October 15, 2012

The UCF film department is set to merge with the College of Arts and Humanities’ School of Visual Arts and Design this fall.

The merger will be complete by the end of the 2013 spring semester and will swell the undergraduate body of SVAD to 2,052 and graduate students to 54, Film Interim Chair Stephen Schlow said in an email.

Some of the disciplines film will be joining are fine art, digital media, photography and architecture. SVAD offers classes on UCF’s main campus, the downtown Center for Emerging Media and UCF’s Daytona Beach campus.

The office of the adviser, Kia Hollingsworth, will be moving from the Communication building to a private office in the Visual Arts building, but other faculty offices and the film equipment room will remain as they are.

With Hollingsworth’s help, film students will now be able to register for classes that are being offered through SVAD, like photography and digital media classes, that were not previously open to their major, Schlow said.

Jon Bowen, senior technician and operations manager of the UCF film department, said what will change in the long-term for the film program is yet to be determined. For now, “the faculty will be the same, the tracks and classes offered will be the same. We may move some personnel into different areas to consolidate bases,” Bowen said.

The details are still being worked out, Bowen said. There could be curriculum changes, but what the SVAD will have an impact on in the long run is still up in the air.

Read the full article at Central Florida Future