In the International Master’s in Cinema Studies (IMACS) – a joint Master’s program of 17 universities in Europe and Canada – students can expect a unique research-oriented in-depth program with an interdisciplinary and Cultural Studies perspective. The program provides a framework for study at three different locations: The first and final semester in the four-semester degree program take place in the program of Film Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Our current research emphases include trans and queer studies, production and format studies, experimental film as well as feminist and decolonial film and media cultural studies. The second and third semesters are completed at two different partner universities, which together with the JGU are among the leading locations for film studies. The program thus provides a transnational education pathway that represents an outstanding initiative in film studies.
The IMACS at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is:
… international
All partner universities are among the leading locations for film studies in Europe and North America. Students have the opportunity to work on their research questions in an international context and to specialize in different languages and cultures. Close cooperation between the IMACS partners, a coordinated teaching structure and excellent student support facilitate the transition between the universities. The profiles of the participating institutes can be found on the IMACS network website.
… current & historically situated
The courses in our study program are dedicated to current topics of great social relevance in audiovisual media culture. In order to analyze them critically, we discuss them historically and against the backdrop of a diversity of theoretical approaches. This intervervention into contemporary film studies brings aesthetic, theoretical and political perspectives to bear on specific research materials.
… decentering
Enabling the encounter with three different academic environments, IMACS challenges the primacy of a single perspective on film studies. It encourages students to question and further develop theoretical and methodical approaches to the field throught the productive pressure of encounters with various cultural, disciplinary and institutional contexts. Questioning established norms and dominant hierarchies is just as central to our work as engaging with transcultural perspectives.
Beginning of studies: Winter semester only
| 1st semester | Home university (Mainz) 5 modules, 30 European Credit Transfer System |
| 2nd semester | Host university 1 e.g. Paris 3, Paris 10, Liège, Udine, Milan (…) 5 modules, 30 European Credit Transfer System |
| 3rd semester | Host university 2 e.g. Paris 3, Paris 10, Liège, Udine, Milan (…) 5 modules, 30 European Credit Transfer System |
| 4th Semester | Home university 3 modules, master’s thesis (30 European Credit Transfer System credits in total) |
A total of 120 ECTS credits are earned in the master’s degree over the two years of study.
60 ECTS credits are earned in the first year:
50 European Credit Transfer System credits by taking five specialization modules per semester. The following five modules (5 European Credit Transfer System credits per module) are offered in the first two semesters by all participating universities
- History, Theory and Aesthetics of the Arts and Film
- Cultural Heritage, Archive and History of Cinema
- Sociology, Economics and Technology of Film and Audiovisual Items
- Visual culture and Anthropology of the Image
- Current Practices of the Image
One of these five modules has an additional workload of a further 10 ECTS credits (i.e. 15 in total). In this module, which the student organizes in consultation with the respective contact person, the student addresses an in-depth research question in the form of a written paper.
In the second year, 60 ECTS credits are earned: 30 ECTS credits in total for three specialization modules per semester. The following modules (5 European Credit Transfer System credits) are taken in the third and fourth semesters and areoffered by all participating universities:
- Theory of Visual and Acoustic Forms
- History of Visual and Acoustic forms
- New Media Practice and the Culture of the Image
30 ECTS credits are awarded for the master’s thesis.
Further information on the degree program and the partner universities can be found on the IMACS website.
The International Master’s degree in Cinema Studies offers a program of study at three different locations. The four-semester program of study begins and ends at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. The second and third semesters of studies are completed at two different partner universities in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Sweden or the Netherlands.
IMACS is a cooperation with the following seventeen universities:
- Université Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle – Département Cinéma et Audio-Visuel
- Université Paris Nanterre – Département des Arts du Spectacle
- Université de Lille – Department of Arts
- Université de Liège – Département des Arts et Sciences de la Communication
- Université de Montréal – Département d’Histoire de l’Art et d’Études Cinématographiques
- Concordia University – Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
- Università degli Studi di Udine – Dipartimento di Storia e Tutela dei Beni Culturali
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Dipartimento di Scienze della Comunicazione e dello Spettacolo
- Università degli Studi Roma 3 – Dipartimento di Filosofia Comunicazione e Spettacolo
- Università Ca’Foscari Venezia – Dipartimento di Filosofia e Beni Culturali
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Departament de Comunicació
- Ruhr-University Bochum – Institute for Media Studies
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main – Institute of Theater, Film and Media Studies
- Birkbeck College, University of London – Department of Film, Media and Cultural Studies
- Universiteit van Amsterdam – Media Studies Department
- Stockholms Universitet – Department of Media Studies
- Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora – Programa de Pós-graduação em Artes, Cultura e Linguagens
The partner universities are among the leading locations for film studies and offer students the opportunity to work on their research questions in an international context and to specialize in different languages and cultures. Close cooperation between the IMACS partners, a coordinated teaching structure and excellent student support facilitate the transition between the universities. The profiles of the participating programs can be found on the IMACS network website.
