Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Expression
Investigate and document the South.
About this Program
The Center for the Study of Southern Culture in the College of Liberal Arts offers the M.F.A. in Documentary Expression. It combines interdisciplinary coursework with advanced training in photography, film, and audio production in order to tell compelling and nuanced stories of a complicated region and world.
The M.F.A. program requires students to already have an M.A. degree in the fields of humanities, social science, or journalism.
The Center for the Study of Southern Culture has a long history of engaging in documentary work, beginning with the Center’s founding in the 1970s by documentarian William Ferris, who explored Southern culture through film and photography. Today, many of the Center’s interdisciplinary faculty use documentary methods in their own research and teaching, and undergraduate and graduate students have produced photography and a number of films and oral histories.
Faculty and staff at the Southern Documentary Project and the Southern Foodways Alliance play a major role in instructing and mentoring students in the M.F.A. program.
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Program Information
Program Type
Master's Program
Area of Study
Interdisciplinary Programs
School
Duration
2 years
Degree
M.F.A. in Documentary Expression
Program Location
Required Credit Hours
30
Program Details
APPLICATION DEADLINE: December 7
The Center for the Study of Southern Culture welcomes student applications with the following materials. Additional details are found on the department website.
- Complete the Graduate School’s Online Application.
- Pay the application fee ($50).
- Submit official transcripts.
- International applicants whose first language is not English may be required to submit scores from an acceptable English language proficiency test.
- Upload Supplemental Application materials for the Center to the link provided by the online application.
- Statement of purpose. 500-word statement about why joining the program is the next and best step; how will this degree program help achieve your personal and professional goals; briefly outline or describe a potential project
- Writing sample
- Portfolio of previous documentary work
- Two letters of recommendation. Provide contact information for two recommenders
Students in the M.F.A. in Documentary Expression complete 30 credit hours of coursework, including 21 credit hours of courses and 9 credit hours of thesis credit.
- S St 601: Graduate Seminar I
- S St 533: Fieldwork & Oral History
- S St 610: M.F.A. Seminar
- S St 633: M.F.A. Fieldwork
- at least one of the following
- S St 534: Documentary Photography
- S St 537: Documenting the South in Film
- S St 538: Advanced Documentary Film
- at least 3 credit hours of S St 699: M.F.A. Critique
Students who enter the program with an M.A. in Southern Studies from UM may apply 6 hours of that degree for S St 533, 534, 537, 538, or 601, but they may not repeat classes taken for credit while earning the M.A.
Students complete a written prospectus and a final project in the form of photography, film, oral history, audio recordings, or some combination thereof, plus a written component. They pass an oral defense in order to complete the degree.
Students who apply by February 1 will be considered for an assistantship.
Center for the Study of Southern Culture Assistantships are 20 hours/week and pay roughly $13,000 per year (August-May). Students with a graduate assistantship funded in the Center receive a scholarship that covers some or all of the tuition and non-residency fee, if applicable, for regular semesters and subsidized health insurance.
The Graduate School’s financial aid webpage lists a variety of funding possibilities, including summer support and a recruiting fellowship program that promotes academic excellence and access to graduate education to groups who are historically underrepresented.
Next Steps
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