Top 10 Weirdest College Degrees And Their Uses
Source: Flickr.com (Illinois Springfield)
1). Comedy Writing And Performance
This program is offered at University of Southern California and it is be launched this fall (2013) at Columbia College Chicago in collaboration with the Second City, the famed improvised comedy troupe based in Chicago.
The goal of this program is to teach students how to “study funny”. For Columbia College, “Columbia’s location in Chicago, arguably the most active and influential city in the world of improvisation and sketch comedy, makes the college uniquely suited to offer a comedy concentration,” said Warrick L. Carter, president of Columbia College Chicago, in announcing the new program.“The degree was created in response to student interest in experiential learning in the field of comedy at a time when such programs are rare,” added Carter.
Those opting for this program will be suitable to work at movie theaters and in many other entertainment industries.
2). Racetrack Management
The Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona is the only program of its kind, providing students with the background necessary for a number of career paths in the horse racing industry. Should students choose the “animal path,” they will graduate prepared to work as a horse trainer or breeder. Those opting for the “business path” will be suited to work on the management side of the industry.
So how do students fare in the real world after graduating from this unique program? According to Douglas Reed, the program’s director, graduates do pretty well.
“We have a placement rate in excess of 80 percent immediately upon graduation, and [students] receive jobs in all facets of the industry due to the nature of the two paths and the broad-based knowledge they receive,” Reed says.
He continues…
“Some students start at a racetrack in midlevel management or entry-level jobs; others work with the horses either on farms or at the track for a trainer. Still others enter the business in related companies [like those] that process wagers or service the industry.”
Interested in finding out more about what can be done with the degree? A list of alumni can be found on the program’s website.
3). Packaging
Students who enroll in one of the nation’s few undergraduate packaging programs don’t spend four years learning to think outside the box. They learn to think about the box. A degree in packaging teaches students how to create the most economically, aesthetically, environmentally and technically sound packages for consumer goods.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, graduates of its packaging program go on to work for companies including Snap-on Tools, Frito-Lay, Kohler and FedEx. In a survey on 2009 graduates of the UWS program, in the months after graduation, 95 percent of packaging graduates were employed, 90 percent in a field related to their major.
4). Professional Nanny
Professional nannies care for children in private residences, daycare centers or hospitals, among other places. Sullivan University offers an online degree in what they believe is a growing concern: ”nannying”.
Sullivan University’s Professional Nanny program emphasizes real-world experience, gained through three required externships.
The program is an approved member of the American Council of Nanny Schools (ACNS) and the International Nanny Association (INA).
The school is producing Professional Nanny Graduates who they believe are skilled, educated and “ready to join your team as an in-home childcare provider.”
Nannying can be a high-paying job if you manage to find a stable position with a good family. Having a degree in Professional Nannying will give you a leg up on the competition, but crossing over into another profession with this degree won’t be easy.
5). Viticulture And Enology
In layman’s terms, Cornell University’s Viticulture and Enology Program is its school of grapes and wine. Though the school began offering course work in the discipline in the early 1990s, viticulture and enology only recently became an official major. Program coordinator Kari Richards says about 35 students are majoring and 20 are minoring in the program.
“Of the approximately 20 graduates over the past five years, the majority are involved in the industry,” Richards says. “Some have continued enology-related studies in graduate school, others travel worldwide to gain experience in harvest and crush, [and a] few will or have returned to the home winery/vineyard.”
6). Puppetry
The University of Connecticut is one of only two schools in the US to offer an undergraduate degree in puppetry arts, and the only school in the country offering a master’s program. According to the program’s website, enrollment is limited to 22 students, who take classes such as “Trends in Contemporary American Puppetry” and “Marionette Construction.”
According to the site, “graduates of the program perform and design for theaters around the world; appear in, build for and manage internationally recognized television programs and films; write books; design toys; teach children; and direct prominent schools and museums.”
7). Decision Making
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business offers a doctorate in decision sciences, a program designed to help future business leaders analyze information and make decisions. Though the name may make this degree sound like fluff, the course of study is tough. According to the program’s website, “Decision sciences is devoted to the study of quantitative methods used to aid decision making in business environments. Using mathematical models and analytical reasoning, students examine problems … and learn how to solve these problems by using a number of mathematical techniques, including optimization methods (linear, integer, nonlinear), computer simulation, decision analysis, artificial intelligence and more.”
8). Comic Art
Comic Art is a major offered in the four-year bachelor of fine arts degree program at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Minneapolis College of Art and Design BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) curriculum is rooted by Core Four-fundamental courses that are structured to enrich each student’s professional development over four years.
Comic artists at MCAD master the serious art of storytelling. That means studying line, color, and composition, as well as character development, storyboarding, and plot. Today’s comics cover everything from the incredible to the mundane. And with many comic artists now using the internet to create and display their work, the future of comics is as unknown as it is exciting.
9). Retail Floristry
Mississippi State University, City College of San Fransisco, Oklahoma State University and some other Universities in the US offer degrees in floristry management. Floral Management involves sourcing, purchasing, distributing, marketing, designing with, and selling floricultural products. Students enrolled in this concentration are provided with courses in design and horticulture, balanced with business and sciences. Career opportunities for graduates include retailing, wholesaling, special event designing, and display gardening.
10). Turfgrass Management
Michigan State University is one of a handful of schools in the US that offer a turfgrass specialization. Under its College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, students in the MSU program learn to maintain golf-course greens, athletic fields and parks by taking classes such as “Golf Turf Irrigation”, “Management of Turfgrass Weeds” and “Plant Genetics”. Graduates of the program have nabbed some pretty notable jobs too. According to Jill Cords, a career consultant with the college, two alumni faced off at last year’s World Series. One alumnus was a groundskeeper for the Texas Rangers, and the other was working for the San Francisco Giants.
