Advising
Academic advising on degree requirements and related matters is done by staff and faculty advisers from the Departments of Film, Television, and Digital Media and Information Studies. All academic actions and petitions are considered by the appropriate standing faculty and program committees. Students meet with their adviser for program planning prior to the beginning of each quarter. Matters that cannot be resolved by the individual faculty adviser are reviewed by the M.I.A.S. Committee to Administer the Interdepartmental Degree Program (CAIDP). Advising on professional matters such as employment and internships, and general counseling are provided by the director and coordinator of the M.I.A.S. program and relevant professional staff from the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Areas of Study
The program requires students to be conversant in both film and television, and knowledge of both areas is tested through the comprehensive examination. Students also are required to achieve a broad understanding of contemporary information studies knowledge which must be reflected in the final portfolio.
Foreign Language Requirement
Not required. Some students may be required to demonstrate competence in a foreign language to their committee if it is needed to support research in their area of specialization.
A total of 72 units is required, including a minimum of 12 graduate (200- and 500-series) courses. A maximum of four (12 units) 500-series courses may be counted toward the overall and graduate course requirement. The remaining six courses may be either in the graduate (200) or professional (400) series. Students must complete six Moving Image Archive Studies courses (in moving image curatorship, archaeology of the media, moving image preservation and restoration, moving image collection development and management, moving image cataloging, and access to moving image collections); three Film, Television, and Digital Media courses: 200, 206C, and 217; two Information Studies courses: 260 and 431; and four elective courses that are chosen, with the approval of the student's adviser.
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Field Experience
Not required. Students are encouraged through their directed studies and internship to gain direct, hands-on experience in a moving image archive, library or laboratory.
Comprehensive Examination Plan
Students are required to take a written comprehensive examination and to submit a portfolio assessment of their work in the program. The comprehensive examination covers major aspects of contemporary moving image archiving and also is designed to test knowledge of basic issues of film and television studies and the fundamental principles of professional library practice. The portfolio is a presentation of the author's professional self, as developed in the program. The student presents the recorded form of the portfolio in advance, and then gives an in-person presentation to a panel of three members of the M.I.A.S. committee. Detailed examples of the comprehensive examination and portfolio are available upon request.
Thesis Plan
None.
Time-to-Degree
Students normally complete degree requirements within two years, with a minimum enrollment of 36 units each year. Students who require additional time must submit a petition for consideration to the M.I.A.S. committee.
Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination
University Policy
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special Departmental or Program Policy
A recommendation for termination of graduate study is first made by the graduate adviser to the M.I.A.S. CAIDP. If the committee concurs with the recommendation, the student is immediately placed in program probation status. The student's progress in the subsequent quarter is reviewed by the committee, based on the written concerns outlined by the graduate adviser, in order to make a final recommendation on whether the student should be allowed to continue or to be recommended to the Graduate Division for termination of graduate study.
The MIAS program requires completion of these core courses:
MIAS 200 – History and Philosophy of Moving Image Archiving
MIAS 210 – Preservation and Restoration
MIAS 220 – Archeology of the Media
MIAS 230 – Cataloging Moving Images
MIAS 240 – Collection Development
MIAS 250 – Access to Moving Image Collections
FTVD 200 – Research Methods
FTVD 206C – American Film History
FTVD 217 – American Television History
IS 260 – Information Structures
IS 431– American Archives and Manuscripts
Comprehensive Examination
The Comprehensive Examination is given the fifth week of spring quarter each year. It consists of a selection of questions that cover the breadth of the core curriculum. Answers should demonstrate analysis and synthesis.
Portfolio
The MIAS Portfolio allows the candidate to demonstrate mastery in a particular area of the field of Moving Image Archiving. The Portfolio is due at the end of the second week of spring quarter. The candidate makes a presentation of the portfolio to a committee consisting of faculty and practitioners.