Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Culture and Performance

Admission

Program Name

Culture and Performance

Address

Glorya Kaufman Hall
120 Westwood Plaza, Suite 150
Box 951608
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1608 

Phone

(310) 825-8537 

Email

hsafonov@arts.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., Ph.D. 

Admission Limited to

Fall

Exceptions only in special cases. 

Deadline to apply

December 1st 

GRE (General and/or Subject)

GRE: General 

Letters of Recommendation 

3 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University's minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are expected to submit

M.A.: Statement of purpose and a research or term paper, as well as evidence of other creative work relevant to the degree program.

Ph.D.: A statement of purpose and a master's thesis or substantial research paper, as well as evidence of other creative work relevant to the degree program. Applicants are normally expected to hold a master's degree or its equivalent from a recognized college or university. 

Master's Degree

Advising

Each entering student is assigned a temporary academic adviser, from among the ladder faculty of the department, who takes primary responsibility for academic advising. Each student is expected to form an advisory committee and apply for advancement to candidacy no later than Fall Quarter of the second year. The departmental graduate adviser is fundamentally responsible for advising students in regard to program requirements, policies, and University regulations.

Areas of Study

Students designate a major field of study, to be determine in consultation with their faculty adviser. The major field consists of at  least three courses. The faculty strongly advises that one of these fields should be a course that provides introduction to the special methods or discourse of the major field (whether in this department, i.e., ethnography, or in another department). Examples of some possible fields of study include dance studies, folklore, curatorial studies, arts and activism, or field studies in African, Caribbean, or Native American cultures, among others.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students must demonstrate reading competence in one foreign language. The purpose of the language requirement is to ensure that students have the necessary skills to conduct independent research. Any foreign language useful for field study and/or library research is acceptable. The language requirement must be completed before students file the advancement to candidacy petition for the degree.

The language requirement may be met by: (1) passing a departmental examination, administered by the department's Graduate Foreign Language Examination Committee; (2) demonstrating the equivalent of five quarters or four semesters of training in an approved foreign language, completed within the last five years before admission with a grade of B or higher in the final courses; (3) placing at level six on the Foreign Language Placement Examination; or (4) petitioning to use English as a foreign language (only for international students whose native language is not English).

Course Requirements

Students must successfully complete a total of 36 units (normally nine courses) taken for a letter grade and with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average. Of the 36 units, at least 24 must be completed at the graduate level. The required courses are distributed as follows:

(1) Four core courses, taken during the first year of study; World Arts and Cultures 200, 201, 202, and 204.

(2) Three courses in the designated major field, chosen in consultation with the student's academic adviser.

(3) Two elective courses.

Of the combined three major field and two elective courses, at least three of the five courses must be graduate level courses taken within the department.

No more than two 500-series independent study courses (e.g., World Arts and Cultures 596A) may be applied toward the graduate course requirement.

The minimum course load is 12 units per quarter. Students must be registered and enrolled at all times unless they are on an official leave of absence.

Teaching Experience

Teaching experience is encouraged but not required.

Field Experience

Field experience is not required but is expected of students whose theses are based on ethnographic research.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

Students who select this plan take a comprehensive examination that consists of a series of essay questions. This examination is designed to test the student's knowledge of theories and methods in the study of performance and expressive culture, and their ability to apply these ideas and techniques to the study of particular traditions, genres, geo-cultural areas, social groups, or historical periods. The examination is administered and evaluated by the student's advisory committee, which consists of no fewer than three and no more than five members, a majority of whom must be ladder faculty in the department. Students are expected to demonstrate competence in their designated major fields.

The master's comprehensive examination is graded: (1) Fail; (2) Pass with awarding of the master's degree; or (3) Pass with awarding of the master's degree and recommendation to proceed to the doctoral program. If it is recommended that the student continue to the doctoral program, departmental faculty make the final determination regarding admission to the doctoral program at the next meeting of the faculty. Students who fail the comprehensive examination are allowed to retake it once, no later than the following quarter. In general, master's degree students who seek to apply to the doctoral program in Culture and Performance are advised to select the comprehensive examination plan as preparation for their doctoral studies.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

The purpose of the master's thesis is to demonstrate a student's ability to conduct research in the areas of performance and expressive culture, to interpret the results, to demonstrate the relevance of the work to conceptual and practical issues in selected disciplines, and to present the findings in lucid prose. Students who pursue this plan must submit an acceptable thesis, prepared under the direction of their academic adviser and thesis committee. The thesis committee must be appointed no later than Fall Quarter of the student's second year.

Upon successful completion of  the thesis, the committee members may recommend that the student be allowed to proceed to the doctoral program. If it is recommended that the student continue to the doctoral program, departmental ladder faculty make the final determination.

Time-to-Degree

The master's degree is designed as a two-year program. Normal progress toward the degree is as follows:

Core course requirements -- expected time of completion: end of third quarter.

Thesis committee -- expected time of nomination: fourth quarter.

Language requirement -- expected time of completion: before advancement to candidacy petition is filed.

Advancement to candidacy -- expected time of completion: fourth quarter.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The Ph.D. degree is organized around the relationship between the individual student, the student's adviser, and the doctoral committee. Each entering student is assigned a temporary academic adviser, from among the ladder faculty of the department, who takes primary responsibility for academic advising. Each student is expected to choose a dissertation adviser and form an advisory committee during the first year of academic residence. The departmental graduate adviser is fundamentally responsible for advising students in regard to program requirements, policies, and University regulations.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Students designate a major field of study, to be determined in consultation with their faculty adviser. The major field consists of at  least four courses. The faculty strongly advises that one of these fields should be a course that provides introduction to the special methods or discourse of the major field (whether in this department, i.e., ethnography, or in another department). Examples of some possible fields of study include dance studies, folklore, museology, or field studies in African, Caribbean, or Native American cultures, among others.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students must demonstrate reading competence in one foreign language. The purpose of the language requirement is to ensure that students have the necessary skills to conduct independent research. Any foreign language useful for field study and/or library research is acceptable. The language requirement must be completed no later than the end of the fifth quarter of residence.

The language requirement may be met by: (1) passing a departmental examination, administered by the department's Graduate Foreign Language Examination Committee; (2) demonstrating the equivalent of five quarters or four semesters of training in an approved foreign language, completed within the last five years before admission with a grade of B or higher in the final courses; (3) placing at level six on the Foreign Language Placement Examination; or (4) petitioning to use English as a foreign language (only for international students whose native language is not English). If the student has already fulfilled this requirement as a master's student in this department, this fulfillment also counts as fulfillment of the language requirement for the doctoral degree.

Course Requirements

All students must successfully complete a total of 48 units (normally 12 courses) taken for a letter grade, with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average. These courses are chosen in consultation with the student's academic adviser. The required courses are distributed as follows:

(1) Four core courses, taken during the first year of study; World Arts and Cultures 200, 201, 202, and 204.

(2) Four courses in the designated major field, chosen in consultation with the student's academic adviser. It is strongly recommended that one of these courses be a course that provides knowledge of the special methods and discourse in the major field (i.e., a course in ethnography for a student whose major field is folklore or field studies).

(3) Four elective courses.

Of the combined four major field and four elective courses, at least four of the eight courses must be graduate level courses taken within the department. It is strongly advised that students take some courses outside of the department.

No more than three 500-series independent study courses (e.g., World Arts and Cultures 596A) may be applied toward the graduate course requirement.

Students who enter the doctoral program from the department's own master's degree program are not required to repeat courses. Having completed the four core courses (World Arts and Cultures 200, 201, 202, and 204), three major field courses, and two electives, these students must complete a total of 32 additional units. If these students continue in the same major field, they will need to complete one additional major field course and two elective courses, and courses toward the 32 unit total, in consultation with their academic adviser. If these students choose a new major field, they will need to complete four major field courses, in consultation with their academic adviser. No more than three of the combined major field and elective courses can be at the 500-series level.

Teaching Experience

Teaching experience is encouraged but not required.

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.

The doctoral qualifying examinations are composed of a written and an oral examination. The timing of these examinations is determined in consultation with the members of the doctoral committee. Students must successfully complete all required coursework (including the core courses and foreign language requirement) before scheduling their examination, and must be registered and enrolled during the quarter in which the examination is administered. Students who fail the written or oral examinations are allowed to retake them once, no later than in the following quarter. A second failure leads to a recommendation to the Graduate Division for termination from the doctoral program.

The written qualifying examination is administered by the student's doctoral committee. This examination takes the form of essay questions, developed in consultation with the student's adviser and committee, and tailored to the theoretical and substantive interests of the student, and to the refinement of a dissertation topic. The written examination evaluates competence in three main areas relevant to the student's dissertation topic: (1) theoretical concepts and problems; (2) geo-cultural and/or historical field of specialization; and (3) expressive genre(s) or media.

Examination answers are evaluated as pass or fail. If one answer is fail, the written examination receives an overall evaluation of fail. Any examination question that originally receives a fail evaluation may be retaken once. If a student fails any single question on the written examination a second time, the student has failed the written examination. A failed written examination leads to a recommendation to the Graduate Division for termination from the doctoral program.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is primarily a defense of the dissertation proposal and is administered by the student's doctoral committee. A pass examination evaluation cannot have more than one committee member who votes fail regardless of the size of the committee. Students may retake the oral examination once within the next quarter. If the second oral examination results in a second fail evaluation, the student has failed the oral examination. A failed oral examination leads to a recommendation to the Graduate Division for termination from the doctoral program.

Evaluation results of written and oral examinations are communicated to the student in writing within 14 days from the date of the completion of the examination. However, the doctoral committee usually informs the student of the evaluation result of the oral examination immediately upon completion of the examination.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy 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

Expected time to degree for the doctoral degree is four years from the master's degree (three years for students who hold the master's degree in Culture and Performance), depending on prior academic and language preparation and the length of dissertation. Under typical circumstances, a student would complete all course requirements during the first four quarters in residence. Fall and Winter quarters of the second year would be devoted to any additional coursework, including completion of language requirements, if necessary; to the development of grant proposals; and to preparation for the qualifying examinations, typically taken no later than Spring Quarter of the second year of residency. 

Normal progress (post-master's) toward the degree is as follows:

Core course requirements (if necessary) -- expected time of completion: end of third quarter

Forty-eight units of coursework (or 32 units if continuing from the M.A. degree in this department) -- expected time of completion: end of fifth quarter

Completion of foreign language requirement -- expected time of completion: end of fifth quarter (must be completed before the nomination of committee and the qualifying examinations)

Doctoral committee -- expected time of nomination: end of fifth quarter

Written and oral qualifying examinations and advancement to candidacy -- expected time of completion: sixth quarter

Final oral examination (defense of dissertation [if required]) and filing of dissertation -- expected time of completion: no later than the end of the twelfth quarter (i.e., six quarters of doctoral candidacy status allowed)

Post-master's to doctoral degree -- expected time of completion: twelve quarters

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

A recommendation for termination is made by the chair of the department after a vote of the department's graduate faculty. Before the recommendation is sent to the Graduate Division, a student is notified in writing and given two weeks to respond in writing to the chair. An appeal is reviewed by the department's graduate faculty, which makes the final departmental recommendation to the Graduate Division.

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