Cinema & Comparative Literature
Frequently Asked Questions about Graduate Admissions
Note: Please submit your on-line application promptly to facilitate effective coordination and monitoring of all required application materials. Thank you.
Q. What graduate degrees do you offer?
A. We offer MA and PhD degrees in Comparative Literature; MFA degree in Comparative Literature – Translation; MA without thesis and PhD degrees in Film Studies; and MFA degree in Film and Video Production.
Q. Do you accept applications for spring or summer semesters?
A. No, we only accept applications for fall semester.
Q. When is the deadline for applying?
A. January 1st. All your application materials should be received in the appropriate office (either the department or the Office of Admissions) no later than the first business day of January. This includes submitting your on-line application (which preferably is done much earlier).
Q. When are admissions decisions made?
A. It is difficult to give a precise date on which each program will make its admissions decisions. Typically, all files have been reviewed and initial decisions are made in late February or early March. Formal acceptance or rejection letters are usually mailed by mid-March and should be received by April 1st, although exceptions to this timeline do occur.
Q. Can I e-mail my application materials to you?
A. No, you need to mail the required departmental materials directly to the department.
Q. Do my evaluators have to include the Graduate Admission Recommendation Form with their letter of recommendation?
A. We require the applicant to complete the cover letter in order to inform us (as well their evaluators) of their Buckley Amendment selection regarding their right to access letters of recommendation written on their behalf. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, letters of recommendation are part of the student record and available for review by the student unless the student has waived the right to view the recommendation. Without a written waiver in the record, the University of Iowa allows the student to review these letters.
Q. What type of writing sample should I submit?
A. For the MFA in Translation, applicants should submit a portfolio with samples of their translated work, published or unpublished. Select materials that will give the admissions committee a good sense of your interests and abilities. The portfolio might also contain original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, or drama. It is not necessary to provide a lot of pages. Select 15-30 pages of your best work, and please don’t forget to provide the originals.
For the MA/PhD in Comparative Literature, applicants should provide one or two examples of the best scholarly writing they have done to date. This can be a research paper from a previous class, two if the selections illustrate important aspects or styles of their work. Samples on the order of 20 pages are sufficient.
For the MA/PhD in Film Studies, you should submit a clean copy of an essay (of approximately 12-20 pages) that represents your best work to date, ideally demonstrating your skills as a writer, researcher, and critical thinker. While it might be helpful if this work represents a topic you wish to continue to investigate in graduate work, any strong work in film history, theory, or criticism will allow us evaluate your potential as a film studies scholar. If you have questions about the appropriateness of a specific writing sample, please consult the Director of Film Studies.
For the MFA in Film and Video Production, you should submit a scholarly writing sample. For example, a research paper on any topic would do.
Q. In how many languages must I be fluent to apply for the Comparative Literature program? How many for the Translation program?
A. For comparative literature: the MA requires advanced knowledge of at least one language and literature other than English; entrance to the PhD usually requires solid advanced knowledge of at least two language/literatures other than English. Applicants with questions about specific languages or literary traditions should write to the director of comparative literature.
The MFA in translation requires advanced knowledge of the source language from which the bulk of a candidate’s translation work will be done.
Q. What is the duration of your program?
A. A number of variables affects the time to degree completion, but in general:
our Comparative Literature MA program usually takes 2 years to complete;
our Comparative Literature PhD program usually takes 5 years to complete;
our Film Studies MA program usually takes 2 years to complete;
our Film Studies PhD program usually takes 6 years to complete;
our Translation MFA program usually takes 2-3 years to complete;
our Film & Video Production MFA program usually takes 3 years to complete;
Q. How much does it cost to attend your program?
A. You can find the 2009-2010 projected cost of enrollment on the Office of Admissions web site, linked here. You can find the yearly costs of tuition and fees on the Registrar's web site, linked here.
Q. Do you have minimum required GRE scores?
A. No. We consider your GRE scores only as part of your entire application dossier. Effective for Fall 2010 admissions, our Film & Video Production MFA graduate program no longer requires GRE scores. Our Film Studies (MA- and PhD), Comparative Literature (MA and PhD), and Comparative Literature – Translation (MFA) program do require GRE scores.
Q. I will not have taken the GRE test by the application deadline of January 1st. Is this a problem?
A. No, but please indicate on your application (section C, Education Information) your anticipated test date.
Q. How long are my GRE scores valid?
A. We require your GRE scores be submitted directly to the Office of Admissions by ETS (institution code 6681). Currently, ETS can forward scores up to 5 years after the test date.
Q. Do you require any GRE subject tests?
A. No.
Q. What is the minimum TOEFL score required?
A. The minimum Graduate College TOEFL requirement is: 81 for internet-based testing; 213 for computer-based testing; 550 for paper-based testing.
Q. How long are my TOEFL scores valid?
A. ETS can forward scores only up to 2 years after the test date (institution code 6681). If the applicant has ETS forward the scores to us before they ‘expire’ then we will consider them valid for a future session (we will keep the scores for 3 years and consider them valid).
Q. Do I need to send official transcripts from every school I attended, or just the school that awarded my degree?
A. The department would like to see official transcripts from the degree-granting institution(s) and any other institution where you earned a significant number of credit hours (24+). The Office of Admissions will accept your official transcript from the degree-granting institution alone, as long as you earned at least 60 hours from that institution and the transcript notes credit transferred from other institutions.
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