Required courses

• CMS: FILM 6220 — Methods and Research in Cinema and Media Studies: work on Thesis/MRP is integrated into the course and the final assignment is a Thesis/MRP proposal
• Production: FILM 5010 — Production: work on thesis proposal integrated into the course
• Screenwriting: FILM 5110 — Screenwriting: work on thesis proposal integrated into the course
• FILM 5400 — Grad Seminar: required course for all CMS, Production, and Screenwriting masters students. It combines guest presentations with seminars on professional development (grant-writing, proposal writing, networking, etc). N.B. Students do not officially enroll in Film 5400 until Term 4 (see below)

Optional courses

• Students normally enroll in 2-3 courses per term in First Year and complete their 7th course (for students completing a Thesis) or 8th course (for MA students completing a Major Research Paper or MRP).
• Pending faculty availability, Film 5800 Directed Reading or Film 5700 Student Initiated Collaborative Inquiry courses may assist in the development of Thesis/MRP research.
• All grad students registered in the first 5 terms of their masters degree are considered full-time. Unlike undergraduate studies, there is no minimum number of courses that a student must be enrolled in to maintain full-time status. Students may take more than the minimum number of courses required for their degree.
• York University’s strength as an interdisciplinary university means that you may find excellent courses in other graduate programs. To search for other graduate courses, go to https://w2prod.sis.yorku.ca/Apps/WebObjects/cdm and “Search Current Courses By ...” Subject. Choose the appropriate term (Summer or Fall/Winter) and a list of programs will appear. Any program that indicates “GS” includes Graduate classes.
  
  Cognate programs that offer cinema and media related courses include Communication and Culture (CMCT), English (EN), Anthropology (ANTH), Humanities (HUMA), Interdisciplinary Studies (INST), Philosophy (PHIL), Political Science (POLS), Sociology (SOCI), Social & Political Thought (SPTH), Science & Technology Studies (STS), and Women’s Studies (WMST), in addition to Fine Arts programs in Art History (ARTH), Dance (DANC), Design (MDES), Music (MUSI), Theatre (THEA), Theatre Studies (THST), and Visual Arts (VISA).
  
  Finally, students with more specialized research interests may consider courses in Environmental Studies, Law, Sciences and Social Sciences. It is YOUR responsibility to contact programs and/or instructors directly to obtain permission to take courses outside Film.

September

• Orientation
• GA – faculty matching
• Grant workshop preparing for Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS)

October

• OGS applications due

November

• CGS/SSHRC applications due; application topic should dovetail with Thesis/MRP proposal preparation

December

• First year students attend Grad Symposium to give feedback to 2nd year student presentations.
  
  

Required courses

• CMS: FILM 6230  — Contemporary Cinema and Media Theory
• Production: FILM 5020 - Selected Topics in Production
• Screenwriting: FILM 5130A  — Selected Topics in Screenwriting
• FILM 5400 — Grad Seminar (continued from Fall term)

January

Master Supervisory Committee formation process:
Students submit:

• One–page Thesis/MRP Topic Proposals due to Grad Film Program office.
• Students provide a maximum one-page 500 word Précis of their Thesis/MRP, which is circulated to all Grad Film faculty. Faculty read these Topic Proposals and indicate projects that intersect with their expertise and interest.
• Thesis Supervisory Committee Form due in Grad Film Program office.
• Students indicate faculty members with whom they would like to work as Supervisors, Readers and, for theses, Second Readers.

GPD negotiates Supervisory Committees

• GPD, in close consultation with students and faculty, matches student requests with faculty feedback balancing, as much as possible, student preference, faculty expertise, faculty workload and leaves, etc.
• Students cannot be forced to work with a faculty member; faculty similarly cannot be forced to work with a student who requests them as a supervisor, for reasons of workload, etc.
• In some cases, faculty from outside a student’s stream may serve on a supervisory committee for reasons of expertise, etc.

February

• Supervisory committees assigned

March

• Thesis/MRP Formal Proposals due in Grad office for eventual submission to FGS
• Ethics forms must be prepared along with Thesis/MRP Formal Proposals: http://www.yorku.ca/grads/current_students/ethics.html

April

Progress Report #1 (for first year) submitted by student and supervisory committee:

• Students indicate progress thus far and list plan of summer work, possibly including research bibliographies/filmographies, outlines of chapters, scenes, production schedules, etc as applicable.
• Supervisory Committee comments upon and evaluates progress and plan
• Students have the option to respond to Supervisory Committee comment

• Summer courses (when offered)
• Students work on Thesis/MRP and consult with Supervisory Committee depending on availability and student summer work schedule
• Pending faculty availability, FILM 5800 — Directed Reading or FILM 5700 — Student Initiated Collaborative Inquiry courses may assist in the development of Thesis/MRP research.

September

• Students should attempt to finish course work by this term.
• Students officially enroll in FILM 5400  — Grad Seminar; final assignment for Film 5400 is Grad Symposium in December (see below)
• Where applicable and pending funding availability, students begin TA work.
• During 2nd year, student should meet with the entire Supervisory Committee to ensure that readers are familiar with the direction of the project. Supervisors and Readers must ensure that internal disagreements within the Supervisory Committee do not retard student progress.

October

• OGS applications due for students considering PhD

November

• CGS/SSHRC applications due for students considering PhD

December

Grad Symposium

• The Symposium takes place over a number of full days.
• All 2nd year masters students will present 20-minute talks (strictly timed, including clips) with 10 minutes for discussion/feedback, chaired by the Supervisor.
• Attendance by 1st and 2nd year students is compulsory for the entire Symposium.
• Faculty are expected to attend as much of Symposium as possible and must attend presentation by students whom they are supervising.
• Symposium presentation is graded for evidence of thoughtful preparation and adequate development of Thesis/MRP project.
• Symposium presentation + attendance at 1st year FILM 5400 - Grad Seminar forms the basis of Film 5400 grade, which is recorded at the end of Term 4 of the masters degree.

Progress Report #2 (Mid-2nd year review) submitted by student and supervisory committee:

• Students indicate progress thus far and list plan to complete Thesis/MRP
• Supervisory Committee comments upon and evaluates progress and plan
• Student have the option to responding to Supervisory Committee comments

January

• Students should meet at least monthly with supervisor as they are completing their thesis/MRP projects.

March

• Student submits complete draft of project to Supervisory Committee
  
• Thesis defence process initiated (See Graduate Program in Film Masters Thesis Defence Timeline). Note that MA students completing MRPs do not have defence.

April

If students will not complete the Thesis/MRP by the end of term 5, they must:

• Enroll in summer as part-time students and pay summer fees
• Submit Progress Report #3 (2ND YEAR) submitted by student and supervisory committee.