The Top 10 Weirdest College Majors
Monday, November 7, 2011
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When we’re young, the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is asked of us. Usually, the answers are impractical and even impossible. How many of us actually end up being astronauts and ballerinas? But there are a few college students out there who are sticking to their original goals—and they’ve got some pretty unusual majors to prove it.
We’ve compiled the weirdest and most pointless majors available to college students right now. Read on to find out what they are and to see if you agree by commenting below!
1. Folklore and Mythology (Harvard University)
Harvard University defines Folklore and Mythology as “The field of scholarship dealing with myths.” And they’re serious about practicing it. They’ve even got an entire website dedicated to the degree. A few required courses include Witchcraft and Charm Magic, Continuing Oral Traditions in Indigenous Communities, Hero and Trickster and African Women Storytellers. Students can choose to take the Folklore track or the Mythology track. It may not be the most common or practical major out there, but alumni who survived the Folklore and Mythology major at Harvard University share their stories and talk about what they’re doing with their degrees here.
2. Bowling Chasing Management (Vincennes University)
Do you love to bowl? Then Vincennes University might be the school for you. They offer a major in Bowling Chasing Management, including studies in Management Operations, Pinsetter and Lane Maintenance and Pro Shop Operations. You’d be way ahead of the game if you decided to make this your major, let alone be one of the few people at your alley with a college degree—or at least a degree in such a specific field!
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About the Author
Biography
Gabriela Szewcow is a freshman Print and Online Journalism major at Elon University in North Carolina. She is originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She is the Design Chief of Elon University’s award-winning newspaper, The Pendulum. She is also a designer for Elon’s yearbook and has a weekly radio show. She is a Spanish minor and hopes to study abroad in Spain sometime during her next three years at Elon. Some of her favorite things include York Peppermint Patties, Jane Austen novels, anything involving Hello Kitty and The Morning Benders. She hopes to someday be a page designer for a newspaper or magazine.
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Comments
How is wine-making a "weird" college major? Same goes for poultry science - it's science, isn't it?
West Virginia Uni offers a degree in puppetry lol
that course schedule must be interesting...
The majority of these majors are perfectly legitimate, not weird at all. While I'm not sure why one would major in Nannying or Poultry Science rather than Child Development or Agricultural Science, which seem to be slightly more intensive/ broader areas of study, things like enology, viticulture, art, engineering, cultural studies, and folklore are not all that unusual or worthless, especially if you know what you want to do with them.
Are you fricking kidding me?
Explain to me how Canadian Studies is any less legitimate or any more strange than taking any other cultural studies course. Canada is a country with history and culture, just as much as any other.
Would you have been so eager to point out the "weirdness" of American Studies, which is available at most prestigious universities across the USA, and at many universities in Canada? I doubt it.
It is vital for people to appreciate the value of studying any nation, and Canada is no exception.
I attend a small liberal arts campus in Toronto, where I have met many Americans, even in my Canadian studies classes.
I am insulted above all else as a Canadian. You should be embarrassed.
I think placing Canadian Studies alongside Professional Nanny and Bowling Management in this list is insulting. Why is studying the culture, languages, and history of Canada considered to be such a strange major? I know people majoring in South East Asian Studies, Russian Studies, American Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and yes, Canadian Studies. It's really not that unusual. They research extensively, write essays, debate issues, and read books just like any other major. I'll admit that there isn't a direct career path for someone researching one specific country/region, but I'm confident that they'll be better off in the long run than someone who spends 4 years of their life learning how to run a bowling alley or take care of children.
The information on "comic book art" is exceedingly inaccurate. Most of the mentioned classes are requirements for the illustration program at MCAD, not comics. Also, I'm sort of unsure as to why it says "continuing studies" as one can get a undergraduate degree as well as a masters in this major. It's also a gross exaggeration to say that comics are meant for a "dedicated niche audience". These sorts of statements give false information about the college, the medium, and ultimately comes off as uneducated and vaguely offensive.
3 out of the 4 classes you have listed for the comics program are actually illustration courses (though, most comics students do also take some illustration courses). Perhaps you could have included Experimental Comics, Character Development, or Storytelling.
Comics are not about targeting a niche market, and there is much more to the world of comics than just superheroes and newspaper strips. We are all here because we genuinely love what we do, not because "someone's gotta do it". That statement is absurd.
I found the majority of this article to be rather tactless.
Don't forget about the Turf grass Science major at The Ohio State University
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