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

Moving Image Archive Studies

Interdepartmental Program
School of Theater, Film and Television
Graduate School of Education and Information Studies

Graduate Degrees

The Moving Image Archive Studies Program offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Moving Image Archive Studies.

Admission

Program Name

Moving Image Archive Studies

Moving Image Archive Studies is an interdepartmental program. Interdepartmental programs provide an integrated curriculum of several disciplines.

Address

103G E. Melnitz
Box 951622
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1622 

Phone

(310) 206-4966 

Email

miasinfo@ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A. 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

December 15th 

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 a statement of purpose and a writing sample. A resume, or other examples of work, may be required to establish the quality of work in the applicant's specialization. 

Master's Degree

Advising

Academic advising on degree requirements and related matters is done by staff and faculty advisers from the Departments of Film, Television, and Digital Media and Information Studies. All academic actions and petitions are considered by the appropriate standing faculty and program committees. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Matters that cannot be resolved by the individual faculty adviser are reviewed by the M.I.A.S. administrative committee. Advising on professional matters such as employment and internships, and general counseling are provided by the coordinator of the M.I.A.S. program and relevant professional staff from the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Areas of Study

Students should consult the program for information about specialized areas of study.

Foreign Language Requirement

Not required. Some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language to their committee if it is needed to support research in their area of specialization.

Course Requirements

A total of 72 units of coursework is required, including a minimum of 48 units of graduate (200- and 500-series) courses. A maximum of 16 units of 500-series courses may be counted toward the overall and graduate course requirement. The remaining six courses may be either in the graduate (200) or professional (400) series. Students must complete six Moving Image Archive Studies seminars (in history and philosophy of moving image archiving, moving image preservation and restoration, archaeology of the media, moving image cataloging, archival administration and access to moving image collections; three Film, Television and Digital Media seminars: 200, and two 200-level courses in film and/or television history, theory, or criticism from an approved list of courses; two Information Studies seminars: 260 and 431: and 16 units of elective courses that are chosen by the student and approved by the student's adviser.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required. Students are encouraged through their directed studies and internship to gain direct, hands-on experience in a moving image archive, library or laboratory.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

Students are required to write a research-based essay that addresses a topic in the field and to submit a portfolio assessment of their work in the program. The portfolio is a presentation of the author's professional self, as developed in the program. The student presents the recorded form of the portfolio in advance, and then gives an in-person presentation to a panel of three members of the M.I.A.S. committee. Detailed examples of the portfolio are available upon request.

Thesis Plan

Students have the option to submit a proposal to do a  master's thesis - a research-based, written work addressing a significant issue in the field - that requires the approval of the Program Director and a supervising committee. The student proposes the membership of the supervising committee that consists of three faculty members, one from Film, Television, and Digital Media, one from Information Studies, and the third from either of these departments or from another UCLA department as deemed appropriate.

Time-to-Degree

Students normally complete degree requirements within two years, with a minimum enrollment of 36 units each year. Students who require additional time must submit a petition for consideration to the M.I.A.S. committee.

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 of graduate study is first made by the graduate adviser to the M.I.A.S. program committee. If the committee concurs with the recommendation, the student is immediately placed in program probation status. The student's progress in the subsequent quarter is reviewed by the committee, based on the written concerns outlined by the graduate adviser, in order to make a final recommendation on whether the student should be allowed to continue or to be recommended to the Graduate Division for termination of graduate study.