15 Crazy College Courses that Actually Exist

1. Fast Food, Werewolves, and Other Victorian Obsessions

Believe it or not, this is a Nineteenth-Century British Literature course offered at Ball State University. Between McDonald’s and Teen Wolf, it seems like we have quite a bit in common with our English ancestors.

2. Joy of Garbage

Santa Clara University could have given this sustainability course a much duller title, but the way they phrased it reminds us there is still a bit of hope that we aren’t completely destroying the planet through pollution. Yet.

3. How to Win a Beauty Pageant

Oberlin College reminds us with this course that it’s possible to have both beauty and brains.

4. Tree Climbing

A professor once told me that he had a professor who taught outside from the top of a tree. She must have taken this course at Cornell University before becoming a teacher.

5. Lego Robotics

You might have to be a genius to get into MIT, but if you can pull it off, you can take this course, play with toys, and build robots at the same time.

6. How to Watch Television

I have a feeling I could easily test out of this Montclair University class.

7. Sport for the Spectator

This class at Ohio State is for the people who like to watch sports but maybe aren’t so great at playing them. Take this course in conjunction with How to Watch Television, and your house is bound to be the place for catching games on the weekends.

8. Arguing with Judge Judy

The course title may sound like bad advice, but if you love courtroom television and want to study the logic of its cases in depth, this Berkeley class is the course for you.

9. Create Your Own Religion

If you’re spiritual, this Alfred University course might be something you’d like. The class may require a bit more internal thought and philosophizing than, say, going to Build-a-Bear and creating your own stuffed animal, though.

10. Exorcism 101

For another religious course, head to Rome and take this class at Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University. The school is backed by the Vatican itself, making this course the most trustworthy source on how to expel evil spirits from other people’s bodies. Or your own.

11. Politicizing Beyoncé

If Bey is your bae, Rutgers is the place for you to be. The course dives into Beyoncé’s role as a feminist figure in pop culture and also explores the intersectionality of gender and race. Interesting stuff.

12. Elvis as Anthology

If Uncle Jesse from Full House went to the University of Iowa, he would have put his Elvis obsession to good use by taking this course. In this class students learn all about Rock and Roll and the musicians who started it all.

13. Mail-Order Brides

You won’t get a mail-order bride by completing this course, but John Hopkins University will sure teach you about them.

14. Reporting from the Twilight Zone

If you find regular journalism too hard-hitting and serious, this course at the College of Southern Nevada may strengthen your interest in the field. Learn about aliens and conspiracy theories. The truth is out there. It’s up to you to find it.

15. Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond

Admit it, we’ve all wondered what learning Klingon would be like at one time or another. It may not be a practical second language to learn, but the University of Texas knows that learning it sure would be fun.