As the job market has gotten tougher, many people with Bachelor's degrees are thinking about enrolling in Graduate School, but the question is, what to study? Some people chose to law school, or think about getting a Master's in their career field, but if you want to try something new, take a look at some of these odd graduate programs.
5 weird advance degree programs-
Pop Culture- Bowling Green State University in Ohio is offering this Master of the Arts in Popular Culture program. The University is home to the Ray and Pat Browne Library for Popular Culture Studies, which contains an extraordinary collection of popular print materials ranging from hardcover best-sellers to movie posters and television scripts. According to their site, graduates in this program often go on to Ph.D programs in folklore, history, English and American Studies.
Turf Grass Management- Every stadium wants to be sure that they have the best turf for their sports, and I guess that graduates in this field are just who they are looking for. What I find surprising is that there are many colleges that offer this as an undergraduate program. For example, Penn State University has its very own Center for Turfgrass Science. As for their Masters program, most of the schools offer several choices in this discipline, Soil Science, Pest Management or Turfgrass Biology.
Thanatology- This one is by far the creepiest field of study. According to Wikipedia, Thanatology “ is the academic, and often scientific, study of death among human beings. It investigates the circumstances surrounding a person's death, the grief experienced by the deceased's loved ones, and larger social attitudes towards death such as ritual and memorialization. It is primarily an interdisciplinary study, frequently undertaken by professionals in nursing, psychology, sociology, psychiatry, social work.” Hood College in Maryland offers this graduate program designed to train those interested in providing end of life care or counseling.
Bakery Science- Kansas State University offers a Masters of Grain Science and Industry. It sounds yummier than it actually is, as the program is designed to teach topics like the milling and baking properties of wheat, cereal chemistry and experimental dough. I have to admit, the course titled Starch Chemistry, scares me a little!
Conflict Resolution- To be fair, as corporations become larger, it becomes more important to have someone on staff who can help resolve conflicts before they even occur. Georgetown University offers a Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution. According to their site, “The program’s broad themes trace the three basic stages of conflict processes including the origins of disputes, mediation and negotiation, and post-conflict peace building. Students examine intergroup, community and global perspectives of conflict resolution while exploring topics such as the role of religion in conflict and conciliation, alternative dispute resolution, multiparty negotiations, workplace conflict resolution, third party intervention in civil conflicts, and emerging norms in the resolution of international conflict.” Graduates from this program often go on to be corporate mediators, or work in government.
So, no matter what it is that you have a passion for, there is sure to be something that you would love to study. Even though common wisdom say that you should get the most marketable degree you can, there is still much to be said for following your dreams ad finding a niche that suits you best.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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