M.A. in English with a Concentration in Film Studies
NCSU offers a Master of Arts in English with a concentration in Film Studies. This 32-hour concentration includes training in writing (screenwriting, film criticism, and academic writing), analysis (genre, history, and national cinemas) and theory (film theory, literary theory, and visual theory). The program does not include production courses.
However, NCSU’s Library system is one of the best in the country and has everything you need— from equipment to how-to workshops to green screen, music recording, and editing facilities—to become skilled at producing work in digital humanities, web-based, or video production contexts during your time in the program.
The graduate school offers excellent professional development resources, including certificate programs and career readiness opportunities.
The Triangle also boasts a rich film culture. Every spring we send a cohort of upper-level undergraduate and MA-level students to the Full Frame Documentary Festival in Durham, where they get to experience the festival and attend small filmmaker seminars with other students from around the country. In addition to the excellent film programs at the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Gregg Museum of Art (which is adjacent to the English Department), NC State hosts screenings and filmmakers throughout the year and our MA students collaborate on thematic film programming under the banner of “Wolfpack Pictures.” There’s so much more, including the North Carolina Museum of History’s annual film festival; NC State Alumnus Skip Elsheimer, the A/V Geek, one of the nation’s largest collectors of 16mm educational film, who does screening programs on campus and off and often has student interns from our MA film concentration; and Raleigh’s excellent commercial movie theaters, many of which include film society/arthouse type programming.
Our alumni have gone on to PhD programs in film and media, as well as to teaching careers at the community college and high school level. See our alumni page for more information about what our graduates go on to do.
Graduate students in the film concentration who earn teaching assistantships assist film faculty members in larger section film courses.
How to Apply:
Application instructions:
Applying
English M.A. web site:
M.A. in English – NCSU
NCSU Graduate School web site:
NCSU Graduate School
Program Curriculum:
First Semester Requirement:
ENG 587: Methods and Theories in Media Studies (3 credits)
Disciplinary Core (15 credits)
-3 500-level Film courses (this excludes 592s)
-2 Film electives
The electives may include an additional 500-level film studies course such as Eng 585, 592 Styles and Genres (this is a dual level/upper level undergraduate course for which 592 students will do graduate-level work), or Eng 636 Directed Readings (S/U graded courses)
Department Electives (6 credits)
Select six hours of coursework in Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, or Linguistics. Students may also choose to take Eng 522 (our graduate level internship class) to fulfill one of the Departmental Elective requirements
Open Electives (6 credits)
-2 open elective courses in any area, including film (may also be English 585s, 592s, or 636)
Additional Requirements
Final Semester: ENG 676: Master’s Capstone Project (3 credits)
In the film studies concentration, the capstone project typically takes one of the following forms:
1) Substantial essay based on original research with a brief oral presentation.
2) Film or video project accompanied by a paper that employs film studies research methods to reflect on the project with a brief oral presentation.
3) Feature-length screenplay with a brief oral presentation.