External summary

The MSc in Film Studies at the University of Edinburgh allows students to explore crucial concepts in film theory, film-philosophy and aesthetics with an emphasis on European and North American auteur cinema. We put serious film criticism, analysis and interpretation at the centre of our degree as well as focusing on film aesthetics, national cinemas and film adaptation. The programme’s diverse and wide-ranging scope is made possible by collaboration across various disciplines in the School and University.

The city of Edinburgh, home of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (as well as the oldest continually operating film society in the world), offers great benefits for the study of the moving image – many of which the MSc in Film Studies integrates into its Core and Option Courses, supplementary research activities and special events, working in close collaboration with the MSc in Film, Exhibition and Curation. The Edinburgh Film Seminar, welcoming postgraduates and faculty throughout the University, hosts academics and filmmakers working at the forefront of cinema. As befitting a profoundly interdisciplinary subject area, MSc in Film Studies students have the opportunity to take a host of MSc level Option courses offered within the School of Literatures, Languages, and Cultures and the Edinburgh College of Art. Through seminars, workshops, essays and dissertation writing, students will hone their critical, analytical, and communication skills and gain a greater appreciation of past and present cinematic practice and theory. These are valuable or necessary preparation for subsequent doctoral level study, or employment in film/television production, curation, exhibition and the fields of art, literature and culture more broadly. The programme also allows students to network within their field by introducing them to Scotland's lively film and academic culture.

Educational aims of programme

This MSc programme aims to initiate and expand your understanding and knowledge of the theory and practice of film, and cultivate your love of cinema. The programme is designed to make you familiar with major concepts of filmmaking and theories of film, and to provide you with analytical and critical tools for the investigation of individual films, to be discussed in relation to specific movements and genres as well as contexts of production and reception.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

• gain a greater understanding of the history, practice and theory of moving image production and culture, with a focus on cinema.
• explore cinema in its celluloid, video and digital forms, and in relation to a wide range of artistic, technological, philosophical, historical and socio-cultural realities.
• become familiar with a wide range of cinematic movements, styles and bodies of work - including early silent film, the Hollywood studio system, the revolutionary cinematic “New Waves” of the 1960s and 70s, avant-garde and experimental cinema, contemporary mainstream and independent film - and trace the various historical and stylistic interconnections between them.
• engage in critical and scholarly debate concerning the future of cinema in a digital age and in an increasingly global moving image culture.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• search for, evaluate and use information relevant to their field of study using library resources including databases
• identify, conceptualize and define new and abstract problems and issues
• plan and execute a significant project of research, investigation or development
• clearly communicate their research plans and the rationale underpinning them unambiguously to specialist and non specialist audiences

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• exercise substantial autonomy and initiative in activities, including decision making on the basis of independent thought.
• be open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking
• be intellectually curious with that curiosity leading to professional, personal and academic goals and they will have ability to work towards these goals
• be able to develop, maintain and sustain intellectual rigour and application

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• communicate to a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge
• communicate with peers, more senior colleagues and specialists
• communicate orally, written, or visually demonstrating clarity and coherence
• engage in debate demonstrating skills of active listening, critical reading and the ability to advance an argument and to develop that argument in the light of new evidence
• seek and to respond to feedback

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Graduates of this programme will be able to:

• be able to plan, execute and critically evaluate a significant project of research investigation or development
• be able to work collaboratively while recognizing the diversity of the group, the complexity of the specific context and the complexity of the process of collaboration itself
• transfer learning, skills and abilities from one context to another.

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

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Programme structure and features

The MSc in Film Studies consists of 180 credits allocated as follows:

In order to progress to the Masters dissertation candidates must:
• attain at least 80 credits with a mark of at least 50% in each of the courses which make up these credits; and
• attain an average of at least 50% for the 120 credits of study examined at the point of decision for progression; and
• satisfy any other specific requirements for the Masters degree programme, that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks.

When all the marks for the taught components of the programme (120 credits) are available, if the student has achieved PASS marks (40%) in at least 80 credits and has an overall average of 40% or more over the full 120 credits, then they will be awarded credits on aggregate for the failed courses.

An explanation of the articulation of learning outcomes and assessment practices:

The degree is available in full-time and part-time modes and dependant on required credits, students are able to exit the programme at different stages with a postgraduate certificate, a postgraduate diploma, a masters degree or a masters degree with distinction.

Please see the regulations below for clarification on the requirements for different awards:

In order to be awarded a Masters degree students must:
• have satisfied any requirements for progression, as laid out in taught assessment regulation 52 and
• attain an additional 60 credits, by achieving a mark of at least 50% for the dissertation
• satisfy any other specific requirements for the Masters degree programme, that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks

In order to be awarded a diploma students must:
• pass at least 80 credits at SCQF level 11 and
• attain an average of at least 40% for the 120 credits of study examined for the diploma and
• satisfy any other specific requirements for the named diploma that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks.

In order to be awarded a certificate students must:
• pass at least 40 credits at SCQF level 11 and
• attain an average of at least 40% for the 60 credits of study examined for the certificate and
• satisfy any other specific requirements for the named certificate that are clearly stated in respective programme handbooks.

Core aspects of the University’s Strategic Plan are embedded in the teaching, supervision and curriculum of the MSc in Film Studies. These include enabling students to make a positive intellectual, educational, economic and cultural contribution to society; developing each student’s capacity to learn by enquiry, through the in-depth study they undertake; fostering in our students a real sense of belonging to a community of learners; adopting a cohesive, inclusive and individualised approach to enhancing our student experience; increasing student satisfaction with opportunities and support for developing their graduate attributes and employability; and fostering a culture which permits freedom of thought and expression within a framework of mutual respect.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

Teaching and Learning strategies employed at the University of Edinburgh consist of a variety of different methods appropriate to the programme aims. The graduate attributes listed above are met through a teaching and learning framework (detailed below) which is appropriate to the level and content of the course.

Seminars

Peer group learning

Examples Classes

Dissertation

One to one meetings with programme directors and supervisors

Alongside the university’s central library and computing facilities, the School houses the Resource Centre which has a large DVD and Blu-Ray film collection. 50 George Square has a lively café, plenty of open social study and collaboration spaces and a dedicated room with computers and lockers for the exclusive use of its postgraduate students.

The University of Edinburgh Innovative Learning Week is scheduled in Week 6 of Semester 2.  During this week ‘normal’ teaching is suspended which provides space outwith the curriculum for staff and students to explore new learning activities. Some examples of the types of activities held in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures were language taster sessions, workshops on essay writing and dissertations, a German play, a Russian folklore concert, careers sessions, poetry and drama workshops as well as various film screenings and readings.

Assessment methods and strategies

Courses can be assessed by a diverse range of methods and often takes the form of formative work which provides the student with on-going feedback as well as summative assessment which is submitted for credit. 

Assessment for the MSc in Film Studies takes the form of four written essays and a dissertation. Students will have the opportunity to have individual tutorials with Lecturers concerning essays in the first and second terms, and will receive regular supervision during the period in which they write their dissertation, including tutorials at the beginning of the third term.

Career opportunities

Your Film Studies course gives you the opportunity to expand your understanding and knowledge of the theory and practice of film, and cultivate your love of cinema. You may also have taken the opportunity to make a short documentary, and attend seminars with journalists, film directors, festival organizers, programme-makers and publishers. Study of film and cinema can help to prepare you for a career in different areas of the film and arts industry, including cinema, arts and events management, media journalism and film production. It could also be useful for working in media research or as an advertising art director.

Alternatively, you could use your qualification to move on to further academic study by taking a PhD in Film Studies, either at Edinburgh or by moving to another university.

Your undergraduate degree discipline may also influence your future direction, or you may use the transferable skills gained from both your undergraduate and postgraduate studies, combined with relevant experience, to shape your direction.  It is important to work out what your own specific skills, career interests and motivators are, where they fit in the job market, and to be able to demonstrate your interest and suitability to future employers.  For further information and resources to help you with this, consult the postgraduate section of the Careers Service website www.ed.ac.uk/careers/postgrad

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