The Graduate Council granted approval yesterday for the creation of a new program in the School of Communications, the Master of Journalism.

Daniel Pfaff, associate professor of journalism and director of graduate studies, said the department is "ready to serve a steady interest in the major."

"We feel the faculty can confidently handle this," he said.

He said the major is for students who have an undergraduate degree in another field but want professional training.

The major is specifically designed for undergraduates who have not majored in journalism, said Brain Winston, dean of the School of Communications.

"It's a highly concentrated version of the undergraduate version, plus graduate level courses on history, ethics and law," he said.

In other business, Scott Sabol, Graduate Student Association representative to the council, said GSA has some concerns about the recent insurance report. He said questions about the specifics of the report have yet to be worked out and added "we hope to be part of the formulations."

Terry Etherton, chair of the Committee on Lecture Series, asked council to consider terminating the lecture series due to lack of attendance.

"Attendance has been very uneven . . . for the most part attendance has been dismal," said Senior Associate Dean Howard B. Palmer. "I don't want it to continue under those conditions."

Michael Hottenstein, a member of the council, suggested having different colleges sponsor some seminars to encourage students from these colleges to attend, but Etherton said "this may not solve the attendance problem."

GSA representative Heidi Thompson said the head of her department encourages students to attend speeches of interest or relevance to them.

The council will consider Etherton's suggestion but will not make a decision until a later date.

Raja Ramani, a member of the Committee on Fellowships and Awards, said the committee is waiting for approval from Vice Provost Gregory Knight's office for an award for outstanding teaching assistants.

"We will seek approval and then go ahead with the nominations," he said.

Four representatives from various University colleges and one Ph.D. candidate gave their opinions on the nature of doctoral dissertation.

Robert Bernlohr, professor of biochemistry, said the dissertation shows the student can frame problems and understand their results.

"The Ph.D. is a physical example of preparedness," he said. "It shows the student is ready."

One question raised was whether a student should be allowed to include previously published reports in their dissertation.

David Eggler, associate professor of petrology, said that science moves so rapidly one has to publish his findings as soon as they are made.

"If you haven't published several papers, you're not marketable," he said.

Council member Irwin Feller said "publication is not necessarily a measure of high-quality research."

Academics Committee Chair David Christy, who helped organize the session, said the session was a way to expose a number of different approaches to the doctoral dissertation.

Palmer said the graduate school is working on a year-long report about these different approaches and methods.