It's one small step for the university and one profound development for the Fine Arts department.

On Jan. 26, the Board of Regents officially proclaimed the University of Arizona theater department the School of Theater Arts.

A school, as opposed to a department, must have a multi-disciplinary curriculum. For example, schools of music occur commonly in universities because of the assorted instruction they offer. Should classes in marimba arrangement and opera singing be classified in the same department? Maybe not, but they do fit into the same school.

The School of Theater Arts offers students more than 300 majors. Courses range from acting theory to set design and theater technology.

"We teach 20 different sections of acting every semester," said Albert Tucci, director of the School of Theater Arts.