Fully Funded PhD Programs

UCLA (Los Angeles, CA)

The Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. program explores the intricate histories, aesthetics, and cultural impacts of visual media.

USC (Los Angeles, CA)

The Division of Cinema & Media Studies is committed to the understanding of film, television and new media in relation to the world. By studying and analyzing these forms and the processes behind their creation, Cinema & Media Studies scholars gain insight into the power and aesthetics of moving image media. Cinema & Media Studies students also have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and experience of film and television by taking hands-on production courses.

Brown University (Providence, RI)

Our graduate program is a Ph.D. program aimed at: (1) Preparing students to engage in quality scholarship and teaching in the theory, history, and critical analysis of one or more media, in ways that encompass diverse cultural contexts, practices, and historical periods, within a methodological framework that includes awareness of modern textual, cultural, political, social, and performance theory; (2) Preparing students to seek academic appointments in a market that offers positions to media and culture specialists in media-specific disciplinary units (e.g., Film Studies, Television Studies, Digital Studies); in amalgam fields (Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Visual Studies, Performance Studies).

UC Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)

Students in the Film & Media Ph.D. are encouraged to situate moving images within the larger theoretical and analytical frameworks of a range of other disciplines. They integrate the traditions of History, Law, Literature, Religion and Political Theory to the newer disciplines of Film Studies and Digital Media, applying the tools of Post-Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, New Historicism, Frankfurt School, Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, Post-Colonialism and Deconstruction. Many combine their degree study with a campus Designated Emphasis (graduate “minor”) in New Media, in Critical Theory, or in Women, Gender and Sexuality.

Cornell University, PhD in Performing and Media Arts (Ithaca, NY)

All PhD degree candidates are guaranteed four years of funding (including a stipend, a full-tuition fellowship, and student health insurance) and also summer support for four years.

Harvard University, PhD program in Film and Visual Studies (Cambridge, MA)

Harvard guarantees full financial support to PhD students—including tuition, health fees, and basic living expenses—for a minimum of five years. This multi-year funding package includes a combination of tuition grants, stipends, traineeships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, and other academic appointments.

University of British Columbia (UBC), PhD in Cinema and Media Studies (Vancouver, BC)

All students accepted and registered full-time in their graduate programs will be eligible for financial assistance from teaching assistantships and the Graduate Support Initiative (GSI). A funding package of at least $22,000 for each of the first four years of their Ph.D.

University of Chicago, PhD in Cinema and Media Studies (Chicago, IL)

Doctoral students will be guaranteed to have funding support from the University of Chicago, external sources, or a combination of the two for the duration of their program including Full tuition coverage, Annual stipend, Fully paid individual annual health insurance premiums. Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. students who matriculate in Autumn 2022 will receive a stipend of $33,000.

University of Toronto, PhD in Cinema Studies (Toronto, ON)

The Cinema Studies Institute provides base funding for all graduate students enrolled in a four-year Ph.D. program. It will include tuition and fees, and $20,000. The base funding may include income from a variety of sources including external awards.

York University, PhD in Cinema & Media Studies (Toronto, ON)

Domestic PhD students receive more than $24,000/year along with healthcare benefits and other forms of research support. In recent years, most Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) Ph.D. students have received additional funding through awards.

University of Pittsburgh Fully Funded PhD in Film Studies (Pittsburgh, PA)

The University of Pittsburgh is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania offers a fully funded PhD in Film Studies and Media Studies.

NYU Tisch School of the Arts (New York, NY)

The Ph.D. curriculum draws on the methods of a number of disciplines, including art history, cultural studies, American studies, psychoanalytic theory, and philosophy. It involves intensive seminar level study in film theory, history and research methods.

University of Washington | Cinema & Media Studies (Seattle, WA)

Our five-year Ph.D. program concentrates on scholarship and research as preparation for teaching at the university or college level in cinema and media studies.