and media studies seminars and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596C through 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 12 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); directing/producing: 12 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); producers program: six quarters (maximum nine quarters); screenwriting: six quarters (maximum 10 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for termination of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Directing/Producing	M.F.A.	9	12	12
Producers Program	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	10

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Mastery of one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 5 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 5 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s). Normally, the required foreign language examinations must be passed by the end of the first year of residence.

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 13 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 211B, 215, and 273. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274 which is required in both the fourth and sixth quarters, and an independent study in the area of their dissertation in the fifth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 496, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select seven additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation, including Film and Television 274 and the dissertation-related independent study; students may include a fourth course in this concentration which is a cinema and media studies seminar related to their dissertation. The other two areas are to be composed of three seminars each chosen to indicate focused competence in two areas of expertise. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film theory, criticism, narrative studies, film history, American film, European film, non-Western film/television, television studies, media and society, authors, genres, film and the other arts, film and television as a business enterprise, film/television production and new media.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 496.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the spring quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is fifteen quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	15	30

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Graduate Division of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 211A, 213, and 215B are required core courses. In addition, Film and Television 200 is required of all students. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, 596C, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, producing/directing, producers program, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A total of 18 courses (72 units) is required for the degree, five (20 units) of which must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: two of these must be approved cinema and media studies seminars and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596C through 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); directing/producing: 12 quarters (maximum 13 quarters); producers program: six quarters (maximum nine quarters); screenwriting: six quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Directing/Producing	M.F.A.	9	12	13
Producers Program	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 13 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 211B, 215, and 273. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274 which is required in both the fourth and sixth quarters, and an independent study in the area of their dissertation in the fifth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 496, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select seven additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation, including Film and Television 274 and the dissertation-related independent study; students may include a fourth course in this concentration which is a cinema and media studies seminar related to their dissertation. The other two areas are to be composed of three seminars each chosen to indicate focused competence in two areas of expertise. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film theory, criticism, narrative studies, film history, American film, European film, non-Western film/television, television studies, media and society, authors, genres, film and the other arts, film and television as a business enterprise, film/television production and new media.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 496.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the spring quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is fifteen quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	15	30

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Graduate Division of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2019-2020 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 211A, 213, and 215B are required core courses. In addition, Film and Television 200 is required of all students. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, 596C, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, producing/directing, producers program, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A total of 18 courses (72 units) is required for the degree, five (20 units) of which must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: two of these must be approved cinema and media studies seminars and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596C through 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); directing/producing: 12 quarters (maximum 13 quarters); producers program: six quarters (maximum nine quarters); screenwriting: six quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Directing/Producing	M.F.A.	9	12	13
Producers Program	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 13 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 211B, 215, and 273. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274 which is required in both the fourth and sixth quarters, and an independent study in the area of their dissertation in the fifth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 496, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select seven additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation, including Film and Television 274 and the dissertation-related independent study; students may include a fourth course in this concentration which is a cinema and media studies seminar related to their dissertation. The other two areas are to be composed of three seminars each chosen to indicate focused competence in two areas of expertise. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film theory, criticism, narrative studies, film history, American film, European film, non-Western film/television, television studies, media and society, authors, genres, film and the other arts, film and television as a business enterprise, film/television production and new media.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 496.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the spring quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is fifteen quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	15	30

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Graduate Division of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 211A, 213, and 215B are required core courses. In addition, Film and Television 200 is required of all students. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, 596C, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, producing/directing, producers program, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A total of 18 courses (72 units) is required for the degree, five (20 units) of which must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: two of these must be approved cinema and media studies seminars and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596C through 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); directing/producing: 12 quarters (maximum 13 quarters); producers program: six quarters (maximum nine quarters); screenwriting: six quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Directing/Producing	M.F.A.	9	12	13
Producers Program	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 12 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Two required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 211B and 215. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274 which is required in both the fourth and sixth quarters, and an independent study in the area of their dissertation in the fifth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 495A, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select seven additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation, including Film and Television 274 and the dissertation-related independent study; students may include a fourth course in this concentration which is a cinema and media studies seminar related to their dissertation. The other two areas are to be composed of three seminars each chosen to indicate focused competence in two areas of expertise. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film theory, criticism, narrative studies, film history, American film, European film, non-Western film/television, television studies, media and society, authors, genres, film and the other arts, film and television as a business enterprise, film/television production and new media.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 495A.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the spring quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is fifteen quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	15	30

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Graduate Division of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 210, 211, 213, and 215 are required core courses. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, production (cinematography, directing, documentary), producing, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The four M.F.A. programs have a different minimum number of course requirements: Animation: 18 courses (72 units); Production/cinematography: 17 courses (72 units), Production/directing: 21 courses (94 units), Production/documentary: 21 courses (90 units); Producing: 18 courses (74 units); and Screenwriting: 12 courses (72 units). For each of the four MFA programs, at least five (20 units) must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: one must be cinema and media studies course Film and Television 210, the second must be an approved 200-level cinema and media studies seminar, and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); production: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); producing: six 6 quarters (maximum nine 9 quarters); screenwriting: six 6 quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Production	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Producing	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Ph.D. students’ progress is assessed by their advisors in consultation with the CMS faculty on a yearly basis, if a student fails to make timely progress (to take exams, advance to degree or complete dissertation chapters) they will come up with a plan with their advisors to meet the necessary benchmarks. Should a student fail to make sufficient progress after a second year, the student will be recommended to the Division of Graduate Education for academic disqualification.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 12 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 210, 211 and 215. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274A in their fourth quarter, 274B in their fifth quarter, and 274C in their sixth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 495A, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select six additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation. The other two areas are to be chosen either before taking 274A, or during that course. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film/media theory, film history, national and regional media, area studies, television studies, computational media, curating and archiving, genres, documentary, audience studies, media industries, film/media geographies, science and technology studies.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 495A.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the winter quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Ph.D. written and oral qualifying exams are evaluated by the Cinema and Media Studies Faculty. Each student will receive a letter from the Vice Chair informing them of the exam outcome. Failure to pass the examination may jeopardize future funding. If a student fails a portion of the examination, they are permitted to re-take that question or questions once only, during the next scheduled examination period. Should a student fail any part of the second exam, the student will be recommended to the Division of Graduate Education for academic disqualification.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is 21 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	21	24

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Division of Graduate Education of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 210, 211, 213, and 215 are required core courses. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, production (cinematography, directing, documentary), producing, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The four M.F.A. programs have a different minimum number of course requirements: Animation: 18 courses (72 units); Production: 15 courses (108 units); Producing: 18 courses (74 units); and Screenwriting: 12 courses (72 units). For each of the four MFA programs, at least five (20 units) must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: one must be cinema and media studies course Film and Television 210, two of these the second must be one an approved 200-level cinema and media studies seminars, and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); production: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); producing: six 6 quarters (maximum nine 9 quarters); screenwriting: six 6 quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Production	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Producing	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 12 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 210, 211 and 215. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274A in their fourth quarter, 274B in their fifth quarter, and 274C in their sixth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 495A, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select six additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation. The other two areas are to be chosen either before taking 274A, or during that course. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film/media theory, film history, national and regional media, area studies, television studies, computational media, curating and archiving, genres, documentary, audience studies, media industries, film/media geographies, science and technology studies.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 495A.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the winter quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is fifteen quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	15	30

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Graduate Division of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 211A, 213, and 215B are required core courses. In addition, Film and Television 200 is required of all students. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, 596C, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, producing/directing, producers program, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

A total of 18 courses (72 units) is required for the degree, five (20 units) of which must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: two of these must be approved cinema and media studies seminars and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596C through 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); directing/producing: 12 quarters (maximum 13 quarters); producers program: six quarters (maximum nine quarters); screenwriting: six quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Directing/Producing	M.F.A.	9	12	13
Producers Program	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 13 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 211B, 215, and 273. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274 which is required in both the fourth and sixth quarters, and an independent study in the area of their dissertation in the fifth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 496, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select seven additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation, including Film and Television 274 and the dissertation-related independent study; students may include a fourth course in this concentration which is a cinema and media studies seminar related to their dissertation. The other two areas are to be composed of three seminars each chosen to indicate focused competence in two areas of expertise. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film theory, criticism, narrative studies, film history, American film, European film, non-Western film/television, television studies, media and society, authors, genres, film and the other arts, film and television as a business enterprise, film/television production and new media.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 496.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the spring quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is fifteen quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	15	30

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Graduate Division of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2025-2026 academic year.

Film, Television, and Digital Media

School of Theater, Film, and Television

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media offers the Master of Arts (M.A.), the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Film and Television.

Admissions Requirements

Master of Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns.  Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

The program requires that students be conversant in both film and television, and they are tested on each in the comprehensive examination. The degree is awarded by successfully completing course requirements and, by successfully completing a Capstone Project.

Foreign Language Requirement

Although not required for the M.A. degree, some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language if it is necessary to support the research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required, five (20 units) of which must be 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, and criticism. Of the five courses, Film and Television 210, 211A or 211B, 213, and 215A or 215B are required core courses. All five of the graduate-level courses must be completed with a grade of B or better.

Only eight units of Film and Television 596A, 596B, and 598 may be applied toward the total course requirement for the degree, and none of these courses may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project is developed within the Capstone Course in the final (spring) quarter of registration and is the culminating project of the degree. The Capstone Project is either a scholarly research paper based on previous work in the program or a paper written in conjunction with, and based on, experiences in a professional internship performed during M.A. study. In either format, the Capstone Project is expected to be a creative work in which students use intellectual frameworks to synthesize ideas and provide original insights into research and professional experiences. After completion of the Capstone Project, the faculty grades the student either pass or fail. If failed, the student’s Capstone Project may be improved and reexamined when the Capstone Course is next regularly scheduled, or within the year following the term in which it was first taken. Scheduling is at the discretion of the Faculty. The Capstone is required of all M.A. students who apply to the Ph.D. program.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree: from graduate admission with no deficiencies to award of the M.A. degree, a minimum of three quarters is necessary for completion of the required courses and Capstone Project. At the start of the third quarter of residence, but no later than the start of the sixth quarter, students are eligible to take the M.A. Capstone Course. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in recommendation for academic disqualification. Maximum residency allowed for the M.A. program is seven quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	3	3	7

Master of Fine Arts

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Areas of Study

Animation, production (cinematography, directing, documentary), producing, and screenwriting. Students should consult the department for specific requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

The four M.F.A. programs have a different minimum number of course requirements: Animation: 18 courses (72 units); Production/cinematography: 21 courses (84 units), Production/directing: 21 courses (94 units), Production/documentary: 21 courses (90 units); Producing: 18 courses (74 units); and Screenwriting: 12 courses (72 units). For each of the four MFA programs, at least five (20 units) must be at the graduate level. At least three departmental courses must be taken outside each student’s specific program: one must be cinema and media studies course Film and Television 210, the second must be an approved 200-level cinema and media studies seminar, and the third must be from one of the other M.F.A. programs. Course requirements for each specialization are available in the Student Services Office, Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Only 16 units of Film and Television 596A-596B-596C may be applied toward the total course requirement, and only eight of these units may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Only four units of Film and Television 596A and four units of 596B may be taken prior to advancement to candidacy. Film and Television 596F may be taken only after advancement to candidacy. Fieldwork and internships are not required, but may be taken as courses which may be applied toward the degree.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students fulfill the capstone requirement through projects appropriate to their specializations. No later than the beginning of the final quarter of residence, the student must file the appropriate documents for advancement to candidacy and receive approval for advancement from the M.F.A. advisory committee.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

The four M.F.A. programs have different time-to-degree requirements: animation: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); production: 9 quarters (maximum 12 quarters); producing: six 6 quarters (maximum nine 9 quarters); screenwriting: six 6 quarters (maximum 7 quarters). Students who are not making normal progress toward the degree may be recommended for academic disqualification of graduate study. Continuance in the program of students who are on academic probation is determined by the M.F.A. committee, with the final approval of the chair of the department.

SPECIALIZATION	DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Animation	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Production	M.F.A.	9	9	12
Producing	M.F.A.	6	6	9
Screenwriting	M.F.A.	6	6	7

Doctoral Degree

Advising

In most instances, the chair of the appropriate graduate committee acts as principal adviser to students in the program, although some advising assignments may be made by the chair to other members of the faculty. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Students also are encouraged to confer with the departmental student affairs officer as frequently as necessary to discuss program changes, petitions, and other concerns. Each program has a specific procedure and calendar for assignment of each student’s committee. Students should consult the student affairs officer for this information.

Ph.D. students’ progress is assessed by their advisors in consultation with the CMS faculty on a yearly basis, if a student fails to make timely progress (to take exams, advance to degree or complete dissertation chapters) they will come up with a plan with their advisors to meet the necessary benchmarks. Should a student fail to make sufficient progress after a second year, the student will be recommended to the Division of Graduate Education for academic disqualification.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students are expected to understand film and television within their social contexts as significant forms of art and communication, and to achieve, by disciplined study, a mastery of film and television history, theory, and criticism.

Foreign Language Requirement

Proficiency in more than one language is a foundational skill that is increasingly relevant to our global society and for advancing scholarship in the academy. This is especially true for cinema and media studies as a field that works across national, transnational, and global contexts. The CMS program strongly encourages its graduate students to pursue language study above and beyond basic proficiency.

Proficiency in one foreign language is required and must be demonstrated in one of the following ways: (1) completing a level 3 course or the equivalent, with a minimum grade of C, in any foreign language; (2) passing a UCLA Foreign Language Department Placement Test at the equivalent of a level 3 course; (3) passing a UCLA language examination given in any foreign language department. With approval of the Department Chair, when a doctoral committee determines that mastery of a foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations as the equivalent of a level 5 course with a minimum grade of C. This is to be determined during the Third Quarter Review and must be completed prior to the student’s Advancement to Candidacy. When mastery of more than one foreign language is necessary for a student’s dissertation study, the student is required to take courses or pass examinations in the additional language(s).

Course Requirements

Each student must take a minimum of 12 and one-half courses during the first six quarters of residence. Three required Ph.D. core courses must be completed during the first year of residence: Film and Television 210, 211A and 215A. In their second year, students must take Film and Television 274A in their fourth quarter, 274B in their fifth quarter, and 274C in their sixth quarter. In addition to this core sequence, Film and Television 495A, which counts as the one-half course, is required (normally in the first quarter of residence). Students also select six additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Students must select three areas of concentration. One is in the specific field of their dissertation. The other two areas are to be chosen either before taking 274A, or during that course. A suggested list of concentrations is as follows: film/media theory, film history, national and regional media, area studies, television studies, computational media, curating and archiving, genres, documentary, audience studies, media industries, film/media geographies, science and technology studies.

Teaching Experience

Students who serve as teaching assistants or associates must complete Film and Television 495A.  Teaching assignments vary by student’s specific area of study and availability of positions.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

After completion of all language and course requirements, students are eligible to take the Ph.D. written qualifying examination, which must be passed in order to proceed to the oral qualifying examination. The written examination is given in the winter quarter only and is a take-home examination that is completed over four full consecutive days. After the student passes the written examination, a doctoral committee is formed to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination. Students are advanced to candidacy only on successful completion of this examination.

Ph.D. written and oral qualifying exams are evaluated by the Cinema and Media Studies Faculty. Each student will receive a letter from the Vice Chair informing them of the exam outcome. Failure to pass the examination may jeopardize future funding. If a student fails a portion of the examination, they are permitted to re-take that question or questions once only, during the next scheduled examination period. Should a student fail any part of the second exam, the student will be recommended to the Division of Graduate Education for academic disqualification.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normal progress toward the degree is 21 quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	6	21	24

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for probation/termination whose various creative projects or work in courses in research methodology and history seminars are indicative of insufficient talent, development, imagination or motivation. If a student’s work in this area is found to be insufficient, the student is informed of the recommendation by the appropriate committee and placed on probation by the department. During the following term the student must provide sufficient evidence of improvement to remove the probationary status. If not, the committee recommends termination to the faculty and chair of the department.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination through the following steps:

(1) The student submits to the departmental chair and the chair of the appropriate committee a written appeal stating the specific causes for reconsideration.

(2) The chair of the committee submits a response to the departmental chair and the student.

(3) The departmental chair appoints an ad hoc committee consisting of three tenured members of the faculty to review the student’s appeal and committee’s response. The ad hoc committee also meets separately with the student and the committee. The ad hoc committee forwards its written recommendation to the departmental chair.

(4) The departmental chair makes the departmental recommendation and informs the student and the Division of Graduate Education of the decision in writing.

(5) A departmental faculty representative may be present at each review hearing within the department.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Executive M.P.H. Program

Health and non-health managers and executives, who are working professionals, may choose to pursue an executive M.P.H. degree by completing course work in extended weekend sessions during the academic year and complete an applied summer field project. Courses are taught by leading practitioners and researchers in the field of public health, healthcare management and health policy.

Admissions Requirements

Advising

An adviser is appointed for each new master’s student by the head of the respective department. The EMPH Program Director will be the adviser for all students in the Executive MPH program. The EMPH program is a lock-step program with required classes and electives built into the pre-set curriculum. Any alterations to the curriculum must be approved by both the adviser and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Students are expected to meet with their advisers each quarter. A departmental guidance committee is established when the student has completed approximately half of the program for the master’s degree. Members of the departmental guidance committee are nominated by the department chair after consultation with the student and the student’s adviser.

An adviser is responsible for the student’s academic progress. Progress is evaluated on an ongoing basis. At the end of each quarter, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs reviews academic listings of students and notifies them and the advisers when the cumulative grade-point average is below 3.0. Advisers review each case with their advisees and make recommendations to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs for continuance or academic disqualification. Students who wish to change advisers must file a petition which must be approved by the new adviser, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

Areas of Study

The Executive M.P.H. degree is offered in the Department of Health Policy and Management with a concentration in Health Policy and Management.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Health Policy and Management

The EMPH degree program is an executive-style program for people with at least three years of experience in the health care or managerial fields. It is a two-year program requiring 20 full courses (74 units) and a major written research or consulting report based on a summer field project. Required courses include Health Policy and Management 200A, 232, 234, M236, 400, 403, M422, 433, 436, and 445. Required School of Public Health classes include Biostatistics 201A, and PUBHLT 201.

Only courses in which a grade of C or better is received may be applied toward the requirements for a master’s degree. Courses taken for S/U grading may be applied toward the degree requirements. Students must maintain an average of no less than 3.0 (B) in all courses required or elected during graduate residence at the University of California.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students must complete a summer field project and write a research or consulting report.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is two years of extended weekend sessions and an applied field project during the summer.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.P.H.	6	7	16

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Applicable only to students admitted during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Executive M.P.H. Program

Health and non-health managers and executives, who are working professionals, may choose to pursue an executive M.P.H. degree by completing course work in extended weekend sessions during the academic year and complete an applied summer field project. Courses are taught by leading practitioners and researchers in the field of public health, healthcare management and health policy.

Admissions Requirements

Advising

An adviser is appointed for each new master’s student by the head of the respective department. The EMPH Program Director will be the adviser for all students in the Executive MPH program. The EMPH program is a lock-step program with required classes and electives built into the pre-set curriculum. Any alterations to the curriculum must be approved by both the adviser and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Students are expected to meet with their advisers each quarter. A departmental guidance committee is established when the student has completed approximately half of the program for the master’s degree. Members of the departmental guidance committee are nominated by the department chair after consultation with the student and the student’s adviser.

An adviser is responsible for the student’s academic progress. Progress is evaluated on an ongoing basis. At the end of each quarter, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs reviews academic listings of students and notifies them and the advisers when the cumulative grade-point average is below 3.0. Advisers review each case with their advisees and make recommendations to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs for continuance or dismissal. Students who wish to change advisers must file a petition which must be approved by the new adviser, the department chair, and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

Areas of Study

The Executive M.P.H. degree is offered in the Department of Health Policy and Management with a concentration in Health Policy and Management.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Health Policy and Management

The EMPH degree program is an executive-style program for people with at least three years of experience in the health care or managerial fields. It is a two-year program requiring 20 full courses (74units) and a major written research or consulting report based on a summer field project. Required courses include Health Policy and Management 200A, 215A, 232, 234, M236, 400, 403, M422, 433, 436, and 445. Required School of Public Health classes include Biostatistics 100A, and PUBHLT 201.

Only courses in which a grade of C or better is received may be applied toward the requirements for a master’s degree. Courses taken for S/U grading may not be applied toward the degree requirements. Students must maintain an average of no less than 3.0 (B) in all courses required or elected during graduate residence at the University of California.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Students must complete a summer field project and write a research or consulting report.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is two years of extended weekend sessions and an applied field project during the summer.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.P.H.	6	7	16

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.