Note for International Applicants: There are currently NO funded positions. The deadline for SELF-FUNDED applications is January 15.
The deadline for domestic applicants is January 15.
If you wish to initiate an application after those dates, do email filmgpa@yorku.ca.
If you have any questions about your Cinema and Media Studies PhD/MA application, or MFA in Film & Media Arts application, please contact the Graduate Program Director, Mike Zryd (zryd@yorku.ca).
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Application Period
Note for International Applicants:聽There are currently no funded positions. We are unable to consider international PhD students for our program. We are able to consider international self-funded students for the MA and MFA programs.
Application Process
All applicants must complete the Graduate Admissions Application Package available at .
After you have paid your processing fee online, you will need to wait 3-5 BUSINESS days to receive your 91亚色 student number in order to proceed to the 2nd part of the application, on .
*If you are a former 91亚色 student, you will use THE SAME student number you were assigned before to access your MyFile.
In about 3-5 business days later, you can proceed to the second part of the admissions process in your . To log in, you will need your 91亚色 student number and your date of birth.
In your MyFile, you will upload all the required documents (statement of interest, thesis/MRP Proposal, transcripts, portfolio page, writing samples, etc.).
You will list your references within the "Supplementary Information Form" section. Once you have submitted their names and emails, your references will receive an email from our school, and there will be a link in there that will direct them to an online reference form to complete for you.
You are required to take (or show proof that you have taken within the last 2 years) an English proficiency test ONLY if your last degree was NOT conducted in English. You must obtain a MINIMUM score of ONE of these tests:
- Minimum TOEFL (Internet-based) 100 (for tests taken prior to January 2026) or 5 (January 2026 and after)
- IELTS (Academic Module) 7.5
- YUELI Essential English Level 6 with distinction
- YUELI Graduate Studies Preparation Program (GSPP) Graduate with distinction
- CAEL Overall score of 70, no component score less than 60
- Minimum CPE Score C
- Minimum CAE Score B
- Duolingo 140
- PTE Academic 76
Admissions
The MA is a versatile degree that prepares students for futures in interdisciplinary academic research or the growing spectrum of jobs in the creative industries. The program offers a broad curriculum in the critical study of cinema and media arts, including film, video, AR, VR, XR, and other media forms, to a small group (normally 7-9) of highly motivated students. Major research projects may incorporate research-creation or professional field placements.
An Honours degree or equivalent with a minimum 'B' average. We welcome applicants with educational backgrounds in Film/Cinema Studies, Media Studies, Communications, Cultural Studies, English, Art History, Women鈥檚 Studies, Queer and Sexuality Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Area Studies, and other disciplines that nurture research in sound and moving image media. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required to apply.
If your last degree was NOT conducted in English, you are required to take (or show proof that you have taken within the last 2 years) an English proficiency test. See FAQ for more details on English proficiency tests.
Combine these into one document with 2 distinct headings, 4 pages maximum and upload under 鈥淪tatement of Interest鈥.
Statement of Interest (maximum 500 words): Outline your interest in studying in the MA in Cinema & Media Studies at 91亚色: Why here and why now? Outline how your education and (if applicable) extra-curricular interests have prepared you for graduate work in cinema and media studies.
Major Research Project (MRP) Proposal (maximum 500 words): All MA students complete a capstone research project on a critical, historical, and/or theoretical project in cinema & media studies. There are three MRP options: 1) 40鈥45-page research paper; 2) Research-creation project (e.g., video essay) with 20-page paper; 3) Field Placement with 20-page paper. The MRP proposal in your application outlines a feasible research project and is an important component of your application. Consider including subject/theme, period, nation/region, media, filmmaker/artists, etc.
Two essays (maximum 7,500 words) with an indication (if applicable) of the course or context for which the sample was written. Writing samples may include examples of film/media writing or programming, e.g., reviews, program notes, or other publications.
The titles of courses on transcripts do not always accurately reflect the specific orientation or content of these courses. To assist us in assessing your background, you may list the courses you have taken in film/media and related disciplines and the grades that you received.
Please submit a CV or resum茅 with your application. If you have not attended an educational institution recently, please attach a description of your relevant professional activities.
Scans/photocopies of unofficial transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions are sufficient for determining conditional admission to graduate programs at 91亚色. Upon receiving a decision of conditional admission to the graduate program, applicants must then provide official transcripts for every post-secondary institution they have attended. See FAQ for detailed instructions on the submission of official transcripts.
Two references are required to support your application. Academic referees are preferred although professionals who can speak to your writing, critical, and research abilities are also accepted. Applicants are required to provide their referees鈥 email addresses in the application portal. Referees will be contacted directly by 91亚色 and receive a standardized reference form to fill out (note that referees cannot upload a preexisting letter). See FAQ for more information.
You are required to take (or show proof that you have taken within the last 2 years) an English proficiency test ONLY if your last degree was NOT conducted in English. You must obtain a MINIMUM score of ONE of these tests:
- Minimum TOEFL (Internet-based) 100 (for tests taken prior to January 2026) or 5 (January 2026 and after)
- IELTS (Academic Module) 7.5
- YUELI Essential English Level 6 with distinction
- YUELI Graduate Studies Preparation Program (GSPP) Graduate with distinction
- CAEL Overall score of 70, no component score less than 60
- Minimum CPE Score C
- Minimum CAE Score B
- Duolingo 140
- PTE Academic 76
For production: Up to 4 films and/or new media works, where the applicant is preferably the chief creator/director/filmmaker/author. Password-protected Vimeo or YouTube links only, clearly listed in the application. DVDs or other formats will not be accepted. Complete works are preferable to excerpts. Documentation of video/new media installations is also accepted. Applicants should clearly list for each production: the title; the link and password; their creative role(s); original shooting format; year of production; 2-3 sentence synopsis (summarize both content and formal concerns); production context and funding (including if it was produced as part of a school program).
For screenwriters: Written work, e.g. a feature screenplay, or a pilot or bible for a one-hour TV series, or short stories/creative writing/playwriting/new media fiction writing that reflects their writing abilities and creativity.
Combine these into one document 4 pages maximum and upload under 'Statement of Interest'.
Statement of Interest (750 words): Briefly outline your reasons for wishing to study in the grad film production program at 91亚色 at this time. Summarize your artistic and creative background to date, and outline your priorities and vision as a filmmaker/film artist. Describe/contextualize your previous training/university/college education, in terms of specialization, degree, marks, and extracurricular activities.
Tell us about the role you hope this MFA could play in your future work and your career. Is the MFA a chance to continue your exploration of a practice (e.g. experimental) that you鈥檝e already mastered鈥 or is this a new direction, a fresh start?
Thesis proposal (750 words): Should include title, proposed length, genre, medium, one sentence summary description. Then: Content (1-2 paragraphs). Form (1-2 paragraphs). Influences (films, filmmakers, artists, 1 paragraph). Relation to your previous work (1-2 paragraphs). Logistics (timeline, resources, equipment, 1-2 paragraphs).
Your thesis project can be any work of cinema in the expanded sense (fiction, documentary, alternative, transmedia) and be realized in any platform (a film, an installation, an i-doc, a VR work, a series of related shorts, a feature screenplay...). Realistically, it should be a shorter work (e.g. 15 min.) that is feasible to complete within your five terms of study, along with your other courses and obligations鈥攁nd that can be supported by your/our available equipment and resources. However, your genre/form/idiom/medium/vision may mean your thesis proposal doesn鈥檛 fit within this 15-minute straight-jacket鈥攕o green light, pitch us something outside this box. (Also, we understand that you may change your proposal as you move through the program鈥攎any do!鈥攁nd you have till the end of your third term to lock it down.)
For screenwriters, the thesis proposal should consist of two-story concepts for feature films or TV series that the applicant might work on as a thesis project. One concept may be described in up to 1000 words, the other in 250鈥500 words, providing a sense of the subject matter, dramatic premise, genre, and anything else deemed important, including why the applicant wants to tell this story.
(Reminder: Combine Statement of Interest and Thesis Proposal into one document (maximum 4 pages) and post under 'Statement of Interest.')
No page limit. For applicants focussed on Fiction/Documentary/Alt/Transmedia, this section is optional鈥攁 place where you can choose to post additional materials in pdf format relevant to your application, and your work as an artist: perhaps an essay you've written, or a script, or a visual treatment with photos, or reviews of your work, or background research into your topic. Note: do not post your Thesis Proposal or Statement of Interest here.
For applicants focused on Screenwriting, please submit a screenwriting sample as part of their portfolio, as well as other writings that reflect their writing abilities and creativity. Sample options include:
- a completed feature screenplay (90+ pages), plus a one-page story synopsis of the whole story, OR
- a completed one-hour original TV Pilot (50-60 pages), plus bible, OR two half-hour episodes of an original TV series plus bible OR
- a full-length play OR short stories/novel/play(s)/new media fiction-based writing that reflects their writing abilities and creativity.
This should be your arts CV, summarizing your achievements as a filmmaker/artist, and should include: education; works (year, length, genre, description); grants & awards; screenings/exhibitions/festivals; related professional experiences; related relevant employment.
Two letters of reference are required to support your application. At least one should be from an academic referee, speaking to your scholarly as well as artistic abilities. Letters may also be solicited from professionals (fellow filmmakers, programmers, producers, collaborators) who can speak to your filmmaking abilities, artistic vision and potential. The references are located within the Supplementary Information Form.
Provide your referees with your statement of intent, thesis proposal, CV and page of portfolio links, and encourage them to respond to/engage with each of these (where relevant). You will submit their e-dress on your online application; 91亚色 will send them a link; and they will upload their letter, which will be sent directly to our adjudication committee (you won鈥檛 see it).
Professional/creative/amateur work and non-degree and/or non-diploma courses/workshops are also considered and should be noted on the Supplementary Admissions Data form included in the application package. All sections of this supplementary form must be completed.
We are a small program, typically accepting 16 domestic and potentially鈥攂ut not guaranteed鈥攐ne internationally funded student per year, so the competition for each slot is fierce. Beyond the excellence of the portfolios, thesis proposals, CVs, letters of reference and transcripts for each applicant, we base our selection on the availability of suitable faculty members to serve as thesis supervisors, and the fit between their artistic/scholarly interests and the thesis proposals submitted.
The PhD in Cinema & Media Studies is a dynamic program in which students pursue innovative and interdisciplinary research into the full range of moving image and sound media practices and traditions. Each year the program selects a small group of 3 exceptional students who will join a lively intellectual community at 91亚色, embedded in one of the strongest art faculties in Canada, AMPD (Arts, Media, Performance & Design). Research-creation is an option for dissertation work.
Applicants should hold a Master鈥檚 degree with a minimum 'B+' average. We welcome applicants with educational backgrounds in Film/Cinema Studies, Media Studies, Communications, Cultural Studies, English, Art History, Women鈥檚 Studies, Queer and Sexuality Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Area Studies, and other disciplines that nurture research in sound and moving image media. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required to apply.
If your last degree was NOT conducted in English, you are required to take (or show proof that you have taken within the last 2 years) an English proficiency test. See FAQ for more details on English proficiency tests.
Combine these into one document with 2 distinct headings, 4 pages maximum and upload under 鈥淪tatement of Interest鈥
Statement of Interest (maximum 500 words): Outline your interest in studying in the PhD in Cinema & Media Studies at 91亚色: Why here and why now? Outline how your education and (if applicable) extra-curricular interests have prepared you for advanced graduate work in cinema and media studies.
Dissertation Proposal (maximum 500 words): The dissertation proposal in your application outlines a detailed and feasible research project and is a crucial component of your application. Research-creation proposals are also considered, with emphasis on how your project is research embedded in a creative methodology. Include parameters like subject/theme, theoretical framework, media, period, nation/region, filmmakers/artists, etc. Applicants are asked to list potential supervisors and/or supervisory committee members in their application but are not expected to contact potential supervisors before applying. Assignment of the supervisory committee is not generally made until the first or second year of the program.
Two essays (maximum 10,000 words) with an indication of the course or context for which the sample was written (if applicable). Writing samples may include examples of film/media writing or programming, e.g., reviews, program notes, or other publications.
Please submit a CV with your application. Include education; grants & awards; related professional experiences; and relevant employment. If you have not attended an educational institution recently, please attach a description of your relevant professional activities.
Scans/photocopies of unofficial transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions are sufficient for determining conditional admission to graduate programs at 91亚色. Upon receiving a decision of conditional admission to the graduate program, applicants must then provide official transcripts for every post-secondary institution they have attended. See FAQ for detailed instructions on the submission of official transcripts.
Two references are required to support your application. Academic referees are preferred although professionals who can speak to your writing, critical, and research abilities are also accepted. Applicants are required to provide their referees鈥 email addresses in the application portal. Referees will be contacted directly by 91亚色 and receive a standardized reference form to fill out (note that referees cannot upload a preexisting letter). See FAQ for more information.
Learn More
The Graduate Program in Film & Media Arts at 91亚色 is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.