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GRADUATE OPEN DAY FORUM 2005



The 2005 MML Graduate On-line Forum was open for questions from 2.00pm to 5.00pm GMT. MML participants in the Forum were:

Dr Chris Ward, Secretary of the Degree Committee
Dr Emma Wilson, Head of Department of French, and a co-convenor of the upcoming M.Phil in Screen Media and Cultures
Dr Nick Hammond, Course Director for the M.Phil in European Literature & Culture
Dr Kasia Jaszczolt, Course Director for the M.Phil in Linguistics
Professor Simon Franklin, Head of Department of Slavonic Studies, and Director of the M.Phil in Russian Studies
Siobhán Carew, Graduate Studies Administrator

The questions which were put and answers given are listed below:

Welcome from Dr Chris Ward, Secretary of the MML Degree Committee
As Secretary to the Degree Committee of the MML Faculty here at Cambridge University I'm delighted to welcome you to our Virtual Graduate Open Day. There will be a team of us standing by from 14.00 to 17.00 GMT, so please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or queries you might have. We look forward to hearing from you.

Facilities for students (James Blunt, UK)
(James Blunt)
What facilities do you have for us students?

(Nick Hammond)
Hi James, there is a very well equipped Graduate centre which is (as the name implies!) uniquely for the use of graduate students doing the MPhil or the PhD in Modern Languages. There are several computers as well as a common room and coffee/tea-making facilities. Sometimes seminars and meetings take place in the centre, and it is an excellent place to meet other students. The Modern Languages library is just below the centre, so you should have many useful things at your disposal.

Funding opportunities (Angelica Walton, UK)
(Angelica Walton)
I am very keen to come to Cambridge, and i have the right results so far, but I am concerned about what opportunities there are for funding MPhil study. Thank you.

(Nick Hammond)
Hello Angelica, thanks for your message. If you are a UK or EU student the main source of funding is the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council www.ahrc.ac.uk). Application forms will be posted on the AHRC website in the new year and should be returned to the MML department here by 31 March 2006. If you a UK or EU student who plans to continue to the PhD after the M.Phil, you are also eligible for University of Cambridge funding in the form of a Domestic Research Studentship. US and other overseas students should apply to the Gates Trust and to the other overseas trusts in Cambridge.

(Emma Wilson)
Hello Angelica, thanks for your message. If you are a UK or EU student the main source of funding is the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council www.ahrc.ac.uk). Application forms will be posted on the AHRC website in the new year and should be returned to the MML department here by 31 March 2006. If you a UK or EU student who plans to continue to the PhD after the M.Phil, you are also eligible for University of Cambridge funding in the form of a Domestic Research Studentship. US and other overseas students should apply to the Gates Trust and to the other overseas trusts in Cambridge.

fees for EU students (Reinhard Keck, Germany)
(James Blunt)
What facilities do you have for us students?

(Siobhán Carew)
Dear Reinhard Home and EU fees are the same amount. If you click on this url, you will see the breakdown - University Composition fee (�3,085), College fee (�2,013) and maintenance depending on the length of your course. Our M.Phils run for 9 months. www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/gsprospectus/funding/costs.html.

Application deadlines (Rocky Hirst, Cambridge)
(Rocky Hirst)
Could anyone tell me the closing date for applications to MPhil courses (specifically the Screen Media and Cultures course), and whether the application system is different for students already studying at Cam? Also, would you consider a MML undergraduate a suitable candidate for such a course? Thanks.

(Siobhán Carew)
Dear Rocky
The application deadline will be 31 March 2006. You need to check what the funding deadlines are though, and time your application to fit in with those. In your case, I imagine you would be applying for AHRC funding, and possibly DRS. Have a look at the timetable on the graduate pages: www.mml.cam.ac.uk/gradstudies/eurolit/prospectus/euro_timetable.html

(Emma Wilson)
Thanks for your message, Rocky. We certainly consider an MML undergraduate suitable for the course. We are expecting to draw students from MML, English, Film Studies, Social and Political Sciences (and similar courses), Art History, Music... No formal background in Film Studies is required, though an interest in screen media and an interest in relating to film to other media, contexts etc will be useful.

M.Phil. in Russian Studies (Sarah Culpin, UK)
I study Russian, but I would like to do Russian and comparative literaure at MPhil level. Should I apply for the MPhil in European literature and culture in that case?

(Simon Franklin)
Thank you for your question. If your main interest is in comparative literature, then the M.Phil. in European Literature and Culture would probably be your best option. The Russian module in that M.Phil. ("Text and Identity in Russian Culture") will still be available, despite the introduction of the new M.Phil. in Russian Studies.

question about academic qualification for European Literature
(Niamh Nic Fhearaí)
Dear Nick Hammond
I have just completed a BA in history at UCC (Cork), and was very drawn to European cultural issues during my study. Would history be considered a good starting point for this M.Phil? I did honours French, but did not continue with a language at University. Could you give me some advice, please. thank you

(Nick Hammond)
Thanks for your question, Niamh. It seems to me that your interests are more suited to one of the History MPhils which are on offer at Cambridge, as we do require students to have university-level language competence for the MPhil in European Literature and Culture. You will find further information at http://www.history.cam.ac.uk. Good luck!

curriculum for MPhil in Screen Media and Cultures
(Cathay)
Can you please briefly introduce the curriculum for MPhil in Screen Media and Cultures? What are the core modules? And what are the entry requirements? Many Thanks

(Emma Wilson)
Thanks for your message. The Core Course for the MPhil in Screen Media and Cultures includes sessions on Early Cinema, Psychoanlysis and cinema (Surrealism etc), Time/Memory/Trauma, Hollywood and stars, Television, Postcolonial theory/world cinema. You study and read for seminars on all these topics, but write a paper on only one topic at the end of term. In the second term you take two modules from a list of different options including such topics as 'The Modern City', 'Naturalsm in Literature and Film', 'Contemporary French and Francophone Culture' and topics in television studies, music and film etc. Do get back to us if there are particular topics you are interested in and I'll try to give you a sense of the range of specialists in the field.

Entry requirements are an average mark of 67 or above in an undergraduate degree related to a relevant subject area. Also we will ask you to submit a piece of written work, which will be assessed. Hope you will consider applying.

(Rocky Hirst)
Would there be opportunity to attend the lectures for the Cinema paper (CS 6) of the Part II MML tripos during the MPhil, or would this be covered anyway in the course? Thanks.

(Emma Wilson)
Certainly you can attend the lectures for the Cinema paper (CS 6) or others in relevant papers on other triposes. If you have no background in film, the introduction to film analysis and to theory offered by CS 6 may be useful, but the M.Phil in Screen Media and Cultures is devised as a stand alone course that does not require you to attend the undergraduate lectures. Hope that makes sense!

academic requirements for M.Phil in Screen Media and Cultures
(Cathay)
Will you accept application from business students (because I study at business school but want to pursue career in film/TV industry)? Is "Business Studies" a "relevant study area"?

What are the requirements for international applicants(especially the language requirements)?

I am interested in French film and its comparison with US films (from cultural perspective). Do you offer relevant courses? Thank you very much!

(Emma Wilson)
Thanks for your message. Business Studies certainly might be a relevant subject area. A lot would depend here on yoiur areas of interest and the writing sample that you submit. If you are interested in exploring questions about the film industry in the broader context of cultural and theoretical issues then I think the course would be of great interest to you. NB it is culturally based rather than offering a vocational element.

International applicants are expected to reach (the equivalent of) a CGPA of 3.75. (This is simply the equivalent of what we require from home students). Non-native speakers of English are required to reach a certain standard in English (TOEFL or IELTS).

We don't offer a course as such in the relations between French and US films, but it would be possible to write on this topic in the context of a module on Contemporary French Culture. It is certainly an area of great interest.

Prospectus for M.Phil in Screen Media and Cultures
(Rachael Goodwin, Warwick)
Hello
I was wondering when the prospectus for MPhil in Screen Media and Cultures will be available and if there will be any opportunities to study German Film/Media Many thanks

(Emma Wilson)
Thanks for your message. We expect the prospectus to be ready on the web by the end of the month. There will certainly be opportunities for studying German Film/Media. The first term is spent on the Core Course on history and theory; it would be possible to write about any area of German film here, with reference to theoretical and/or historical issues. In the second term, you would be able to take a module on 'The Modern City' which includes a topic on Berlin. There are two German film specialists in the Faculty: Dr Andrew Webber and Dr Michael Minden.

Screen Media M.Phil leading to a Ph.D
(Rivka Furbank, UK)
Hello
Great to see the brief curriculum outline. Is there any possibility of this MPhil forming part of, or leading on to a relevant PhD?

(Emma Wilson)
We certainly expect that a good number of applicants will be thinking about taking the course as a route into a PhD in a related area. In MMl, for example, I already supervise a number of PhDs in French film and film theory (on film and memory, cinema and subjectivity, cinema and the senses). Since the course is interdisciplinary, you might use it as a basis then for continuing to as PhD in the faculties of MML, English, History of Art, Music etc, depending on your background and areas of interest. When the full website is up, it would be good to check whether your initial PhD ideas relate to an area of research interest of the course teachers. Feel free to direct a question about a particular research topic to me at efw@cam.ac.uk.

SMC and History
(Ruth Taylor, Cambridge)
Hello!
Would History be relevant to the course? And how strongly is it linked to modern languages, given its location in MML? Many thanks.

(Emma Wilson)
Thanks for your message, Ruth. Yes indeed History would be an interesting and relevant background for the course. The course is located in MML but it is conveived as entirely interdisciplinary. There is no language requirement and no expectation that you will work on European cinema necessarily. The course will be taught by colleagues from English, MML, Music, Oriental Studies, Social and Political Sciences, History of Art... and reflect these various routes into the study of film. Questions about the representation of historical events (specifically the Holocaust) will form part of the Core Course. It will also be possible to consider aspects of film history and the history of the industry. Do get back to me if you have further questions.

 

 

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