James Franco Admitted To University Of Houston Ph.D. Program

HOUSTON — James Franco has won a spot in a University of Houston creative writing program.

The university confirms that the actor nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for best actor in "127 Hours" has been accepted for the school's doctoral program in literature and creative writing. Creative writing program director James Kastely tells the Houston Chronicle that Franco plans to enroll in September 2012.

Franco publicist Robin Baum did not respond to telephone and email messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Kastely says 20 students are chosen from about 400 applicants each year.

The 33-year-old actor co-hosted the 83rd Academy Awards with actress Anne Hathaway in February. He also has been studying in a doctoral program in English at Yale University.

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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com

Comments

[Rafael Perez]

10:45 PM on 05/31/2011

Go Coogs! Tier 1 xD

[Rafael Perez]

10:44 PM on 05/31/2011

Fun fact: UH is located in the middle of the 3rd ward, a.k.a. "the ghetto hood", you'll find hood rats, hood "nuggets", thieves, criminals, and its right next to TSU... another "ghetto" university where your local popeyes chicken restaurant has bullet-proof glass counters and a small hole so slide your chicken.

Its like living in a war zone there, trust me, I'm attending UH and going there everyday could be my last day. And to answer the most obvious question: I'm there because UH has the best supply chain and logistics program in all of Texas. I just wish UH was located in a safer area.

[LaTischa Franzmeier]

11:40 AM on 05/01/2011

And yet again, it is not mentioned that he is in the MFA program at Warren Wilson College.

[Lindsey Duchac]

02:28 AM on 04/26/2011

Money does by everything, eh. If I had billions of dollars, I'd be investing in my education like this too. Well, maybe not 2 P.h.D programs at the same time, but definitely consecutively.

[Jason Barry]

03:21 PM on 04/28/2011

I think it's great he's pursing it since he really doesn't have to, but it's certainly not for everyone. I got my B.A. in Computer Sci and to be honest I hated it. I was so fed up with school I didn't even goto my graduation(I was able to get out of it by pretending to be ill(which I actually was, but not bad enough to not go). I would never want to return to school to get a higher degree in that same Major..way to much stress. Oh yeah if you've seen that movie Office Space(which were computer programmers) thats my job now and the sad thing is I learned more in H.S. teaching myself programming then I did in college..:-\

[Jerome Murphy]

03:21 PM on 04/25/2011

Believe me, I can tell you as an administrator that these programs will consider the "publicity" factor and offer plenty of help to a celebrity. Requirements and rules aren't etched in stone. This guy is spreading his efforts quite thin, skyping in to teach a class where the students edit a film about HIM.

Franco's manic multitasking is not an example of brilliant scholarship, but of extremely clever consolidation of tasks. Working smart, not hard. There's something to be said for it.

Obviously, this is his choice. However, he's unlikely to get the benefit of the doubt in regards to quality vs quantity when he breezes through multiple demanding programs at once. If this could be done without bending the rules, non-celebs would be doing it all the time.

[Typhonator]

04:50 PM on 04/25/2011

James Franco on teaching a class at Columbia: "Teaching at Columbia? I’m not teaching at Columbia. Oh, Columbia? That’s a school in LA, there’s a class that my friend, Tyler Danna, taught. It was an editing class, and it was kind of like an art project. The school gave the class this horrible title called something like “Learn Editing With James Franco.” I don’t live in LA. I’ve never been to that class, so it was a bit of false advertising, and I think foolish, advertising."

Source: http://voice.paly.net/node/268...

[Typhonator]

03:14 PM on 04/26/2011

Not sure why that link didn't work: http://voice.paly.net/node/26818

[buddydave]

02:48 PM on 04/25/2011

It's time James Franco admits he has a problem.

Post-graduate-degree addiction is no laughing matter.

[natalie7]

03:37 PM on 04/26/2011

r u suggesting a labotomy?

[weekendpartier]

09:11 AM on 04/25/2011

C'mon, this is all a PR stunt - he's going to phone it in, have someone ghost-write his papers - you'll never see him studying in the library!

[Rafael Perez]

10:44 PM on 05/31/2011

MD Anderson library is pretty big.... just sayin'

[SaraSH]

04:46 AM on 04/25/2011

If this country wasn't this stupid, such a news would be a major news....I know I may be biased bc I am geek and I am dead scared of productivity of American children and their futures, but when this culture of SCHOOL is bad, SPORT and ACTING is good took over? I can't understand why we don't have more celebrities like him or Natalie Portman....it's quite disgusting...we need more role models like the people.....I have to read on his background, something tells me he wasn't even raised here perhaps ( I may be wrong).

[poisonivied]

01:15 AM on 04/25/2011

It's probably futile to argue the merits or lack thereof of Franco's academic "success" with his supporters, who seem disproportionately represented on Huffington Post. The common response, if this thread is any indication, will be something along the lines of "jealous much" (no, I have an Ivy degree) or "haters will hate" (no, I appreciate individuals who value education). Whatever the case, here goes . . .

Those who say that you can only gain access to an Ivy through merit have never attended an Ivy or done much reading on them. While they do a pretty good job of admitting exceptional and deserving students, exceptions are made all the time. Legacies, for starters. And if you read Harvard alum Daniel Golden's "The Price of Admission" you'll discover that celebrities also get a pass. This bring us to Yale. A couple years back there was a minor brouhaha when it admitted Euan Blair, Tony Blair's son, to a graduate program despite his undistinguished college record. With James Franco it has been reported that he told admissions officers he would pay his own way, allowing them to admit him independent of their fellowship slots.

As for the rest of Franco's academic pantheon, it's simply not possible to legitimately complete the number of graduate programs in which he has been simultaneously enrolled or the 62 credits he completed one term at UCLA. Do the math. He's not a genius. He is, however, good at leveraging celebrity and self-promotion.

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

04:21 AM on 04/25/2011

One additional piece that you left out is this: some graduate programs usually have some sort of "directed study/research" that students can participate in to complete credit hours. I'm sure his acting or screenwriting will take care of the 62 or so credit hours you spoke of in your post.

The only reason I bring it up is because a couple of actors recently completed degree programs that they left years ago by using their 'body of work' to satisfy some of their academic requirements. Adam Sandler and Jimmy Fallon both obtained degrees by using this 'hybrid' model of study and work experience.

I'm just impressed that this young man wants to pursue higher education and obtain a degree or two! It's a refreshing change of pace from what we usually see.

[poisonivied]

05:11 AM on 04/25/2011

I give credence to your general argument about celebrating education but I think the issue is not as cut and dried as such arguments, presented up and down the article thread by others, indicates.

I am familiar with "directed study/research." Unfortunately these are commonly abused by students. That is why academic departments have come to sharply limit the number of "directed study/research" credits that may be used to qualify toward a degree. I suppose it's in the eye of the beholder, but I don't think acting gigs he'd undertaken over the past several years should qualify for academic credit.

At UCLA, Franco apparently rarely was seen in class but instead had note-takers sit in on lectures and prepare study notes for him. One wonders what else these "note-takers" might have been doing for him. Master's programs are designed to take a subject area in depth while the PhD is for the lifetime pursuit of new areas of knowledge. Yet he's to be enrolled in two PhD programs virtually simultaneously? While dabbling in a potpourri of other graduate programs? And acting? Honestly, I think those praising Franco's academics don't sufficiently respect the PhD.

I agree with the folks who think prominent public figures, especially in high-profile arenas like entertainment and athletics, should celebrate learning. My issue with Franco is that I don't find the hype credible and I think his approach has made a mockery of higher education rather than a celebration of it.

[realpragmatist]

11:36 PM on 04/24/2011

James Franco seems to be the real deal.

With what he can accomplished, he could probably teach Masters or Phd degrees in his field, leave alone have the ability to do one. Before he even became a celebrity, let us remember that he got into and completed his undergraduate degree in a very selective and competitive school - UCLA.

You can't get into places like Yale, especially for Phd, without meritocracy. His extra-ordinary accomplishments will be considered as a factor for extra-ordinary extra-curricular activities needed (they look for a all-rounded person as there are multiple people who apply with great academic records from all over the world to these places), but he still needs to have great grades, great test scores etc, if not perfect.

The very fact he is trying to do one Phd when he has no need to garners my respect.

[doublerainbow]

07:37 PM on 04/24/2011

Does he do this over the internet. How can he be in so many places at one time?

[oldstuff]

04:50 AM on 04/24/2011

Hilarious. I love James Franco.

[sf girl]

01:47 AM on 04/24/2011

What school would turn down a high-profile actor? He's worth 10 times the cost of his tuition in free marketing!

[Olethea]

09:49 PM on 04/23/2011

Good for him. This dude is all about academics, and I applaud that.
Follow suit, kids!

[Ariadne789]

08:52 PM on 04/23/2011

Wonderful for James...If I had a million dollars and was a famous actor...do you think ANY college would reject my application for a PhD? Wonder if I apply they will PAY for my PhD.??? Probably not.

[Olethea]

09:52 PM on 04/23/2011

Where does it say that the institution is footing the bill?

You sound super jealous.