Ah, it’s this time of the year again: university decisions have rolled in, and most of the seniors in your school probably know where they’re going for college. And of those, a large handful already knows exactly what they’re majoring in. Long gone are the days of incessant worrying over college acceptances, sleepless nights spent scrutinizing over personal statements, and hours pondering over resumes. As of now, the next four years are set for these seniors: they know where they’re going, what they’re doing, and they’re excited.
So, in celebration of this glorious, carefree, I’m-so-happy-because-I’m-actually-going-to-COLLEGE phase, let’s take a look at some of the strangest, wackiest, oddest college majors that some schools have to offer.
Cannabis Cultivation
The School: Oaksterdam University, CA
Yeah, you read that correctly. Oaksterdam University in Downtown Oakland, California offers you the chance to study how weed is grown—and major in it!FUN FACT: this entire university is dedicated to cannabis. Founded by medical marijuana activist Richard Lee in 2007, its mission is to “legitimize the business and work to change the law to make cannabis legal”.Apart from “Cannabis Cultivation”, Oaksterdam also offers courses such as“Careers with Cannabis”under the business department, “History of Marijuana”under the history department, and both “The Science of Cannabis” and “Methods of Ingestion” under the science department. If you’re looking for a true form of higher education, pay a visit to Oaksterdamthe next time you visit California.
Nannying
The School: Sullivan University, KY
Forget physicsor political science—why not major in being a nanny? Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky gives students the opportunity to turn those after-school babysitting jobs and summer nannyopportunities into a full-time career. After a twelve month long program of extensive study in areas such as infant-care techniques, model etiquette,first aid, and CPR methods, students will obtain their “Professional Nanny Diploma”.One unique feature of the Professional Nanny program is Sullivan’s “Hire a Nanny” service, in which students are paired with people and companies that are in need of a professional nanny. And in today’s economy, the ability to jump-start your career while in college is definitely a plus.
Decision-Making
The School: Indiana University Bloomington, IN
Can’t make up your mind about what you want to major in? Why not major in the major dedicated to making up your mind? IU Bloomington in Bloomington, Indiana offers a doctoral program in decision sciences that focuses on quantitative methods used to aid decision making in business environments. Students use mathematical models and analytical reasoning to examine problems in areas such as information technology, marketing, finance, and management. Students then use a number of mathematical techniques—including computer simulations, decision analysis, and artificial intelligence—to solve these problems. Is your mind made up now?
These are only a small pinch of the plethora of strange majors that exist. But, whether you’re majoring in Economics or Fermentation Sciences, Biology or Gunsmithing, Marketing or something as odd as Bakery Science (a real major offered at Kansas State University)—understand that you have the right to choose what you want to study. In the end, all majors can lead to a great career, and if you truly love what you’re doing it should all be worth it in the end.
This article originally appeared in the May/June,2014 issue of UNIT-E. It was written by Jessica Wang, a student at the International School of Beijing.
About UNIT-E
UNIT-E was founded in the spring of 2010 with the aim of establishing a non-profit, student-run magazine for international students in Beijing. Staffed by current students from a range of international schools, the magazine provides an amalgam of cultural tidbits, fragments of Beijing student life, and a broad spectrum of unique perspectives from a diverse group of young adults.
Photo courtesy of Franciso_Osorio Van_mij, familymwr, (Flickr)
