Graduate Field
Performing and Media Arts
Program Description
The graduate program (Ph.D.) in performing and media arts (PMA) offers students an interdisciplinary environment in which to pursue critical studies of various theatrical and performance traditions, cinema and media cultures, and expressive behavior in multilingual, intermedial, and transnational contexts. Students may work with a strong emphasis in either theatre and performance studies or cinema and media studies, and they are also encouraged to find novel, fresh, and rigorous ways to produce work at interdisciplinary sites of contact between theatre and performance studies on the one hand and cinema and media studies on the other hand.
A student’s special committee is made up of three faculty members, two PMA field faculty members representing the student's major area (theatre and performance studies, cinema and media studies, or theatre theory and aesthetics) and a third, from outside the PMA field faculty, representing the student's minor area. (e.g., feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; Asian studies). Please note that while the graduate field is not coterminous with the department and the graduate field includes many faculty members with interests in performing and media arts from other Cornell departments, every special committee must include at least one current faculty member in the department of performing and media arts. Chairs of special committees must hold a Ph.D. in their major field and be a member of the PMA graduate field.
Students whose interdisciplinary interests encompass more areas of study may add a fourth committee member. Possible areas include (but are not limited to): directing or acting pedagogy; film and video studies; feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; LGBT studies; Africana studies; anthropology; Asian studies; English; German; Latina/o/x studies; music; Near Eastern studies; and American studies.
Research Facilities
Cornell University maintains an extensive library system for scholarly research, with excellent holdings in areas relevant to the field. Olin and Kroch Libraries are the main research centers for the humanities; they house several special collections of particular interest to our program, including the world’s largest hip hop collection, extensive materials on and by George Bernard Shaw and George Jean Nathan, and the Rose Golden Archive of New Media. Students work closely with Cornell's Society for the Humanities and the School for Criticism and Theory, interdisciplinary centers of intellectual exchange that draw scholars and artists from across the globe.
Concentrations
- Cinema and media studies
- Theatre and performance studies
- Theatre practice (acting or directing) (minor)
- Theatre theory and aesthetics
Program Information
- Program Mode of Delivery: In Person
- Program Location: Ithaca, NY
Program Requirements
- 10 semesters of GRAD Research Course
- Minimum Semesters for Degree: 10
Graduate School Milestones
- Responsible Conduct of Research Training: Required
- Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID): Required
- Student Progress Reviews (SPR) begin: Second Year
- Examination for admission to candidacy (A Exam): Spring of third year
- Defense of Dissertation (B Exam): Spring of fifth year
Field Specific Milestones
- Qualifying Examination (Q Exam): Fall of second year
- Field progress review conducted every year
- Two semesters of teaching assistantship or as an instructor required
Course Requirements
Additional course requirements may be set by the student’s Special Committee. Program specific requirements that apply to all students are included below.
- Students will enroll in GRAD 9010 Graduate-Level Research to reach full-time status in every semester.
Year 1
- PMA 6600 Proseminar in Performing and Media Arts (Fall)
- 3 additional courses in each semester
Year 2
- PMA 6600 Proseminar in Performing and Media Arts (Fall)
- 2 additional courses in each semester
Year 3
- 2 - 3 courses in each semester
Graduate School Enrollment Requirements
Course Requirements
- Course requirements are determined by the student’s Special Committee.
- Enrollment in a GRAD research course or the equivalent field specific research course is expected of all students each semester through graduation. These courses include:
University Graduation Requirements
Requirements for All Students
In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.
Academic Requirements
A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.
Non-academic Requirements
Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.
Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.
Admissions
Application Requirements and Deadlines
Application Deadlines
Fall, December 15
Requirements Summary
Admission is highly selective. Applicants must submit a scholarly writing sample. An undergraduate major in theatre, film, or a related discipline is not required for admission, although applicants who have had little or no academic work in performance and/or media may have to do more than others to acquire the competence in scholarship expected in the program.
Admissions Contact Information
Email: dm246@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-254-2757
Campus Address: 223 Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 430 College Avenue
Website: https://pma.cornell.edu/
