Combined Doctoral Program in Film and Media Studies and History of Art

Program of courses

15 courses will be the norm

A. Requirements in Film and Media Studies: 6 courses.

FILM 601 (Films and their Study, offered every other Fall term)
At least four additional seminars in FMS, two of which may carry a HSAR crosslist.

B. Requirements in History of Art: 9 courses.These include the HSAR 500-First Year Colloquium. They may also include Film and Media courses that have a HSAR graduate course number. It may still be expected that students take at least one course in HSAR outside of their core areas. Students receive one course credit as Teaching Fellows within the HSAR department. See below for further teaching requirements.

C. Other courses: upon consultation with the DGS of both units, two courses may be taken in other departments when relevant to the student’s special interests, reducing the required number in HSAR.

Languages

Students must pass examinations in: German (for students of western art), French, and if necessary, another language pertinent to their dissertation. If “other” language is required in the aspect of history of art, ie. Greek, Russian, Asian, (other than German and French), the student must demonstrate proficiency in the language by taking a Yale language course for grade. Immediately upon completion, the student will request the instructor to email the grade to both the DGS and Department Registrar for credit.

Graduate Teaching

During the second and third years a student will teach one section per term in the following lectures: one of the introductory survey lectures in HSAR, a second introductory survey in HSAR or other art history lecture (this may in some cases be substituted by a museum research assistantship), Introduction to Film and Media Studies, and one of the lectures in Film Theory or in World Cinema.

Qualifying Paper

History of Art requires a qualifying paper in the spring term of the second year. The paper must demonstrate original research, a logical conceptual structure, stylistic lucidity, and the ability to successfully complete a Ph.D. dissertation. The qualifying paper will be evaluated by two professors from History of Art.

Qualifying Examination

The Prospectus Colloquium

See the History of Art department registrar to arrange the oral and written examination. The one-hour film oral is arranged only by the Film and Media Studies department registrar.

Written exams

The written exam addressing a question or questions having to do with a broad state-of-the-field or historiographic topic. Three hours, closed book, written by hand or on a non-networked computer

HIistory of Art Oral Exam

An oral exam in four broad topics, two of which must be given by a member of the Film and Media Studies Graduate Committee. The other two topics must be given by a History of Art Faculty member. Each section in the exam will be twenty-five minutes long.

Film and Media Studies Oral Exam

Joint History of Art and Film and Media Studies Ph.D. students will also need to take and pass a one-hour film oral, covering a standardized list of films and texts, at some point before receiving the degree. One-hour film oral, given by two members of the Film and Media Studies Graduate Committee, covering a standardized list of films and texts.

Colloquium

Following History of Art rules, a prospectus must be submitted and approved in a colloquium by the end of the student’s sixth term. Of the four faculty members in the colloquium two should be members of the Film and Media Studies Graduate Committee.

First Chapter Reading

Students will participate in a first chapter reading (also known as a first chapter conference) normally within a year of advancing to candidacy (spring term of year four). The dissertation committee, including faculty members from both programs, will discuss the progress of the student’s work in a seminar-style format.

Provisional Admission to Candidacy

Following the History of Art rules, students must be in good standing, fulfill language requirements, and submit a qualifying paper to the HSAR department by the end of their second year of full-time study at Yale.

The Defense of Method

A 60-90 minute oral is taken the semester before submission of the dissertation. The committee consists of one DGS and the three readers chosen to eventually assess the submitted dissertation, at least one from each unit. See the “Defense of Method” section on the page “Applying to and Going through the FMS Program.”

Disertation Defense

The hour-long defense is a serious intellectual conversation between the student and the committee. Present at the defense will be the student’s advisers, committee, and the directors of graduate studies in both English and History of Art; others may be invited to comment after the committee’s questions is completed. (See information under Provisional Admission to Candidacy)

Dissertation

The dissertation will give evidence of methods and materials important to both disciplines. At least one member of the dissertation panel should come from FMS and one from HSAR (who is not a member of the FMS committee). (See information under Provisional Admission to Candidacy)