LONDON: Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh has launched a bachelor’s degree in cinema and theater as part of the creation of a new department.

The Department of Cinema and Theater is part of the university’s College of Media and Communication.

The bachelor’s degree will train students in the arts of filmmaking and theater, while also ensuring that the content they produce is consistent with Saudi customs and culture.

Though details of the program have yet to be announced, the college is expected to offer courses in directing, filming and scriptwriting taught by both Arab and international experts.

The new department is part of a comprehensive academic restructuring of the university, which also includes the creation of new departments in cybersecurity, early childhood education, industrial engineering, psychiatry, radiology and translation.

The university has also merged the Higher Institute for Da’wah and Ihtisab with the College of Fundamentals of Religion under the new name of the College of Fundamentals of Religion and Da’wah.

Last year, Prince Saad bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud, dean of the College of Media and Communication, revealed the draft program in an interview with Arab News.

He said that the new degree would have a “direct positive impact” on the cinema and theater industry in the Kingdom through the training of a pool of skilled professionals.

The College of Media and Communication at IMSIU is one of the largest colleges in the Kingdom, and is the latest to cater to new specializations in the field.

A few years ago, the college launched a marketing advertising department, a graphics and multimedia department, in addition to departments covering journalism, radio and TV, and public relations.