In 1957, an undergraduate interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts program in American Studies was established under the direction of Dr. Alma Payne of the Department of English, who was named as the first faculty joint appointment in English and American Studies. This program was expanded in 1964 to include a Master of Arts. The B.A. and M.A. in American Studies were the first two non-departmental, interdisciplinary degrees offered at the University. BGSU established the American Culture Studies PhD program in 1978, drawing on the resources of existing doctoral programs in English, History, Sociology, and Communications as well as on the faculty of BGSU's Department of Popular Culture. From its inception, the ACS PhD program had a strong interdisciplinary focus, drawing faculty from across the BGSU campus and attracting students from across the US and world. Today the ACS program is the flagship program for interdisciplinary study in the humanities and social sciences at BGSU and a leading innovator in the cultural studies field nationally.