Doctor of Philosophy in Media Study

The University at Buffalo requires an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher, and all applicants must either hold a bachelor's degree or have an expected completion date for one of these degrees before the semester for which they are applying.

Applicants for the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) or PhD in Media Study degree should have strong artistic goals as well as strong academic ability. Although most successful applicants will have a creative portfolio of work samples, students from all majors are encouraged to apply. A strong fit between the student and the department’s strengths is the most important criteria. 

PhD Applicants Supplemental Materials Required:

1.       Statement of Research and Creative Practices (Personal Statement) This document should outline the prospective student’s intellectual engagement with media and describe their creative practice. It should detail the applicant’s areas of interest, study, and accomplishment. Applicants are encouraged to reflect upon the issues, challenges, or experiences that have shaped their educational and artistic goals.

The statement should articulate specific research topics and questions the student might pursue in the program, including a description of a potential creative and scholarly project they might develop in the context of Media Study’s practice-led PhD program. Applicants should mention any specific faculty whose research interests, practices, and backgrounds overlap with their own, or with whom they have had contact regarding their plans. Applicants should also describe their particular knowledge sets, including software and technical skills, that might be useful for teaching assistantships and/or contribute to the variety of approaches to and concerns about media that distinguish our department.

2.       Curriculum Vitae 

3. Portfolio Materials - Students may include films, video, image files, audio files, written documents such as essays, theoretical or critical papers, poetry, fiction/nonfiction, software/algorithms (excluding executable code) or equations. Materials must be viewable across multiple platforms and operating systems (win/mac/linux). The department supports the newest versions of the following browsers: Firefox, Explorer and Safari. 

4. Two Writing Samples These texts should demonstrate the student’s ability to express and articulate ideas concisely. Recent publications or publication quality papers are of particular interest. 

This degree will prepare you for jobs as artists and scholars who have training in both academic writing and creative practices, informed by professional research in a variety of fields. Students are expected to produce a scholarly dissertation, a body of creative work, and a public exhibition to earn their degree.