Main Departmental Office
Radio, TV, Film and Performing Arts Building, 262
P.O. Box 310589
Denton, TX 76203-0589
(940) 565-2537
Web site: www.rtvf.unt.edu
Graduate Faculty: Albarran, Benshoff, Craig, B. Levin, M. Levin, Park, Sauls.
The department offers graduate programs leading to the following degrees:
The Master of Arts and Master of Science programs are designed for persons who wish to pursue research in mass communication leading to a written thesis. Building on a strong undergraduate program, the department has a particular emphasis at the graduate level in the following areas:
The Master of Fine Arts program is designed for persons who wish to receive academic, aesthetic and technical training that will lead to the creation of a major production thesis.
Members of the radio/television/film faculty include internationally recognized scholars, seasoned media professionals and award-winning documentary filmmakers. Research specialties include media history and criticism, cultural studies, international media and broadcast operations. Books written by RTVF faculty are used in university courses throughout the world, and faculty-produced films and television programs have been broadcast on television, selected for film and video festivals and screened at numerous other venues including New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Faculty members also serve on the boards of national and international organizations dealing with media education and film preservation.
Applicants must meet the requirements of both the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the Department of Radio, Television and Film. If applicants are accepted by the Graduate School, their files are forwarded to the Graduate Committee in the Department of Radio, Television and Film for further evaluation. The following may be considered the RTVF department’s minimum requirements.
To apply, the following materials should be sent directly to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.
1. Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended.
2. Official GRE scores sent from the Educational Testing Service.
3. A completed graduate application form.
4. Application fee.
In addition, the following items should be submitted directly to the RTVF director of graduate studies at the department’s address above.
1. A statement of purpose, in which the applicant states career goals and tells why the master’s degree in RTVF from UNT will help achieve those goals.
2. A required writing sample (research paper, professional report, substantial essay, etc.).
3. A minimum of two current letters of recommendation. For most applicants, the letters must be provided by current or former professors. An applicant who has worked professionally in radio, television or film may submit one of these letters from a person who has supervised his or her work. If an applicant has been out of school for several years, both letters may be from people who can evaluate his or her work in these fields.
4. An applicant from outside the United States must demonstrate proficiency in oral and written English prior to admittance. In addition to GRE scores, international students must submit TOEFL scores.
After the first 12 semester hours of graduate study are completed, the student and the director of graduate studies prepare a degree plan using one of the options available in the student’s area of concentration. The degree plan must be approved by the department chair and the graduate dean. Until it has been approved, the student will not be permitted to enroll for additional graduate work for credit applicable to the degree.
The RTVF department curriculum for MA/MS degrees is designed to allow for two-year completion, with course work beginning in the fall term/semester.
In addition to those items listed under Admission Requirements for the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies, applicants for the MFA program must submit the following directly to the RTVF director of graduate studies at the department’s address above:
1. A statement of purpose, describing both reasons for pursuing the terminal degree in media production and the specific areas of academic and professional interest.
2. A portfolio of creative work submitted on VHS, DVD, DV, CD or DAT (in the case of audio productions). The sample should include one complete production and 10 minutes of excerpts from additional work. If relevant, still photographs or other material that demonstrates the applicant’s creative talents and accomplishments may be submitted following consultation with the director of graduate studies. All materials should be labeled and include a content list, lengths, and the applicant’s role in the production. Materials submitted will not be returned. Do not mail tapes in fiber-filled envelopes.
3. A writing sample representative of the applicant’s best academic work in the field.
4. Three letters of recommendation from faculty. If the applicant has not attended an academic institution for the past four years or more, two of these letters may come from professional colleagues capable of commenting on the applicant’s probability of success in a rigorous graduate program.
5. In specific instances, the Radio, Television and Film Graduate Committee may require an interview of applicants under consideration. This interview may take place in person, via videoconference or conference telephone call.
6. An applicant from outside the United States must demonstrate proficiency in oral and written English prior to admittance. In addition to GRE scores, international students must submit TOEFL scores.
Previous academic work and/or professional performance, as demonstrated in the portfolio of creative work submitted with the application, must indicate the potential for graduate work in a rigorous, production-oriented graduate program.
The master’s degree requires the completion of at least 36 hours of graduate course work, including 6 hours of thesis credit. A satisfactory written thesis must be presented and defended. A student may also elect 6–12 hours in a minor area.
The MA requires completion of the equivalent of four terms/semesters of undergraduate language study, which may be completed in the undergraduate program or during graduate study at UNT. Other than this requirement, the curriculum for MA and MS students is the same.
Students must take at least one course from each of the areas of graduate study emphasis (media industry studies, history and critical studies).
Students must take RTVF 5100 (Introduction to Graduate Study in RTVF) during their first fall term/semester enrolled as an RTVF graduate student and RTVF 5120 (Literature of RTVF I) and RTVF 5130 (Literature of RTVF II).
The primary educational objective of the Master of Fine Arts degree with a major in radio, television and film production is the academic, aesthetic and technical training of production professionals. In addition, the MFA degree is now the primary terminal degree for production faculty at college and university programs in the United States. This program emphasizes documentary production and studies and allows students to consider their roles in a globalized media environment.
The MFA requires 60 credit hours and will take approximately three years to complete.
Students must successfully complete a minimum of 60 semester hours: 36 hours of required courses, including 6 hours of MFA colloquium; 6 hours of prescribed electives; 12 hours of electives; and 6 hours of thesis.
The capstone experience for each MFA candidate, the thesis is a major creative production (6 semester credit hours). A substantial written production book is to accompany the work and should include historical/theoretical context for the production, in addition to detailed documentation of the production process. The thesis should illustrate the student’s ability to successfully execute professional-level production work of high quality, in addition to demonstrating the student’s knowledge of production techniques and historical/theoretical perspective.
Policies and guidelines of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies are followed when awarding transfer credit. Subject to approval of the graduate dean of the RTVF department, a student who holds a bachelor’s degree and has been admitted to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and to the RTVF MFA program at UNT, may apply up to 12 semester hours of graduate credit toward the degree.
Radio station KNTU-FM, broadcasting at 100,000 watts on 88.1mHz, serves the Denton/Dallas/Fort Worth/McKinney area with educational, information and entertainment programming daily from 6 a.m. to midnight. All students at UNT are eligible to work at KNTU where they can learn skills in radio production, programming and station administration. More information is available at www.kntu.fm.
North Texas Television (NTTV) is a student-operated cable television channel where students learn to produce video programs in a wide range of topics and formats, including news, sports, public affairs and entertainment. All students at UNT are eligible to work at NTTV.
A limited number of graduate teaching and research assistantships are available for outstanding applicants. Decisions on assistantships are made in March for the following fall term/semester. An application form is available from the director of graduate studies.
All Courses of Instruction are located in one section at the back of this catalog.
The “Course and Subject Guide,” found in the Courses of Instruction section of this book, serves as a table of contents and provides quick access to subject areas and prefixes.
Date of initial release: July 1, 2006 — Copyright © 2006 University of North Texas
Page updated:
July 14, 2006
— Comments or corrections: catalog@unt.edu
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