Dr. Andrew Dewaard

Associate Professor

Build a Statement of Purpose

Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Andrew Dewaard. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.

Biography

Andrew deWaard researches cultural industries, focusing on the political economy of media, the role of financial capital, and questions of media authorship. His primary methodology is rooted in critical political economy, heavily influenced by media studies, cultural studies, critical theory, and heterodox economics. He specifically analyzes how capitalism, financialization, racialization, and digitalization shape media systems and culture. His major projects include 'Derivative Media: Wall Street Devours Culture' (UC Press, 2024), which critically examines how the financial sector undermines the creative capacities of cultural industries while redistributing wealth upward and harming creative labor. He has also co-authored works such as 'Cinema Steven Soderbergh: Indie Sex, Corporate Lies, Digital Videotape' (Columbia University Press/Wallflower, 2013), exploring the works of director Steven Soderbergh. DeWaard is the co-founder of The Cultural Capital Project, a research initiative examining the landscape of independent music in the age of streaming and media consolidation. His work seeks to promote awareness and foster diverse media systems that oppose the homogenization imposed by corporate interests in cultural production.

Research Interests

Experience

Associate Professor

— Present

University of California, San Diego • La Jolla, California

string

Requirements for University of California, San Diego

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:85
IELTS
Overall
Required:7
Duolingo
Overall Score
Required:120
Overall
Required:120
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree in physical, biological, or earth sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Differential and integral calculus. One year of calculus-based physics with laboratory. One year of chemistry with laboratory.
Application Checklist
  • Statement of Purpose (max 2 pages)
  • Unofficial transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Application fee ($135 domestic / $155 international)
Specialization Notes

Administered by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Curricular groups include Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere (COAP), Geosciences (GEO), and Ocean Biosciences (OBP).