CORRECTION APPENDED

A proposal for a new Ph.D. program in film and visual studies will be voted on by the full Faculty at its meeting next week.

The program would be an outgrowth of a current secondary field option for graduate students in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies (VES). If approved, the department plans to admit three students to begin in the fall of 2009.

Theda R. Skocpol, outgoing dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said the University will use resources already in place to launch the initiative.

“Harvard is well-equipped because of the Carpenter Center archive of film, and because of our distinguished faculty,” she said.

The proposal was presented yesterday to the Faculty Council, the 18-member governing body of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

German professor Judith L. Ryan, a Council member, said VES would not have to recruit new faculty or raise funds for the program.

“They have enough professors in place, and they will not need additional resources because essentially it is going to be a small graduate program,” Ryan said.

Participating students would be required to enroll in a minimum of 14 courses, several of which have already been developed for the secondary field, according to Ryan. Two seminars on the theory and history of film will form the backbone of the curriculum.

Currently, four other departments offer secondary fields for graduate students.

Skocpol said that if the Faculty approves the Ph.D. program, it would then have to go before the Graduate Policy Committee and the Committee on Graduate Education for approval. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW]

—Staff Writer Maxwell L. Child can be reached at mchild@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff Writer Alexandra Hiatt can be reached at ahiatt@fas.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION: The Dec. 6 news article “Film Profs Make Way For Ph.D. Program” incorrectly stated that a proposal for a new Ph.D. program in film and visual studies had not yet gained approval from the Graduate Policy Committee and the Committee on Graduate Education. In fact, the committees have approved the proposal, and it will go for a vote before the Faculty of Arts and Sciences next week.