MLitt Film Studies

The MLitt in Film Studies will expand your appreciation of the medium in terms of its history, formal properties, and its relationships with other art forms. There is a particular focus on authorship and adaptation, as well as the transition from script to screen, drawing on an extensive collection of unpublished script material.

Why study Film Studies at Dundee?

This is one of over ten degree pathways offered in the Masters Programme in Humanities with Specialisation. Students on the Programme take some common modules, and are able to draw upon the research culture of the School of Humanities.

Film has been called the art form of the Twentieth Century, and continues to be a major force in contemporary culture. However, it remains in creative interaction with older arts. Above all, literature and film have been involved in a mutually enriching relationship since the birth of cinema in 1895. Moreover, films are often derived from literary sources, and literary texts increasingly draw on the cinematic devices. Film adaptations can extend or alter our perceptions of fiction or drama, but film also has its own language and styles, which range from the avant-garde to the popular, from aesthetic experiment to pulp commodities.

Interdisciplinary studies

This programme is inherently interdisciplinary in its approach (looking at film in relation to literature, art history and music, television and popular culture). Students are encouraged to think critically about these ideas, and to appreciate the importance of relating critical close analysis of style and form to theory, context, politics and history. These analytical skills, combined with assessment that tests presentational and communication skills and problem solving abilities, are essential in the workplace.

What's so good about Film Studies at Dundee?

Research Excellence:
The School of Humanities at Dundee is a centre of research excellence. Postgraduate students join a vigorous research culture led by world-leading scholars. In the most recent RAE, a full 90% of English's research publications were rated as of international excellence in terms of their 'originality, significance and rigour' and 45% of our research output was rated in the two very highest categories of 'international excellence'.

Postgraduate Culture

The English at Dundee offers a lively postgraduate culture, including a regular postgraduate forum, visiting speakers and an annual postgraduate conference.

"The English department at the University of Dundee is worth recommending for a number of reasons ... I greatly enjoyed the fact that I was allowed a free hand with my own research; supervision being present and supportive, but not controlling or stifling in the least."
Samira Nadkarni, MLitt English Studies

Who should study this course?

As well as being a research preparation degree for students who intend to proceed to a PhD, this course also caters directly for students who wish to take their first degree to a higher level of advanced study, for either career development or merely general interest.

The start date is September each year, and lasts for 12 months on a full-time basis, or 24 months part-time

How you will be taught

All the core teaching is conducted 5.30-7.30pm to allow attendance by part-time and full-time students alike. Other classes are scheduled for the mutual convenience of staff and students. A variety of teaching methods will be used, including: small group teaching, supervised study, seminars, presentations, invited speakers and discussion groups, lectures, workshops, practical classes and demonstrations. Learning methods will include oral and written presentations, as well as research essays and a dissertation. One-to-one supervision of a dissertation is designed to promote continuity in the learning experiences provided and students with the opportunity to work on an area of film study of their own choosing (subject to approval by the tutor).

What you will study

You will study one core module, various options and a dissertation.

Approaches to Film Studies: Theory, Criticism and Archives
English Studies Dissertation
Plus optional modules, from a list such as the one below:

Approaches to Literary and Visual Culture
Approaches to Film Adaptation
The Cinema of John Huston: Adaptation and Authorship
Two British Auteurs: Ken Russell and John Boorman
The Writer-Director in American Film
Joyce and the Cinema
Comics and Film
Film and Theatre
The Literature of Hollywood

How you will be assessed

Assessment is normally by extended essays for each module. All students allowed to progress to the MLitt phrase must attempt the dissertation. Students whose dissertation fails to satisfy the examiners will be awarded the PG Diploma, provided that the taught elements of the course have been successfully completed.

Careers

Graduates will gain a high degree of knowledge and expertise about cinema, literature, art, media, and popular culture, and will explore the relationship between these fields in a highly critical and interdisciplinary way. Students taking this programme may pursue academic careers, work in the media, or in the creative industries or publishing.