Message from the Graduate Deputy Chair

Thank you for your interest in our graduate programs.

The Department of Television and Radio offers two programs: The Master of Science in Television and Radio and the Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media and Television Production.

The M.F.A. program is offered each Fall semester. The next two-year sequence will begin in the Fall Semester, 2007 and will run continuously, on a full-time basis.

Applications for the Fall 2007 M.F.A. sequence must be submitted by February 1, 2007(international applicants) or March 1, 2007 (US applicants).

The M.S. program, however, is offered on a continuous basis: students may enter the program in either the fall or the spring semester. Classes are held in the evenings, Monday through Thursday. The Application deadline for Fall 2007 is March 1, 2007. Applications for Spring 2008 will be accepted until November 1, 2007.

Some students have elected to apply for the M.S. program while waiting for the M.F.A. admissions process to begin. If they are subsequently accepted to the M.F.A. program, students having entered the M.S. program will already have completed some of the required courses and may transfer credits for them and for elective credits. Enrollment in the MS program does not guarantee future acceptance in the MFA program

Katherine Fry, Deputy Chair, Graduate Studies.

Graduate Studies at Brooklyn College

The Department of Television and Radio offers a master of science degree program in television and radio and a master of fine arts degree in television production. The Department of Television and Radio also offers courses that are part of the advanced certificate program in Performance and Interactive Media Arts (PIMA).

Graduate studies in television at Brooklyn College have been offered since 1961. Over the past decades the Department of Television and Radio's graduate programs have earned the reputation of being among the most outstanding in the country in terms of offering a quality education in the artistic, theoretical, and technical aspects of this powerful medium of communication - a medium which both determines and reflects the trends and preoccupations of the culture in which it thrives.

The Department has long been recognized as a major supplier of broadcast and cable professionals and independent producers known to bring to the industry a diversity of backgrounds, life experiences, and social and cultural viewpoints. Its graduate programs have also provided the necessary scholarly ground for further in-depth study in doctoral programs which prepare the student for university-level teaching and scholarship.

The Department's graduate programs attract a broad spectrum of international students whose unique social and cultural perspectives provide important insights into the richness of cross-cultural and multicultural communication.

The Department's two graduate programs - the Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media and Television Production and the Master of Science in Television and Radio--are supported by the Brooklyn College Television Center, which operates in conjunction with the Department of Television and Radio and is well-equipped to serve students in both field and studio production and in post-production editing.

Emphasis within the Department of Television and Radio is on the medium of television. Its faculty teach graduate and undergraduate courses, conduct scholarly research, and is actively involved in the television industry.

Since 1964, the department has provided New York City municipal broadcast television stations and cable systems with weekly programs. These programs are often replayed on other public broadcasting television stations throughout the country. Almost all of the programs are written, produced, directed and crewed by graduate interns.

Brooklyn College's graduate program in television has a sizable roster of alumni working in various capacities in the broadcasting and cable industries, both in the United States and on four continents abroad, as writers, producers, directors and managers. Other graduate alumni have chosen to pursue careers as independent producers, or as university educators.

The Television and Radio Department offers two degree options - an M.S. and an M.F.A. - at the graduate level. Both options emphasize the interconnection of theory and practice, and both are grounded in the notion that the function of thought is to guide action, whether that action occurs in the creative, social, or managerial sphere.

The Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Television and Radio involves a combination of theoretically- and practically-oriented courses to provide the student with the skills and academic background needed to enter and flourish in the increasingly complex professional television job market, or to continue advanced academic studies leading to a university teaching career. Students enrolling in the M.S. degree program are required to pass a comprehensive examination at the end of their program to demonstrate their mastery of advanced concepts.

The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in Digital Media and Television Production is an intensive full-time, two-year program. Selection is competitive. New M.F.A. students are only accepted for the Fall semesters. Part of the program for all M.F.A. students is the internship at the Brooklyn College Television Center for which students may receive a stipend for work in the department and center.. All M.F.A. students, working under the guidance of faculty mentors, are required to complete a Creative Thesis Project of superior artistic and technical quality in order to be eligible for the M.F.A. degree. The Thesis Project is accompanied by a Production Book detailing, in print, the conception, research and execution of the project. Students enrolling in the M.F.A. program are also required to pass a comprehensive examination at the end of their program to demonstrate mastery of advanced concepts in applied aesthetics, audiovisual production techniques, and production management and program promotion.

Both the M.S. and the M.F.A. degree programs allow students to receive course credit for an externship that the student may arrange with a wide variety of professional television organizations in the New York City metropolitan region.

The Department of Television and Radio acts as an information clearing house for students seeking employment after completion of their degree requirements, but can make no guarantee of employment.