“What should I do after graduating from secondary school? This is a frequently asked question that worried me a lot. Starting to work sounds exciting and allows you to make a living. Taking a gap year sounds relaxing, but it requires a fat wallet. A degree programme offers many opportunities and gives you freedom too. After much thought and consideration, I decided to enrol on a degree programme. So, after graduating from a higher-level secondary technical and vocational college it was time for me to find a suitable university that offered a degree programme that sparks my interest, for which I would be eager to learn and that would never get boring. Sounds impossible? Well, it was in the beginning. But everything worked out fine with TFM, short for Theatre, Film and Media Studies. It is worth a try. After all, you can still change your degree programme or start to work later on. So, I took it easy. After all, I am good at watching films.
However, I still had to overcome a major obstacle at the beginning of the semester: the introductory and orientation period (STEOP). As I am just a human being too, I have small and sometimes also greater fears. So, I feared the worst: How am I supposed to accomplish this? That is way too much! But I can reassure all of you that: With a little bit of motivation, organisation, willingness to study and a study group, it is possible to complete the STEOP. The following semesters then feel like a walk in the park. Moreover, there is a lot of support for TFM students: tutoring courses to help with studying as well as mentoring groups to get to know other students on the degree programme. I had the chance to participate in the mentoring programme (click here for further information about the TFM mentoring workshop) and work as a trained mentor this semester. This is a great opportunity for me to share my knowledge with new entrants and help them ease into university life.
So, why study TFM at the University of Vienna? The great thing about this degree programme is that it is so diverse and that you gain a foothold in sooo many different areas. You do not become an actress or actor by studying TFM – my friends are constantly asking me about this. It is an ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE, i.e. a mainly theoretical degree programme. You can learn plenty of new and interesting things and broaden your knowledge in this degree programme. I do not have a concrete idea of what I am going to do after graduation, but I am very fascinated by theatre and film. Luckily, I still have some time to decide.
Without the courage to simply try something that I knew nothing about and start to study, I would never have been able to discover my passion for this field. Now, I can happily say: I found the right degree programme for me.” – Michaela Kahler
Michaela Kahler is studying Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna.
