扒一扒美国大学里最独特的课程和专业,你会选吗?-新东方前途出国

扒一扒美国大学里最独特的课程和专业,你会选吗?

2020.03.18浏览来源：新东方前途美国本科留学原创

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摘要：Other than the most popular STEM and art majors, many colleges offer unique, sometimes unheard of, programs that are fascinating to learn.

作者：Selina Cheung

Other than the most popular STEM and art majors, many colleges offer unique, sometimes unheard of, programs that are fascinating to learn. So if you are looking for something fun to take during college or thinking of pursuing a higher education after college, here are some suggestions for you.

Noteworthy Course & Program

1.“To Hogwarts, Harry: An intensive study on Harry Potter through the British Isle” Major at Central Michigan University

Looking for Platform 9 3/4 to learn more about Hogwarts? Well, the Amtrak to East Lansing Campus at Central Michigan University would offer a similar magical experience. Harry” program will “jet to England to follow in Harry's footsteps, to behold the Scottish glen where Hagrid's Hut stood and to shop at the Leadenhall Market that gave inspiration to Diagon Alley” (Tomar, The Quad).

There is no better way for one to learn about the great wizard than to physically immerse oneself in the Great Britain, the origin of Harry Potter. However, this two-week intensive study-abroad program is rather exclusive, for it is reserved for Honors English students only.

2.“Wasting time on internet” course at University of Pennsylvania

That’s right, probably only Ivy league colleges can get away with offering courses like this to students WITH CREDITS. For this course, students will meet every Wednesday for three hours to browse the internet aimlessly.

Then students will draw topics from social media posts, comments and trending articles to create in-class group discussions about possible literary content. Though the class might seem simple and leisure compare to other classes offered at UPenn, it is actually inspired by thinkers like Betty Friedan, Erving Goffman, and John Cage, attempting to create a new way of knowledge learning through time-wasting.

3. “Politicizing Beyoncé” Course at Rutgers University

According to Rutgers, this course is offered as a “Featured Program” at Rutgers University, “Politicizing Beyoncé” uses “the massively successful pop singer's lyrics and videos as a lens through which to view the dynamics of gender, race, power, and popular culture”. The course focuses mainly on using Beyoncé's work to dissect the lives and experiences of black women in today's society.

With success in arts & commerce and influence in politics, Beyoncé is an iconic figure that can truly impact the world. I don’t know about you, but I am interested in finding out how she “run(s) the world” while waking up everyday looking “flawless”.

4. “Semester at Sea” Programs at Colorado State University

Semester at Sea (SAS) is a cruise ship turned floating college that sails around the world for four months. Participants get to experience different parts of the world while earning 12-15 academic credits from Colorado State University. Each of the Voyage lasts around 100 days, and students can travel to 4+ continents, 10+ Countries and Cities.

According to student who has participated in this program numerous times, possible adventures include shark cage diving in Cape Town, South Africa, visiting New Orleans during Mardi Gras and stargazing in the middle of the Atlantic. So if you want to acquire a life-time experience by exploring and meeting people from all over the world during college years, I would strongly recommend this program!

Unique Major

1. Global Disease Biology Major (University of California, Davis)

Though Coronavirus has only been around for less than sic months, the “Global Disease Biology” major has existed for quite some time at University of California, Davis.What makes this major unique is that it combines multiple areas of disciplines such as epidemiology and biology. Students in this program are prepared to tackle diseases that affect world populations as well as “future careers in medicine, veterinary medicine and public health (UC Davis)”.

2. “Viticulture and Enology” (University of California, Davis)

Due to its location near the vineyards of the Napa Valley, University of California, Davis also has a related academic programs that focus on the twin sciences of grape cultivation and winemaking. According to the major description, this cool major is quite challenging, since it combines fundamental classes in chemistry, math, physics, biochemistry and microbiology with a biological curriculum that could include plant pathology, plant physiology, soil science, entomology and meteorology. With more than 100 years of history and related studies, Davis’ “Viticulture and Enology” program truly has had plenty of time to age.

3. Doctor of Philosophy in Decision Sciences (Indiana University)

This program in not only for indecisive people, but also for those seek to make better life decisions in general. This program teaches students how to make the best decisions in various contexts and settings. The curriculum focuses on providing guidance in areas such as theoretical principles, which serve as the basis of decision modeling and the application of psychological elements in the decision making process.

4. Theme Park Engineering (California State University Long Beach)

For a person working at a café, a nightmare is when the coffee machine breaks down right before the morning rush hour. However, a nightmare for a person who designs the Ferris Wheel is to see it come loose from its bearings, rolls through downtown and crushes people’s home. That being said, if one plans on taking on grand amusement park projects, one should know how to calculate the exact needed measurements, detect and resolve any potential problems. Not only because it is a serious matter of life and death, but also because people are looking for thrilling and exciting rides.

At California State University in Long Beach, one can get the training and education that is needed for designing amusement park rides by successfully earning the Bachelor of Science in Engineering with an Option in Theme Park Engineering. According to Cal State University Long Beach, courses for completing the requirements of this degree include “Hydraulic and Pneumatic Control’ and “Foci in electrical, civil and mechanical engineering”.

5. Bagpiping (Carnegie Mellon University)

Carnegie Mellon University’s bagpiping program traces back to the Scottish American heritage of the university’s name, Andrew Carnegie. Its commitment to an instrument that might best be described as “the sound of sick cats being tortured” makes CMU the top destination in the U.S for aspiring bagpipers. As the only University to offer a Master’s degree in the bags, CMU will draw three bag pipers from its class every year. Three might not sound like a lot, but putting all of them in a room together with their instruments and uniforms and I guarantee they will make a scene.

References

Boyle, Justin. "9 unique majors for adventurous College Students." The Degree 360. Online degree.com, 12 Jun 2013. Web. 9 Mar 2020.

<https://www.onlinedegrees.com/degree360/student-focus/10-unique-majors-for-adventurous-college-students.html>

Tomar, David. "25 Unique (Possibly Even Crazy) Courses of Study | The Quad Magazine." TheBestSchools.org: Finding the best school for you. The Quad, Web. 7 Mar 2020.

<http://thebestschools.org/magazine/crazy-courses-of-study-part-1/>.

"Study Abroad Voyages." Semester at Sea. Institute for Shipboard Education, Web. 9 Mar 2020.

<http://semestratsea.org/voyages>.

本文作者

Selina Cheung

纽约大学Stern商学院

Tisch艺术学院表演专业课程

现任前途出国美国本科资深文书顾问，常春藤项目外籍导师。Selina拥有超过10年的海外留学经验。她用三年的时间出色完成了纽约大学Tisch艺术学院表演专业课程和Stern商学院课程，并获得高额奖学金。丰富的留学经历和职业经验让她能够给予学生全面的职业规划建议。曾帮助多名学生拿到过康奈尔大学、范德堡大学、加州大学洛杉矶分校、加州大学伯克利分校、埃默里大学、北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校、卫斯理大学、哈弗福德学院、弗吉尼亚大学、罗切斯特大学、加州大学圣地亚哥分校、加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校、纽约大学、布兰迪斯大学等学校的录取。

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