As a student of Cinema Studies, you will experience film, television, and moving images anew - explore previously unknown phenomena and acquire tools to approach, describe, and interpret media in new and exiting ways

All courses contain a number of screenings, and over the course of the Programme you will have viewed a wide selection of films, from classics to rare films by directors from all corners of the world. 

Our Faculty includes some of Sweden's most prominent researchers in the field, teaching in a unique building dedicated to and built for film-related activities - featuring two large cinemas, a dedicated film library, a film archive, production studios, the Swedish Film Institute, and a cinematheque. 

Please note that the programme does not include courses in Film Production.

The Programme has an open and accommodating structure granting you relative freedom to shape the contents to your preference, including an elective semester abroad in the 2-year Programme.

The 1-year Programme is an option if you want to reach your degree faster and write a shorter thesis. Switching between the 1 and 2-year programmes is possible during the first semester.

A unique feature of the Cinema Studies Programme is that thesis seminars run from the first semester through the last, allowing you to share and develop ideas with your own cohort and with 2nd year students. Thesis supervisors are assigned early, already by the end of the first semester.

The first semester consists of two core courses focusing on theories, historiographies, methods, and research skills; introducing you to the field and laying the foundation for the rest of the Programme. Scientific Methods and Research Ethics takes a closer look a what science is, what knowledge is, and how knowledge is produced from a general philosophical viewpoint, and an overview of key contemporary debates in Cinema Studies is presented in Media Studies: Keywords for the Present.

The second semester offers two advanced courses in Cinema Studies for the first half of the semester, of which one focuses on aspects of Swedish or Nordic Cinema. During the second part, there is a choice between other electives at Stockholm University. 

The third semester is open for either exchange studies at Stockholm University's partner universities or electives in Cinema Studies and other subjects. English for Academic Research helps you improve productive skills (speaking and writing) for academic purposes with particular reference to participating in seminars, and writing a master’s thesis in English. One advanced course in Cinema Studies is always offered during the first part of this semester.

The last semester is fully devoted to a capstone in the form of a master’s thesis (dissertation), in which you, with guidance and supervision, identify one or several research questions, carry out independent research and present your findings in a final seminar.