By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin Staff
A recent grant will allow the UCLA Film and Television Archive
to embark upon a new graduate program that will be the first of its
kind in North America.
The archive, which is the largest university-based collection in
the world, received a two-year grant of $138,234 from the National
Endowment for the Humanities to fund a master’s degree
program in Moving Image Archive Studies.
There are few comparable programs in the world, with one located
at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, United Kingdom.
“This establishes UCLA as the definitive leader and
standard-setter for archival education,” said Steven Ricci,
head of research and study for the archive. “Our model will
be emulated by other universities.”
Already approved by the university, the program is still
awaiting approval from the University of California. According to
Ricci, hearings for the program may be held in late September.
Pending systemwide approval, the program will be a joint effort
between the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media and
the Department of Information Studies.
The two-year master’s program, scheduled to begin in fall
2002 if approved, will admit 10 students its first year. Applicants
for the degree will follow the same procedure as any other
master’s program at UCLA.
The interdepartmental program will be guided by a committee of
faculty members from both departments. Courses will include film
restoration and cataloguing, and students will have digital access
to film archives.
The program must also continue to pursue other sources of
funding, according to Cornelia Emerson, development and public
affairs officer of the archive.
NEH, an independent federal agency that promotes knowledge of
human history, thought and culture throughout the United States,
offered an additional $110,000 in matching funds if the program can
raise that much money alone.
“Over the course of the next two years, we’ll be
thinking of other places that we can go to get money in support of
that program,” Emerson said.
The archive, housed in the College Library, is home to more than
220,000 films and television programs as well as millions of feet
of newsreel footage. It is responsible for preserving nearly 300
feature films, more than 100 television programs and 1,000-plus
short subjects, screen tests and trailers.
Many of the titles are available for public access and can be
searched through the Orion library database.
“Moving images are a predominant part of contemporary
life, and who is going to be entrusted with the job of safeguarding
those images in the long term is at the core of this
program,” Ricci said.
For information on the Moving Image Archive Studies program, go
to http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/.