Requirements for the MFA Degree - Center for the Study of Southern Culture

Course Requirements

Requirements for the MFA in Documentary Expression include 30 hours of work—15 hours of graduate classes and 15 hours of thesis work. It requires at least two advanced classes in documentary techniques, chosen from SST 533, 537, and 538, and at least one class in the theory and application of documentary work, chosen from SST 534, SST 611, and the newly proposed Contemporary History class. The program emphasizes working one-on-one with documentary scholars associated with the Center for the Study of Southern Culture to produce a major documentary work in photography, film, audio, or a combination of these techniques. The documentary thesis project includes a written component that details the goals, background, and evolution of the documentary work. Students will have a 3-person faculty committee.

Some of the students in the MFA program will have MA degrees. If the student holds an MA from the Southern Studies MA program, they may not re-take classes they have already taken.

Classes available to MFA in Documentary Expression would include

SST 533. Studies in Documentary Fieldwork

SST 534. Documentary Photography

SST 535. Anthropological Film (pending approval)

SST 537. Documenting the South in Film

SST 538. Advanced Documentary Film in the South

SST 555. Foodways and Southern Culture

SST 560. Oral History of Southern Social Movements (pending approval)

SST 598. Special Topics

SST 601. Graduate Seminar I

SST 602. Graduate Seminar II

SST 605. Advanced Individual Study (6 hours maximum)

SST 611. Regionalism

SST 612. Globalization and the U.S. South

SST 697. Thesis.