As you prepare your application to the
Department of Media Study's M.F.A. Program, you may want to know something about
how we make decisions and what we look for in an applicant.
First, let us tell you how our admissions process operates. Our procedures are
both rigorous and democratic. We make decisions about graduate admissions as
a department. This means that every member of the department is involved in
the final decision about each candidate. You are not accepted as a film student
or a digital student but as an artist/maker with a compelling intellectual agenda.
We do not have a quota for each media technology. (For example, you will not
be required to work in film if your portfolio is in film.) The committee reads
every application folder and views every work sample. Then we discuss
them at long and contentious meetings. While we do look at your grades, we are
not number driven and we trust our judgments. Furthermore, we do not place any
particular emphasis on the schools you have attended. Intelligence and talent
are everywhere.
Before you begin the application you should carefully consider the following:
The very elastic nature of our
MFA curriculum:
If you have read the brief outline of the MFA requirements at http://mediastudy.buffalo.edu/s/grad_mfa.shtml you will notice immediately that this is a very open program. We do not
have a comprehensive exam that designates some body of knowledge or skills that
everyone has to know or know how to do. With the exception of a critique course,
we do not have required courses. We simply designate general areas -- such as
Media Production -- where you have to take a certain number of courses. The
specifics are your option.
Choice, however, can be the enemy of focus. There has to be a balance between
the two if you are to have a successful career in graduate school. We supply
the choices. You should supply the focus. This DOES NOT mean that you must have
the prospectus for your thesis in your statement of purpose. Our M.F.A., however,
works best for people who have a clear sense of where their interests lie. The
objective of the statement of purpose is to demonstrate to the committee that
you can define intellectual parameters of inquiry and articulate a field of
work and study (though not necessarily a specific project).
The areas in which our faculty work:
You should spend some time looking at
the appropriate faculty and graduate student sites. (Go to Areas of Study on
the main page navigation bar). Consider how your interests would intersect (not
mimic) those of faculty with whom you will most likely work.
The resources available in our surrounding departments:
The Department of Media Study has particularly cooperative relationships with
a number of other departments and programs at UB whose faculty and courses provide
a valuable supplement to the department's own offerings. Our MFA requires 13
hours of directed electives, a certain number of which must be taken outside
the department. We suggest that you look particularly at the departments of
Architecture, Art, English/Poetics, Comparative Literature, the Center for the
Americas , Women's Studies and Anthropology. You can find links to these departments'
websites at :
http://cas.buffalo.edu/ http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/
In many cases Media Study is developing joint degree programs with these areas.
If you are considering - or would like to consider - combining an MFA with an
advanced degree in another discipline this may be very possible. To discuss
this further you should contact Roy Roussel directly at
Once you have done all this, you should
compose a statement of purpose which clearly explains your intellectual agenda
-- the questions you want to answer, the directions in which you want your work
to develop -- and why you believe that the resources of this department and
this university will enable you to develop these interests. And you should select
appropriate work samples.
Since the very nature of media challenges traditional assumptions for graduate
fine arts education, this program is designed to accept students from diverse
academic backgrounds. We welcome applicants with a Bachelor's degree in any
field. We realize that some of you might be interested in an MFA in Media Production
although your work to this point has been in other, purely discursive areas.
[Students of Anthropology and American Studies, for example, might be led to
documentary production; poets might want to move into digital poetics, etc.]
In this case, you might not have something you consider an appropriate work
sample.
If you are one of these applicants, we want you to realize the difficulties
of entering an MFA program in Media Production if you have little or no experience
in Media Production. At the same time, we believe in the possibilities of reinvention
- most of us have done this at least once - and we don't want to discourage
anyone. When in doubt, we want you to apply.
Finally, the Department of Media Study is committed to recruiting women and
minorities into the field of Media Arts.
In addition to this advice, you should
observe the specific instructions that follow this message. Please feel free
to contact us if you'd like to discuss any concerns.
Sincerely yours,
Vibeke Sorensen, Chair
_/ _/ _/
Application Process and Entry Requirements
Applicants must have a B.A., B.S., or B.F.A. from an accredited institution.
A limited number of applicants will be accepted on the basis of a competitive
review of submitted materials (see supporting materials checklist below).
No special provisions are made for students
whose native language is not English, although university requirements with
respect to the TOEFL and SPEAK tests will apply to students in this program.
DEADLINE: Applications are accepted
for the Fall semester and must be received by January 15. The application
to the M.F.A. in Media Arts Production is an online application for both domestic
and international students. In addition to the online application, you must
submit the following supporting materials:
original, official transcripts of all
undergraduate and graduate course work
->> 3 letters of recommendation from thosse familiar with your academic
and artistic work.
->> a one-page statement of purpose ( if you are applying for
a Teaching Assistantship, include your area of teaching interest; If you are
applying for a Graduate Assistantantship, state your programming and special
skills)
->> a curriculum vitae
->> GRE scores (recommended but not required). Use SUNYB school
code 2925 + Radio, TV, & Film department code 4505
->> a check for $50, payable in U.S. funds to the University at Buffalo
or online
payment This is a non-refundable application fee.
->> a portfolio of creative and/or scholarly work.
Submit: VHS, CD, URLs,
DVD, 16mm, slides, essays, theoretical papers, poetry or fiction. Provide a
succinct and prioritized description of how to access and view your materials.
Label each item with title and your name. Video tapes must be cued. Include
a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage if you wish your work
sample to be returned. Samples without return postage will be discarded.
International applicants, in
addition to the above materials, must submit the following:
->> Original, official transcripts
(and certified English translations) of all undergraduate study, showing receipt
of an international award equivalent to the U.S. baccalaureate degree.
->> Proof of satisfactory language proficiency: an official TOEFL (Test
of English as a Foreign Language) score of 550 paper/213 computer, or above.
Use SUNYB school code 2925 + "other" department code 99. If space
available, write in "Media."
Standard Admission Minimums for UB:
550 Paper Test
213 Computer Test
79 Internet Test
Conditional Admission Minimums for UB:
500 Paper Test
173 Computer Test
60-78 Internet Test
->> Proof of satisfactory financial resources ($19,592 in USD--amount
subject to change): provide original bank statements and English translation.
