Baker University students interested in film studies will be able to take advantage of a new minor next fall.

Cinema Studies will require 15 semester hours including four core classes and at least one production course.

Director of Cinema Studies Mark Kirk said the minor would expand on existing and proposed cinema courses.

“(Cinema Studies) will include a focus of skills and students will learn how film works,” Kirk said. “The minor is not just theory and appreciation, but will require at least one production course.”

The four core courses will be The Cinematic Language, History of Cinema, International Cinema and American Genre Film.

Students can choose from Audio and Video Production, Cinematography and Visual Effects, Documentary Production or Special Topics in Film to fulfill the production course requirement.

Kirk said the new minor would be a good addition for any student interested in film studies, especially in graduate school.

“It’s a big addition to the university to have the minor,” Kirk said.

Kirk said several students throughout the past years as well as current students have expressed interest in adding a cinema studies minor to Baker’s curriculum.

Sophomore Keith Gaboury said he is looking into finishing the requirements for the minor, several of which he has already completed.

“My first semester (at Baker) I took a film course because I thought it was interesting,” Gaboury said. “I kept taking courses and just kind of fell in to it.”

Gaboury said he feels the minor is a beneficial addition to the university.

“I think that a lot of people think just watching film is fun, but there’s a lot more to see when you consider what films mean and how they work,” Gaboury said. “(Cinema Studies) adds a new academic level and shows Baker is expanding.”

Senior Jeremy Hogue said he thinks a variety of students will be able to take advantage of the new minor.

“I think it would be beneficial to some of the media majors who are specializing in film as well as people who are wanting to be actors,” Hogue said.

Students interested in the minor should contact Kirk at ext. 558.

–Additional reporting by Amber Hall