This is one of the very few "stand alone" MA degrees in the country. Most graduate programs offer MAs in conjunction with Ph.D. programs. The Ph.D. program then receives the lion’s share of the energy and resources available. Some use the MA to select the few students they want to see go forward to the Ph.D. The Cinema Department here offers a degree unencumbered by a relation to a doctoral program.
This program does have a close tie to the Department's MFA degree, however. MA and MFA students take two seminars together, 721, Non Narrative Film, and 722, Independent Narrative Film together. These two seminars address issues of nonfiction and social representation in one semester and issues of fiction and narrative representation the other semester. The interaction between the groups provides a valuable breadth of perspective that overcomes many of the theory/practice divisions that operate in many graduate programs.
The SFSU MA program in Cinema Studies derives identity from the specific research interests of its students and faculty, and from the dynamic independent documentary and experimental filmmaking community of the San Francisco Bay Area, which provides a vibrant and innovative alternative to Hollywood film production.
