University degrees: Postgraduate
Course length: 2 years
Course city: Toronto
Part of the Faculty of Communication and Design
Bridging the traditions of documentary practice with emerging approaches to non-fiction storytelling, this interdisciplinary program brings together students to explore documentary forms and strategies in the making of new documentary work. Working alongside artists, scholars and media professionals, students engage with the histories and theories of documentary, while working with the tools needed to complete their own major creative projects.
Our graduates may be found in diverse occupations including film and television production companies, arts administration, and freelance careers as filmmakers, photographers and new media producers. Other graduates have pursued studies at the PhD level and careers in education.
The Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media brings together existing traditions of documentary practice with emerging approaches to create a unique multidisciplinary program. Innovative in structure and approach, the program is the first to offer an MFA degree in documentary media in Canada and is one of a very limited number of such programs offered worldwide.
The program is uniquely multidisciplinary, as it brings together students working in film, photography and new media to explore documentary forms and strategies in the making of new documentary work. Students in the program produce thesis projects exploring compelling subject matter that may take the form of documentary narrative films, print based and interactive photographic books, multi-platform documentaries and gallery-based installations.
Rather than providing a static definition of what documentary is, the program combines studies in documentary production and ideas with explorations in documentary history, the humanities and visual culture to open up possibilities for documentary work created from political, cultural or personal points of view. Students in the program have investigated topics that range from robotics and the limits of human experience to micro-histories of neighbourhoods, investigations of First Nations issues, migration and displacement, environmental issues and contemporary art. Student projects have been undertaken throughout the Americas, as well as in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media is a full-time, two-year/six-term program that strives to maintain a connection to documentary traditions while encouraging innovative approaches to the making of new documentary works. The program is based in Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts. The School is renowned for it’s outstanding programs, faculty and facilities and is an educational leader in the study and production of visual media.
The program situates itself in the professional documentary community and is connected to media makers who are shaping the language of documentary media today. Students in the program connect to the wider community through the annual Doc Now festival, a multimedia festival that showcases the work of the graduating class.
The graduates of the program can be found in diverse occupations including film and television production companies, positions within the creative industries, freelance careers as filmmakers, photographers and new media producers. Other graduates have gone on to further study at the PhD level and careers in the educational field.
The DocNow Festival presents the thesis work of students in the program. Students collaborate on a citywide festival featuring screenings, exhibitions and events exploring a wide range of subjects and celebrating their creative achievements.
