The department of theatre and film split last month into the department of theatre and the department of film and media studies.

The change came July 1, when the School of Fine Arts dissolved and reorganized into the new School of the Arts. The School of the Arts will include dance, visual arts, theatre, and film and media studies, and is now a part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The design department, which was part of the School of Fine Arts, was moved to the School of Architecture.

Tamara Falicov, chairperson and associate professor of film and media studies, said she was receiving e-mails from students concerned about all of the changes. She said they were worried all of the credit hours they took were in vain.

“This was a decision a long time coming,” Falicov said. “The fields have been changing and both departments are expensive. We thought it made more sense to get resources on our own.”

Part of the reorganization involved going through the curriculum, changing course numbers and deciding which classes belonged in which department, John Staniunas, chairman of the department and associate professor of theatre, said.

Students who have already completed course work or declared a film studies major or minor will be grandfathered in, meaning their curriculum will not change, Falicov said. Students who are new to the department as of July 1 will have a different curriculum that is more streamlined. This means there are fewer credit hours required than before so students can graduate in four years. Courses that used to be required for film studies majors, such as theatre 100, will no longer be required. The curriculum for the theatre department will remain the same.

Ian McFarland, Overland Park senior and film and media studies major, said he thought both departments would benefit from the changes because film at the University was focused on the study of film and theory, while theatre was more focused on theatre production.

“If separating the departments gives film more freedom, I’m all for that,” McFarland said.

Falicov said that because the departments were so closely related, they would still collaborate. Staniunas said he thought the change would make the relationship between the two departments even stronger.

“Now theatre students can minor in film and film students can minor in theatre,” Staniunas said. “This wasn’t possible before because the classes couldn’t count because they were all in the same department.”

Students interested in working in film are invited to an internship fair from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 8 at Oldfather Studios at the Hark Harvey soundstage.

Alumni and representatives from production companies in the area will be there to talk about internship opportunities available to students.

“We are expanding our horizons,” Falicov said.

­­—Edited by Amanda Thompson