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Back to school – 10 unique majors that just might make you want to go back!

It’s back to school time and college kids everywhere are jamming their things into moving vans and making their way back the dorms. Now that the house is quiet, we thought it might be fun to see what kind of majors are out there besides Organic Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and English Lit!

10 unique college programs worth going back for

Photo: Unsplash, Jeff Sheldon

We’re located in Boston where the term “back to school” takes on a whole different meaning. With over 80 colleges preparing to open their doors to thousands of enquiring minds, the student rush resembles the wilderbeast migration. Literally, anything can happen (you can even get “Storrowed”!)

With all that brainpower we wondered what kids are studying these days. What’s new and different in academia? Well, we found 10 unique majors that would have us excited to stand in line at the school bookstore again (What?!! You used to have to go to a bookstore?)!

Unique college major - motor sport racing

Photo: Unsplash, Sergei Boldt

MOTOR SPORT RACING – Love the speed and action of auto racing? New York’s Alfred State has a Motorsports Technology curriculum that promises success in any form of motor racing including track, rally, road and drag racing.

interesting major #2 Band instrument repair

Photo: Unsplash, Mariusz Prusaczyk

BAND INSTRUMENT REPAIR – If you were a band kid in high school you know those instruments take a beating.  Students earning a certificate or an Associates in Band Instrument Repair at Washington state’s Renton Technical College learn how to repair and maintain woodwind, brass and percussion instruments used in big bands. If interested, students may want to go to the gym first as one of the curriculum requirements is the ability to lift heavy instruments!

unique college major - viticulture

Photo: Unsplash, Roberta Sorge

VITICULTURE AND OENOLOGY – it’s always 5pm somewhere in the world! And that’s the problem – the consumption of wine has been growing like a weed (and these days, we can say, yes, that kind of weed)! The world’s vineyards needs talented co-eds who can help them with the lifecycle of wine – from growing the grapes to producing the wine to selling it. At Cornell University, you’ll learn about soils, pests, grape varietals, and growing markets – -and this is one major where studies abroad are highly encouraged!

unique college major - gastronomy

Photo: Unsplash, Brooke Lark

MASTERS OF LIBERAL ARTS IN GASTRONOMY – Yum!  A program of studies co-founded by Jacques Pépin and Julia Child?  Need we say more? After getting a bachelor’s in V&E (see above), get yourself to Boston University to sign up and cook up!.

unique college major - bag piping

Photo: Carnegie Mellon

BAG PIPING – Earning a 4-year degree in the art of Bagpiping Performance at Carnegie Mellon is one of the more unique programs to be found at CMU thanks to Scottish founders Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon! Just hope your roommate doesn’t choose this one!

Unique college major - sports ministry

Photo: Unsplash, Ben White

SPORTS MINISTRY – A degree in sports ministry from Indiana Wesleyan University educates students how to minister to Christian needs in an athletic environments like sports camps, Christian after school programs, YMCA’s, etc., Halleluiah!

Unique college major - special make-up effects

Photo: Douglas Education Center

SPECIAL MAKE-UP EFFECTS PROGRAM – Students learn special make-up effects from artist Tom Savini who is known for his work in movies like Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th.  Classes like Hair & Beard Application and Zombie prosthetics promise a very unusual post-grad job!  Sign up at Pennsylvania’s Douglas Education Center.

unique college major - strategic intelligence

STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE – This major, taught by James Bond…(just kidding)! Seriously, this is a serious program of studies from Patrick Henry College. Students are educated to manage and analyze national and international intelligence while giving them practical skills to work in the military, homeland security or the intelligence community fields.

Unique college major - surf science and technology

Photo: Unsplash, Thomas Ashlock

SURF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – We just want to know if you get to graduate in your swim trunks for this one! A 2-year Surf Science and Technology degree from
Cornwall College in the UK teaches students all aspects of the surfing industry from computer aided design of boards to the ecology and management of the coastal environment.

Unique college masters program - digital social media

Photo: Unsplash, William Iven

SOCIAL MEDIA – While that may sound like getting a major in telephone calls or writing notes to friends, social media is clearly a much bigger phenomenon. Companies use social media to sell as well as gather information about their customer. Social media sites are used by government agencies and nonprofits to share with and collect information from people. One can get a Masters degree in Social Media from the famed Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at USC, and the best part of this major for those pursuing it is that they are already good at it!

Are you studying a unique major?  What is the most unusual college major or masters program you have ever heard of?  Let us know in the comment section!