The Program
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 major 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 Indigenous issues, migration and displacement, queer histories, environmental issues and contemporary art. Student projects have been undertaken throughout the Americas, as well as in West and East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and Europe.
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 Toronto Met's School of Image Arts. The School is renowned for its outstanding programs, faculty and facilities and is an educational leader in the study and production of visual media.
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Documentary Media Information Session
Admissions
Professional Experience
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, featuring screenings, exhibitions and events exploring a wide range of subjects and celebration students' creative achievements.
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.
Student & Alumni Showcase
Students in the MFA program are involved in creating a wide variety of projects while in the program, and after graduation. Feel free to explore the pages below, and get an idea of what you could do when you decide to study Documentary Media.
Slideshow
The Doc Media MFA Program: Noa Im, Looking Through the Binoculars
Student Projects: Klasha Fernandes All Kinds of People, All Kinds of Ways and Saman Aghvami, Home
Alumi: Pearson Ripley A Human with a Camera and Zenele Muholi, Faces and Phases
Doc Now: Ken Woroner's exhibition at the RIC, 2013
Admissions: Delphine Lewis, With Alice and John Verhaeven, In my Backyard