So, collegiettes™, you’ve already scoured your own university’s course catalog, and of course you’ve read Her Campus’s article on crazy classes nationwide. Now it’s time to take the wackiness thermostat down a notch — we’ve compiled a list of the coolest college classes out there. Enroll in any of the ten courses on this list and you’ll not only fulfill credits and learn new things, but you’ll really apply what you’ve learned to hands-on projects, too. Whether that means publishing your own magazine or replacing your professor with the next Andy Warhol, here’s a look at the real deal.
1.“Choral Singing and South Africa” – Williams College
Williams is one of several colleges that incorporate a month-long term between semesters, called “Winter Study.” After two weeks of on-campus preparation, Williams students enrolled in this cultural music class will head over to South Africa to put what they’ve learned into practice. As the course description casually phrases it, students will perform “for and with Sinikithemba, a Durban choir-affiliated with a local hospital in which all members are HIV-positive. We also intend to perform with and for a choir of inmates at Polsmoor prison in Cape Town.” Definitely beats singing “Waka Waka” from the confines of your dorm room.
2. “Magazine Editing and Publishing” – Boston College
For collegiettes™ who want to get some publishing experience but don’t have time for an internship, this Boston College class provides similar experiences during the academic year. BC ’11 grad Allison Lantero took the class during a previous semester and had a fabulous experience: “We had to come up with a concept for a magazine, write a business proposal, a mission statement, make a layout, write articles, and the final project was to actually make three copies of our magazine,” she said. And while this sounds like an intimidating workload, Allison assures us, “it was a very good introduction into the magazine world.”
3.“Designing an Environment for Design” – University of Notre Dame
Ever feel like what you’re studying is pointless? What if your classmates were to walk around in it? According to the University of Notre Dame’s course description, a handful of top design students will be chosen this year to “gather and process data and considered needs in order to produce a detailed proposal for a cross-disciplinary research environment” — that the school actually plans to build! After being carefully planned out by Notre Dame students themselves, this research environment will be set up in the Stinson-Remick Engineering Building on the university’s campus.
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4.“iPhone and iPad Application Programming” – Stanford University
Stanford’s Computer Science department received acclamation for this class when it was listed as in Inc.com’s “Best Entrepreneurship Classes in America” in 2010. Stanford took the hint and has continued to offer “iPhone and iPad Application Programming” regularly, but the story doesn’t end there. Students can also choose classes like “Stanford Laptop Orchestra,” “Android Programming” and “General Game Playing,” for which students “create GGP systems to compete with each other and in external competitions.” So while their boyfriends may brag about winning Haloevery time, Stanford collegiettes™ can program the next version instead. LOL.
5. “Collaborative Composition in London” – Vanderbilt University
When Vanderbilt’s Music department titled this course “collaborative,” they weren’t kidding. A “workshop between student composers and performers, with faculty mentorship” already sounds better than your typical lecture. Now throw in a Spring Break trip to the Royal Academy of Music in London, plus a week with RAM students at Vanderbilt, and you’ve got a recipe for one truly exceptional experience.
6. “Entrepreneurship” – Clark University
Think you need years of experience and an M.B.A. to be business savvy? Not true! Clark University gets its students started early by way of its Entrepreneurship Capstone. Students are required to develop a business plan and eventually deliver their concept to a panel of professionals. “It’s a really popular class,” says sophomore Emily Neubig. “The requirement is that you create your own start-up and you actually do it. We have a thrift store on campus that was started through that program.” Yet another way to start a business as a collegiette™.
7. “Practical Malting and Brewing” – University of California—Davis
If collegiettes™ out in California are looking for a new bar to hit up, they should take a peek inside a classroom! UC Davis incorporates the study of alcohol production in its “Food Science & Technology” department. Students who enroll in “Practical Malting and Brewing” meet weekly for both lectures and labs during which they “perform pilot brews for the purpose of identifying the impact of raw materials and process conditions on performance and quality.” No fake ID required.
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8.“Exceptional Children” – College of William and Mary
Miss elementary school recess? Take Psychology at the College of William and Mary, where students not only learn about adequate care of exceptional children but will also actually work with them. As the course description states, students will gain “practical experience in field settings with exceptional children.” It’s like babysitting tiny geniuses for credit.
9. “The Broadcast Commercial” – Marist College
Want to write the next hilarious Super Bowl commercial? The Communications department at Marist involves its students with national brand campaigns to prepare them for the real thing. “The Broadcast Commercial,” according to the Marist course catalog, provides “practice in using accepted commercial formats and preparation of concepts to national broadcast standards. Student teams prepare complete television/radio campaigns for national brands.” You don’t take notes on advertising, you just do it!
10. “Arts in Los Angeles” – Occidental College
As if we weren’t already jealous of the beautiful weather, hot stars and sandy beaches, L.A. is also full of rising artists and cutting-edge art. And Occidental isn’t missing out. Its course description is pretty short — because students don’t really know what to expect: “topics…will engage directly with current exhibitions, events, and issues relevant to the artistic culture of Los Angeles.” At least you know who your professor is, right? Nope! This truly spontaneous course is “to be taught by visiting curators, critics, art historians or artists focused on some aspect of the arts in Los Angeles.”
Picture Sources:
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1200271
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kj-sMTT2vMU/TbpDiSnrsCI/AAAAAAAAADM/srMHJbqYHHs/s1600/iphone-3gs.jpg
Sources:
Allison Lantero, Boston College ’11
Emily Neubig, Clark University ’14
http://foodscience.ucdavis.edu/undergrad/courses/fst-102b
http://www.bc.edu/crs/en/course/en67100.shtml
http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/CourseSearch/search?page=4&catalog=&q=CS&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&view=catalog&filter-catalognumber-CS=on&collapse=
http://www.inc.com/ss/best-entrepreneurship-courses-america#2
http://catalog.clarku.edu/search_advanced.php?cur_cat_oid=4&search_database=Search&search_db=Search&cpage=1&ecpage=1&ppage=1&spage=1&tpage=1&location=33&filter[keyword]=cap+5802
http://www.oxy.edu/Documents/PDFs/Catalog/OxyCourseCatalog_2011-12.pdf
http://www.wellesley.edu/Courses/coglingsci.pdf
http://web.williams.edu/Registrar/winterstudy/courseinfo/courses12.html#MUS25
http://www.marist.edu/registrar/catalog/pdfs/undergrad1112/coursedescrip.pdf
http://www.wm.edu/as/psychology/undergradprogram/courses/coursedescriptions/index.php
https://ssb.cc.nd.edu/pls/BNRPROD/bwckctlg.p_disp_course_detail?cat_term_in=201110&subj_code_in=DESN&crse_numb_in=43200
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/catalogs/undergrad/UGAD.pdf