Thesis Information

Developing a thesis project is far from an exact science. There are several things to keep in mind.
One is how the thesis will be seen in relation to your other work. Is there an organic or tangible trajectory? If not, you should contextualize the project. Explain why you’ve picked that topic, or that formal approach.
Another key will be why the project matters to you. Your passion will have to carry the project to completion through a difficult process, so your commitment should be something you think about carefully.
Do-ability is equally important. There is no right size for a thesis, so carefully consider how much you want to take on. Some students make feature films. This is more than anyone can do in a single semester. While your thesis can be used as your calling card in the future, it need not be massive in scope. A well-made twenty-minute film is more than sufficient to graduate. And we recently had an outstanding thesis film that clocked in at just over seven minutes! Focus on impact, not duration. Show your work whenever possible, to IMA faculty and students, to visiting artists, and to friends. Consider yourself as a media producer in conversation both with other makers and with audiences that you hope to engage. Who does work you admire? Why do you like their approach? Attend the IMA Thesis Show each semester. By seeing and experiencing the Thesis work of other IMA students, you will develop an understanding of the thesis process and the realm of possible topics and approaches. It will help you identify and cultivate the skills needed to navigate the obstacles that arise in every creative endeavor, particularly one as ambitious as your thesis. To grasp where you are now in your IMA journey, it helps to see the work of those completing theirs. You cannot formally commence a Thesis Project until you have passed your Second Crit, but students sometimes work on projects that contribute to or inform their thesis prior to officially entering the thesis process. While you cannot use your thesis as a project in all your IMA classes, you can take courses and try creative work that relate to your planned thesis. Even after the selection of a thesis topic, your approach should evolve through coursework and intellectual interactions with IMA students and faculty. Some Thesis Projects necessarily take longer than others to complete. For instance, a project’s ambitious scope and/or time sensitive subject matter may compel students to undertake extensive work prior to the formal approval of the Thesis Project. A Thesis Project that builds on prior work or incorporates pre-existing material must include “substantial new work” at the thesis stage – the precise nature and scope of this substantial new work must be specified in the Thesis Concept and the Thesis Plan.

The semester after passing your Second Crit, you register for the 3-credit thesis course, IMA 79600 Thesis Preproduction. In your first thesis semester, you create a Thesis Concept, participate in a Thesis Concept Presentation, write a Thesis Plan, secure your Thesis Advisors, and are encouraged to attend the monthly or bi-monthly Thesis Practicum class. In the second semester of thesis, students would register for IMA 79800 Thesis Production and in that semester students will complete their Thesis Project, Thesis Paper, complete their Thesis Defense and participate in the Thesis Show and graduate. If significant work on the thesis is achieved in the second semester of thesis and more time is needed, the student with approval from their primary advisor, can request a 1-credit Thesis Extension the following semester, IMA 79900.

The Thesis Practicum meets approximately every other week during the semester to provide thesis students with additional guidance and community during their capstone project. Led by an IMA faculty member, the Thesis Practicum provides a forum to exchange ideas, show work, and share feedback in a supportive atmosphere. Since most thesis students have completed course work, the Thesis Practicum also helps you stay connected to the Program while gaining valuable perspective and insight from other thesis students.
You do not have to register separately for the Thesis Practicum. The practicum is open to all thesis students. We encourage students to attend throughout their thesis process. Under appropriate circumstances, students not yet in thesis can participate in the practicum with the permission of the Program Director.

The Thesis Concept includes a one page summary of your proposed Thesis and one page of additional information about it. One week prior to the Thesis Concept Presentation and Crit, we distribute the Thesis Concept to all full time IMA faculty.
On the first page, explain your Thesis project’s proposed subject, scope, and design.
On a second page, provide additional information about your proposed Thesis:

• Advisor(s) (if secured)
• Anticipated semester of graduation (e.g. fall 21, spring 22, etc.)
• Sources referenced in research
• If the Thesis builds on prior work or pre-existing material, you must also:
  • Articulate precisely the nature and scope of the new work; and
  • If you worked on the Thesis in IMA classes, list the work completed in each corresponding course.
• If you are collaborating with another IMA student on Thesis, write briefly the collaborators’ respective roles and responsibilities.
  • Any subsequent changes to the respective roles and responsibilities of the collaborators must be approved by the Thesis Advisor(s)

At the Thesis Concept Presentation and Crit students present their Thesis Concept to the IMA faculty for feedback. The Crit supports students in the early stage of thesis development and helps connect them with faculty advisors.
20-30 minutes per Thesis Concept:

• Up to 5 minutes for student presentation
• 15-20 minute discussion with faculty

Note:

• Student presentations can be shorter than five minutes.
• Students should not provide any supplementary materials (visuals, audio)
• Students may observe other presentations.

The presentation should include:

• The Thesis subject matter
• What interested you in this project
• How the project connects with your prior work in the IMA
• Project form and design
• Proposed research
• Prospective audience

Notes on presenting:

• Speak to what the project is about at its core. Not what happens in it.
• Why the project is timely.
• Why you are the person to make it. Your relationship with the material.
• Explain your creative approach.
• Use your authentic voice – don’t try to sound like someone else.
• Think of pitching like improvisation. Say yes to feedback. Don’t block it.

The Thesis Plan (approximately 5-pages) is created after participating in the Thesis Concept Presentation Crit, you complete the Thesis Plan in consultation with your Primary Advisor. When your Primary Advisor agrees, email your Thesis Plan to the Program Coordinator and copy your advisor who will then confirm approval via email. After the IMA Program receives your Thesis Plan, you can then secure secondary and tertiary advisors and access Hunter equipment and facilities.

The Thesis Plan should include the following sections:

• Project description: revise your 1 page Thesis Concept. Incorporate feedback from the Thesis Concept Presentation, Thesis Class, and prospective thesis advisors. Articulate your conceptual and creative approaches to the project.
• Personal component: Explain your relationship with the project and how it connects with and builds on your media making practice and other IMA projects.
• Research plan: describe your planned research, including the kinds of sources you will use, and how the project relates to an existing body of media work and/or literature.
• Audience: Identify your Thesis Project’s intended audience(s). If your project aims to promote public awareness and discussion, describe your plans for achieving this objective.
• Timeline: provide a research and production schedule that accounts for your Thesis project’s scope, available resources, and IMA Program requirements
• Initial bibliography: include at least 10 research references, such as books, articles, web sites, films, videos, etc. using the Chicago Manual of Style or MLA Style Sheet formats for bibliographic entries.

Primary Advisors may grant a one-semester Thesis Deadline extension (IMA 79900 1-credit) provided you have demonstrated substantial progress on your Thesis Project.
If there are extenuating circumstances, you can request a second one-semester Thesis Deadline (registering again for IMA 79900 1-credit) by providing your Primary Advisor with a written rationale supporting the extension request. Your Primary Advisor then presents the extension request to the Graduate Committee for consideration. If the Graduate Committee declines to extend the Thesis deadline, you MUST complete the Thesis Project and defense by the applicable deadline in order to receive an MFA degree from the IMA Program.
There are no further extensions to the Thesis Deadline. All students MUST complete Thesis Projects and defenses within two years.

Full-time IMA faculty members serve as Primary Thesis Advisors. When approaching potential primary advisors, explain why you want to work with them, especially in connection with your planned project. If possible, meet with them in person. Potential advisors have to consider working with you in light of existing and anticipated advising commitments, so give them time to consider your request. If they decline, do not take it personally.
If you have difficulty securing a Thesis Advisor on your own or you would like advisor recommendations, the IMA Director will connect you with potential primary advisors and facilitate the process.
Work closely with the Primary Thesis Advisor while writing your Thesis Plan. Once the Thesis Plan has been approved, the Primary Thesis Advisor provides project feedback on a regular basis throughout the thesis process. The Primary Thesis Advisor will also provide reading, viewing, and research suggestions.
You are responsible for consistently updating and scheduling sessions with your Primary Thesis Advisor.

Your Primary Thesis Advisor and two other thesis advisors comprise the Thesis Panel. You should expect a similar advising commitment from 2nd and 3rd Advisors.
Your 2nd Advisor must be a faculty member in the Film and Media Studies Department. Your 3rd Advisor can also be a departmental faculty member, a faculty member from another department or school, or an accomplished professional / artist without an academic association. IMA adjuncts can serve as 2nd and 3rd advisors and in some cases as primary advisors. Connect with the IMA Director to discuss potential for an adjunct to be primary.
Assemble a balanced Thesis Committee. Your Thesis Project will benefit from a panel of advisors with varied analytical approaches, creative methods, and technical skills. When selecting 2nd and 3rd Thesis Advisors, consider the committee as a whole and approach potential advisors who will augment, rather than duplicate, aspects of the Thesis Project addressed by your other advisors.
Your Primary Thesis Advisor will assist you in securing suitable 2nd and 3rd Thesis Advisors. The Program Director can also suggest potential advisors and, if you want, approach faculty on your behalf.
Once your full Thesis Panel has been formed, request an initial meeting with the panel to collectively review your Thesis Proposal and Thesis Timeline. Meeting as a group at this stage enables advisors to hear from each other and get a sense of the project’s trajectory and the advising approaches, both individually and as a group.
Student Responsibilities:

• Thoroughly review your Thesis Project plans with your Primary Thesis Advisor and meet with him or her regularly to discuss the progress of the project.
• Meet with your entire Thesis Panel to review the Thesis Plan and then one more time prior to the Thesis Defense.
• Meet at least twice individually with your 2nd and 3rd Thesis Advisors.
• Present your 2nd and 3rd Thesis Advisors with at least two iterations of your Thesis Project, giving them ample time to review it and provide you with meaningful feedback.
• Provide your 2nd with a draft of your Thesis Paper, leaving them ample time to review it and provide you with meaningful feedback. Recommended to send your paper to your 3rd advisor as well.
• Send your 2nd and 3rd Thesis Advisors regular updates. At minimum, provide both advisors with progress reports at least twice during the final thesis semester – once at mid-semester and a second time at least three weeks before the Thesis Defense.
• Don’t fall out of touch with your advisors or submit materials to them at the last minute. Your advisors need the opportunity to thoughtfully review your project at various stages of development, and you need the opportunity to work on your Thesis after considering your advisors’ constructive criticism and advice. Postponing consultation with your 2nd and 3rd Advisors until you have nearly completed your project undermines the advising process, negates an essential component of your artistic growth, and may delay your graduation.

While the Thesis Paper serves as a supporting corollary to the Thesis Project, write your paper with the understanding that it may be read by some people who do not have the opportunity to experience your Thesis Project. Thesis Papers will be housed in an on line repository managed by the Hunter library, searchable and viewable through any web browser. In other words, your Thesis Paper will become a public document. So take it seriously.
The Thesis Paper builds on the Thesis Plan’s foundation. Your Thesis Proposal reflects your understanding at a project’s inception – a creative, intellectual, and practical plan for undertaking your Thesis. You write your Thesis Paper from the opposite perspective, so it should reflect what you learned throughout the thesis process. The distinctions between your Thesis Proposal (project conception) and Thesis Paper (project execution) illuminate fundamental lessons about media making and your thesis journey.
In your Thesis Paper, present your conclusions about the central question you sought to investigate in your thesis, detail the artistic and theoretical methodologies you employed in exploring this question, and explain how this experience might influence your ensuing projects.
The Thesis Paper should be between 15 and 25 pages. It should be well written and meticulously revised, with as much care as you devote to preparing your Thesis Project for exhibition. Do not treat the Thesis Paper as an afterthought – it is an integral component of the IMA Program’s graduation requirements.
The Thesis Paper should generally include the following sections (although each Thesis Paper will differ based on the specific project it describes and on your writing style and creative voice):

• Abstract
  • Summarize your Thesis Project in one or two paragraphs.
• Project Description
  • Provide a detailed description of the subject matter you explored in the Thesis Project. Explain your relationship to your thesis subject, including what led you to it. How did you approach the representation of the subject? Why did you choose this particular media, or media mix, to explore the subject? Describe how your stylistic, structural, intellectual, and aesthetic decisions relate to your chosen subject.
• Research Analysis
  • Detail your Thesis Project research. Explain how your research influenced your approach to the subject. Situate your thesis within the critical and historical context of the media in which you are working. Delineate how your thesis relates to an existing body of media work and literature, and how it contributes to the particular artistic trajectory with which you engaged.
• Thesis Production Process
  • Reflect on the production process itself. Evaluate what you intended to do, what you actually accomplished, the obstacles you encountered and how you responded to them, what beneficial “mistakes” occurred during the process, and what you ultimately learned – about this particular project, about your artistic sensibility, and about how you will approach subsequent projects.
• Audience and Exhibition
  • Identify the audience you want your Thesis Project to reach. If you intend that your Thesis Project promote public awareness and discussion, how will you achieve this objective? What is your plan for exhibiting, distributing and publicizing your thesis?
  • Elaborate on any legal issues that might impact your ability to exhibit your Thesis Project outside the IMA Program. If your Thesis Project includes unlicensed copyrighted material, articulate your fair use rationale for including these third party elements in your thesis. Describe your plan to clear music, archival footage, photographs, and other proprietary materials.
• Bibliography
  • Include a bibliography of no less than 25 books, articles, web sites, films, videos, and other research sources that follows the Chicago Manual of Style or MLA Style Sheet formats. The majority of your bibliographical entries should be referenced and contextualized in the body of your paper.
• Thesis paper guidelines and specifications are listed on the Dean’s site here

Uploading the thesis paper to Academic Works

^ See the paper guidelines in the link above which include suggestions on font, page setup, bibliography style, and use the MFA title page provided. On the title page, only list your primary and secondary advisor and type their names on the line. No handwritten signatures.

After your paper is proofed by your primary advisor and given the green light to upload. Then notify the IMA program assistant that you are going to upload the paper.

Follow the directions on this link to upload your paper to Academic Works: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/artsci/repository/files/graduate-documents/step-by-step-guide-for-graduate-students-as-of-2.pdf

Be sure to only include your primary and second advisor. Only list their emails in the backend of the upload and include the Program Director, Andrew Lund, if he is not your 1st or 2nd advisor. The third advisor is not part of the paper process and not included in Academic Works.

Examples of Thesis Papers

The Collaborative Urban Resilience Banquet by Candace Thompson

Shared Resources (Contractual Obligations) by Jordan Lord

Better Than Before by Makia Harper

Luncheon by Tomasz Gubernat

The Market by Claudia Zamora Valencia

You must pass the Thesis Defense in order to participate in the Thesis Show and meet the degree requirements for graduation.
Often, more than one semester of work with a faculty advisor may be required before approval to proceed to the Thesis Defense is given. When a Primary Thesis Advisor determines a student is not ready to defend, that student will be told to defer the defense until a subsequent semester.
Once you receive approval from your Primary Advisor, schedule a Thesis Defense with your advisors during the thesis defense week (approximately the first week in December and in May). Thesis Defenses are usually scheduled in 90 minute or two-hour slots, depending on the Thesis Project’s running or presentation time.
You must submit the Thesis Project and Thesis Paper to your advisors at least one week prior to the Thesis Defense.
At the Thesis Defense, you will present your Thesis Project. Your thesis advisors will then discuss the project and paper with you.
You then leave the room and the panel will confer to determine whether you have passed the defense.
Although the panel can vote not to pass you, once your Primary Advisor gives you approval to schedule the Thesis Defense, we expect you will pass the defense and move on to the Thesis Show and graduation. While not all IMA students finish the Thesis Project, the Program has thus far always passed students who have completed their Thesis and presented it at the Thesis Defense.
Advisors sometimes agree to provisionally pass a student provided the student makes specific changes to the Thesis Project and/or Thesis Paper before the panel will give its final approval for graduation.

At the start of the semester you plan to graduate, you must file for graduation with Degree Audit. To do so, you will log into your MyHunter page and indicate that you would like to file for graduation. The simple form will ask if there are any classes that you have not completed yet, and you should indicate: Thesis IMA 788 and any other incomplete grades that you’re planning to fix and use towards your 48 credits. Once you have filed for graduation, you will get a response from Degree Audit that says that they are processing your information. Be sure to continue to check your MyHunter page and your Hunter email for any updates from Degree Audit. Forward any emails from Degree Audit to the IMA Program Coordinator: imamfaassistant@gmail.com

Thesis papers are now deposited directly online and they are searchable on the web. There is a process for uploading your thesis paper and deadlines are provided each semester. The IMA Program Coordinator will walk you through the process of uploading your completed paper before the deadline.

• Thesis paper guidelines and specifications are listed on the Dean’s site here

Uploading the thesis paper to Academic Works

^ See the paper guidelines in the link above which include suggestions on font, page setup, bibliography style, and use the MFA title page provided. On the title page, only list your primary and secondary advisor and type their names on the line. No handwritten signatures.

After your paper is proofed by your primary advisor and given the green light to upload. Then notify the IMA program assistant that you are going to upload the paper.

Follow the directions on this link to upload your paper to Academic Works: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/artsci/repository/files/graduate-documents/step-by-step-guide-for-graduate-students-as-of-2.pdf

Be sure to only include your primary and second advisor. Only list their emails in the backend of the upload and include the Program Director, Andrew Lund, if he is not your 1st or 2nd advisor. The third advisor is not part of the paper process and not included in Academic Works.

Examples of Thesis Papers

The Collaborative Urban Resilience Banquet by Candace Thompson

Shared Resources (Contractual Obligations) by Jordan Lord

Better Than Before by Makia Harper

Luncheon by Tomasz Gubernat

The Market by Claudia Zamora Valencia

The MFA Exhibition and Screening will be scheduled towards the end of Spring and Fall semester. Participation in the show is mandatory for graduation and thesis credit.
Leading up to the show, students need to be responsive to emails from the program assistant and director and provide important details to help the IMA Program plan the show and promote it, including project format, running time, technical specifications and requirements, description, short bio, and artwork.

If your thesis project is a linear film, the preferred addition to the credits sequence:

If you started IMA prior to Fall 2019, you can choose to register for the old model 3 credit Thesis Course (IMA 788) once.  If you started the program in Fall 2019 and after, there are new thesis classes you have to enroll IMA 79600 and IMA 79800 and if you need to extend with approval from your advisor, IMA 79900

The IMA 788 course covers your entire thesis process, even when it extends to several semesters. In your final Thesis semester (unless this is also the semester you registered for IMA 788), you must pay the Maintenance of Matriculation fee (MAM). Under the new guidelines, students register for IMA 79600 and IMA 79800 and if needed, IMA 79900.

If you’re registered for IMA 788 then you file and pay the MAM during the semester that you graduate. If you’re registered for the new thesis system, IMA 796 and IMA 798 then you don’t have to file or pay the MAM. MAM stands for Maintenance of Matriculation.

If you have to do this step, you can wait until the end of the semester right after your thesis defense.

Yes. You must pay the fee in your final semester, even if you paid it in a prior semester.

Unless you graduate in the semester you register for IMA 788, you will receive a grade of “SP.” Once you complete your Thesis Project and Paper and pass your Thesis Defense, we submit a change of grade for IMA 788 to an “P” for Pass. That means that the 3 credits from IMA 788, which are required in order for you to graduate, are only officially “earned” at the very end of your thesis process.

In some cases adjuncts can serve as primary and secondary advisors. And they’ve always been able to serve as third advisors. The third advisor is volunteering their time to the project. If you’re considering an adjunct faculty as your first or second advisor, you’d write a rational to the Program Director and if approved, they will work to secure the funding to procure the positions.

You cannot officially have any thesis advisors until you register for IMA 788 or IMA 79600, IMA 79800, since the faculty member gets the workload credit associated with your registration. However, students have begun informal discussions and consultation with faculty prior to that point. In general, you should not expect a thesis advisor to fully engage with your project until you are officially registered for the Thesis Class.

Depending on your project’s scope, you may find it necessary to begin work on an aspect of your thesis prior to officially entering the thesis process. But, just because you have done work on what you wanted to be your thesis, does not mean that the work will be approved for your thesis. If you have questions about this you should speak with the Program Director.

What if my Thesis Project changes? Do I have to go through the thesis approval process again (Thesis Concept, Thesis Plan)?
All thesis projects change to a certain extent. If your project has remained essentially identifiable as the one you proposed, and your advisors approve of the changes in question, even if those changes are in format (e.g. from a film to an installation), you do not need to repeat any steps in the process.
If you want to work on a completely different project, you should submit a new Thesis Concept and Plan, in active consultation with your advisors.

This has happened in rare instances.

If you are considering changing advisors, you should explain your reasoning to the Program Director, whose approval is required to switch advisors after the semester in which you registered for IMA 788/IMA 796/IMA 798.

No. The project must be capstone in nature. Ambitious in form and content, in concept and execution, but it doesn’t have to be a certain running time. We’ve seen thesis films as short as 8 minutes and as long as 2 hours.

This is one of those judgment calls that faculty members make based on years of experience. If you see enough Thesis Shows, you’ll get a sense of the threshold as well. The project must be an ambitious, capstone experience to your IMA studies.

This is another judgment call made by the Program Director and Graduate Committee. In general, if at least fifty percent of the project will be completed after you enter thesis, you will meet the substantial new work requirement.

Any work in which you do not have creative control. We are particularly concerned with projects where two IMA students want to work together and have the same project count as a thesis for both of them.
Every thesis includes various levels of collaboration. But unless you are in an equal creative partnership, this requirement probably doesn’t apply to you. If you aren’t sure about how to characterize your collaboration status, please speak with the Program Director.

Submitting your Thesis Paper in the correct format and through the prescribed process for inclusion in the on line repository is a requirement for graduation but in rare instances with good rationale, a thesis paper can be embargoed. You would reach out to the Program Coordinator for more info.

No. The IMA Program was exempted from this requirement, so your actual Thesis Project will not be made available on line after the thesis show.