Film Studies UCL

Overview

You can specialise in any aspect of film studies for which suitable supervision is available. UCL has research strengths in particular in cinema and cultural history across the world. We have interests in early cinemas, new wave cinemas, and political cinemas. World-leading researchers from the School of European Languages, Culture and Society (SELCS), and the Centre for Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry (CMII) are available to offer supervision and mentorship. 83% of SELCS-CMII research activity was graded 4* ‘world leading’ and 3* ‘internationally excellent’ in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

Your supervisors will design training courses on an individual basis, which generally include activities offered by the primary supervisor’s department. You will participate in a mandatory skills seminar programme in CMII and also attend departmental seminar sessions which may be subject specific or interdisciplinary.

Key Facts

UCL Film Studies has particular research strengths in cinema history, film theory, and across an exceptionally broad range of national and regional cinemas and languages. Our staff bring a diverse range of theoretical and critical approaches to the study of screen media, both in their teaching and research, spanning political economy, cultural studies, media infrastructural studies and beyond. Examples of staff research areas and interests may include:

• North and Latin American cinema history
• European cinema history
• Nordic cinema
• documentary cinema
• non-theatrical/radical cinema
• the history of the discipline
• silent cinema
• film theory
• the political economy of cinema