The IMA Program currently offers paid tech fellowships and adjunct teaching positions. There is an application process for both. Students are usually not eligible to apply until their second semester in the program with priority given to students who are more advanced in the program.
Tech Fellowship
Three IMA students work as Tech Fellows providing technical support for the Film and Media Studies Department. The Tech Fellow appointment is for 1–2 years, with a commitment of ten hours of work per week. Each year, a new Tech Fellow is chosen through an application and interview process. Positions will be announced on the IMA listserv for current students.
Teaching Opportunities
Teaching experience is one of the outstanding opportunities offered by the IMA Program. We are committed to fostering teaching experiences for qualified IMA students; as a learning opportunity, as a means for professional growth, and as a source of income. IMA students are encouraged to apply for consideration for an adjunct lab instructor position. Compensation for teaching is governed by the contractual adjunct teaching rates in effect at Hunter College.
Teaching
The foundation production courses for the Film and Media Studies Department’s undergraduate majors, MEDPL 150 and FILMP 160, are organized with a large lecture and weekly lab section typically taught by IMA students.
Approximately ten IMA students teach in the department each semester. Usually, IMA students teach for two consecutive semesters; the program has a two-semester limit so that other IMA students have the chance to teach.
Teaching positions are advertised on our IMA listserv which you would subscribe to soon after becoming a student.
IMA students are eligible to apply to teach either Media 150 or Media 160 after taking the required IMA classes, Documentary 1 and Emerging Media 1
At times qualified IMA alumni and occasionally current students with previous professional experience teach other undergraduate Film and Media Studies courses, such as Internet and Society, Understanding New Media, Representations of Race in the Media, Myths and Images in the Media, Concepts in Gaming, Women and the Media, Media and Society, Advanced Gender and Media, Desktop Publishing, Portable Video Production, Developing Video Documentary, Documentary Editing, Advanced Documentary Editing, Sound Design, Experimental Production, Web Production I, Web Production II, Web Programming, Game Programming, Digital Design and Usability, and Interactive Media Production.
IMA Teaching Mentorship Program (TMP)
Many IMA students pursue an MFA because it is the terminal degree necessary for teaching in higher education. To support that goal, the IMA has developed the IMA Teaching Mentorship Program (TMP).
- Gain experience developing curriculum
- Develop hands-on teaching skills
- Build a mentorship relationship with a faculty member as they approach the educational job market
What Mentees Do
Teaching mentees participate in a range of activities, including:
- Assisting in the preparation of lesson plans, study guides, and other course materials
- Supporting students individually as they apply technical skills to exercises or projects
- Creating tutorials for technical skills
- Teaching portions of the course under the instructor’s supervision, including preparing lesson plans for those units
What Mentors Do
Mentors guide IMA students in developing class materials, help them prepare lesson plans, allow them to lecture for part of the class several times during the semester, and provide ongoing feedback on their teaching. Participating professors are generally full-time faculty; adjuncts may be considered as mentors on a case-by-case basis.
At the end of the semester, the faculty mentor will write an evaluation of the mentee’s work.
How To Apply
For the fall semester: A list of available mentorships will be posted on the IMA site by November 15. Applications are due December 1, with Graduate Committee decisions by December 15.
For the spring semester: Available mentorships will be posted by May 1. Applications are due May 15, with Graduate Committee decisions by the end of May.
To apply, submit a resume, work sample, and a short statement explaining your interest to the faculty member teaching the course, cc’d to imamfacoordinator@gmail.com. The IMA Graduate Committee, in consultation with faculty mentors, will make final selections.
Guidelines
Guidelines
- To participate in the TMP the student must register for the 3 credit Collaborative Residency.
- TMP is unpaid; participants will not receive financial compensation.
- Mentees are expected to attend all class sessions.
- Mentees will not grade student work.
- Students may complete only one teaching mentorship, so that more IMA students have the opportunity to participate.
- Participants may list the experience on their CV as: “Completed the IMA MFA Teaching Mentorship Program in the course [course name].”
- Availability of mentorships depends on the availability of classes; there is no guarantee that any given student will receive a placement, regardless of how many times they apply.
- Completing the TMP does not guarantee placement as a lab instructor or adjunct in the department.
- Participation in the TMP is not required in order to be considered for a lab instructor or adjunct position.
