Strange Undergrad Classes

[stick91]

I'm filling out my classes for VMCAS and lovingly remembered a class from my sophomore year simply titled "Death"

It was part of our "Core" program, 3 semesters of humanities. This was one of the second semester options, joint taught by a history and philosophy prof and pretty much all about death.

Any other kinda strange or unique undergrad classes out there? Think that something like that would come up in an interview?

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[zpinkpanther]

Hmm. I don't know if this is entirely unique, but I took a class at my undergrad that was called "Humanity in Medicine." It was all about the doctor-patient relationship and was a really special class for pre-meds (and one pre-vet: me!) that only had 10 students and the school only offered it once, so I'm really lucky that I got in. It was a three-hour one night a week; the first hour each week we had a guest speaker and then the other two hours we discussed the book we'd read. They were mostly books about how doctors and patients interact, both positive and negative accounts. I remember when we read Wit, the play, and after we'd read it, we watched the movie with Emma Thompson and by the end the entire class was in tears.

Anyway, big tangent over. That class was neat, though!

 

[CalpardNY]

We had classes like both of those. We had a minor called healthcare and society and one of the classes was health psychology (we read Wit in that class). The minor also included religion ethics classes, and an 7 week interim trip i took to London.

We also have a unique core program that has "first year seminar" and "Values in Science and Technology" classes that are unique. They are often interdisciplinary or special interests of professors. One was Death and Dying. The ones i took were "The Science and Culture of Testing" (all about how valid and reliable standardized, psychological, etc tests were) and "Cancer - from cause to cure". Other random ones included "Jewish Humor", "The Dog course"..etc etc the list goes on and on.

I also took an anatomy of vision class that was pretty amazing. Its not that strange but it was fun. A lot of my neuroscience classes had awesome projects and experiments. Im blanking on some of the weirder/odder ones.

Ok sorry for the long tangent - i probably should go to bed!

 

[athenaparthenos]

I had a great class in biology, a special seminar that consisted of a research project and a 45-minute presentation. The class was called "Animal Adhesion" and I did a report on the different kinds of frog tongues, and I did research on Madagascar hissing cockroaches and their tarsal pads that allowed them to cling to walls. I got to do all sorts of goofy things, like tying string around the cockroaches and measuring the force it took to pull them off a table, or cutting off their feet to look under the scanning electron microscope, or -- my favorite -- putting them on a 78 RPM record player and seeing at what RPM the cockroaches flew off! XD Definitely an awesome class.

 

[VeganChick]

I had signed up for a required Freshman Seminar called "Science Fiction and Fantasy." Sounds good, huh? Well, just before school started, the professor died (no kidding!) and the only professor who volunteered to teach a seminar made us take "Scandinavian Literature." It was awful.

 

[winkle1983]

I took a Freshman seminar called "Love and Friendship"...it was critiquing literature that dealt with, you guessed it, love and friendship. I also took "The Philosophy of Religion". I thought it would be more religion than philosophy....good grief it was one of the toughest classes, and yet one of the best classes I've taken. I always was asked about that class in my interviews. "why did you take that?"..."what did you learn?"...stuff like that.

 

[pressmom]

Before I became a hardcore scientist (Grrrrr), I took the Biology of Dinosaurs as a science credit for non-majors. It was actually pretty fun! I also took a class called "American Marriage" for my cultural anthropology minor. Unsurprisingly, the class was more female than my vet school class.

 

[caffienefree]

I had a great class in biology, a special seminar that consisted of a research project and a 45-minute presentation. The class was called "Animal Adhesion" and I did a report on the different kinds of frog tongues, and I did research on Madagascar hissing cockroaches and their tarsal pads that allowed them to cling to walls. I got to do all sorts of goofy things, like tying string around the cockroaches and measuring the force it took to pull them off a table, or cutting off their feet to look under the scanning electron microscope, or -- my favorite -- putting them on a 78 RPM record player and seeing at what RPM the cockroaches flew off! XD Definitely an awesome class.

LOL that is sooo funny XD
That class must've been fun
Very hilarious and very entertaining

 

[Luxian]

I had a cool class in the History of Madness. It was a history of medicine course focused on mental health and how 18th and 19th century physicians categorized and treated mental health issues. Very interesting, but definitely a strange name!

 

[Moonpaw]

None of my classes sound nearly as interesting as these, but the closest I would have is an honors seminar called "Opium and China," about the role of opium in China's history. Quite interesting, that one.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

I took Death and Dying and it was pretty interesting for the most part. And my criminology teacher always referred to class as Bad Boys, Bad Boys 101.

 

[nyanko]

Honors seminars were the best. I remember a Geography and Topology of Middle Earth seminar my freshman year.

 

[Moonpaw]

I remember a Geography and Topology of Middle Earth seminar my freshman year.

I want that class!!!

 

[david594]

Took a course entitled "Perspectives of photography" of which the instructor informed us the first day there would be some "tasteful nudity" and if we had objections we should drop the course.

After we got about 2 weeks into the course every other picture we had to write about involved naked men. The essays became pretty much a total joke and to make the professor happy had about as much substance as "I spy...(list of anything remotely phallic shaped). or "X object is directing the viewers attention toward the man's genitals...."


Most painful college course I ever had to suffer through.

 

[Pandacinny]

I took a few classes like this. One was called "The Human Context of Science and Technology" (the name pretty much says it all.) I also took an english class on "The Mythologies of the North" which was basically all about the mythology Tolkein drew from. Then there was one on the theory of everyday life, which I took while studying abroad. It was insightful and I learned a lot. My favorite, favorite class by far was "Comic Books as Literature."

I love comic books.

 

[McVillesMom]

winkle1983, I think I took The Philosophy of Religion too. Did you go to Miami?

The best class I took in undergrad was Country Music Movies. It was only one credit hour, but all we did was watch one movie a week. I think at the end of the class we had to write one paper. It was pretty entertaining and not very much work.

 

[Catnapper]

I was an English major, and took a course entitled "The Art of Lying," which was basically reading Oscar Wilde & other witty writers' works. --Not sure how that one comes across on the VMCAS!

 

[winkle1983]

winkle1983, I think I took The Philosophy of Religion too. Did you go to Miami?

I did not go to Miami...I went to a teeny tiny liberal arts college in western PA. Go Gators!

 

[starlene45]

How about this: I got an A+ in a class called "DRUGS AND THE BRAIN"

hahaha. i UC Berkeley. If any of you are there now as undergrads, take this class. it is awesome, and fun, and hilarious!

 

[Catnapper]

How about this: I got an A+ in a class called "DRUGS AND THE BRAIN"

hahaha. i UC Berkeley. If any of you are there now as undergrads, take this class. it is awesome, and fun, and hilarious!

Awww...I'm jealous!!

 

[TrocarKarin]

I've got a bunch of odd death-related classes from my mortuary science degree. Embalming I and II, thanatochemistry, thanatomicrobiology/pathology, funeral service marketing, and death dying and bereavement.

My biology department offers a 400 level class called "endocannabinoids" that I might take.

 

[alliecat44]

I was a philosophy double-major, and the coolest class I took for that was an honors seminar in the Philosophy of Technology. The first three-hour class was a discussion on defining the word "tool"--I loved it!

My final semester of undergrad, I took Floral Design. We had two hours of lecture and one three-hour lab a week. The best part was always having fresh flowers in my room! It was actually pretty interesting in how the elements of design are incorporated in floral arrangements. Not quite as cool as the other stuff on here, though.

 

[almostglue]

I took a class called 'Tibetan Buddhism' in undergrad. It was taught by a former Tibetan monk and was really super interesting. Some current monks from Tibet came and built a Sand Mandala, super intricate.

I also took 'Behavioral Neuroendocrinology of Sex.' Which was basically about development of sex characteristics and hormones and stuff. It's actually come in handy for some vet classes. But it gives people a glazed look when I tell them the name of the course.

I think vet schools (if they look closely enough) appreciate seeing these random, yet interesting, classes on transcripts.

 

[starlene45]

I've got a bunch of odd death-related classes from my mortuary science degree. Embalming I and II, thanatochemistry, thanatomicrobiology/pathology, funeral service marketing, and death dying and bereavement.

My biology department offers a 400 level class called "endocannabinoids" that I might take.

Trocar-- take it! Psychoactive substance brain chemistry rules!!

And WHAT is thanatochemistry?? I am intrigued...

 

[TrocarKarin]

Trocar-- take it! Psychoactive substance brain chemistry rules!!

And WHAT is thanatochemistry?? I am intrigued...

thanato=death. Thanatochemistry was the study of all of the processes of decomp/putrification, and how different preservatives interacted with different proteins and enzymes. The thanatomicrobiology and pathology was basically just about saphrotrophic bacteria.

 

[Tsuky2008]

How about this: I got an A+ in a class called "DRUGS AND THE BRAIN"

hahaha. i UC Berkeley. If any of you are there now as undergrads, take this class. it is awesome, and fun, and hilarious!

We have that class at my school but it's called "Neuropsychopharmacology" hehehe. I'm taking it next semester, and the best part is telling my non-science major friends and family that I'm taking it. They just stare at me like hehehe.

"I'm taking comparative physiology, genetics, neuropsychopharmacology..."
"Wait, you're taking what??"
"Neuropsychopharmacology."
"Neuro...psycho...what?"
"Drugs. I'm taking a class about drugs."


Anywho...I took a class called "Popular Music in American Culture" as a core my freshman year. It was awesome, we learned about the musical structure and culture of everything from Vaudeville to rock and roll. Then, because I had never even looked at a musical instrument in my life, I signed up for "Steel Band" which is literally what it sounds like. I learned how to play Jamaican steel drums I knew it'd be my last chance in life to learn how to play anything other than a recorder

 

[lazyjayn]

I'm still looking for alcohol appreciation.

At this point, I've got intro to everything but science.

I've been searching for basket weaving.

I did fail ceramics. Think that'll count against me>

j.

 

[chris03333]

I'm filling out my classes for VMCAS and lovingly remembered a class from my sophomore year simply titled "Death"

It was part of our "Core" program, 3 semesters of humanities. This was one of the second semester options, joint taught by a history and philosophy prof and pretty much all about death.

Any other kinda strange or unique undergrad classes out there? Think that something like that would come up in an interview?

There are tons of "thanatology" classes offered at many institutions. It may not be so uncommon.

 

[Electrophile]

I'm still looking for alcohol appreciation.

I don't drink or I probably would have taken it too, but Mizzou has a Wine Appreciation and Tasting class, as Missouri has quite a few wineries. You're required to be 21 to take it though, I'm pretty sure.

I took a Religion in Human Sexuality class as part of my religious studies degree and that class rocked hardcore. It was pretty much a senior only class because it filled instantly, even though it was at 8 AM second semester senior year. I took an intro to Tolkien class as an independent study class, but I ended up withdrawing from it because I was taking too many hours. Cool idea in concept though. We had a 4 semester honors humanities sequence that was really pretty sweet. I took 2 out of the 4 semesters with the philosophy professors (the English profs were too hardcore). Wish I could have finished it. Gawd, I miss those humanities classes...

 

[lazyjayn]

I find that most of the really weird class names in Laramie seem to hang out in the honors program. A couple years ago there was a seminar on sci-fi/ fantasy novels. This fall they're offering "dinner with the enlightenment", "indian epic", and "Cosmology of life" among other things.

The 21+ thing, sadly, not a problem for me...

-j.

 

[jkq202]

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[jkq202]

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[DaNNo]

I had a class called 'Of Morality, Mice and Men.' And no, it wasn't about the Steinbeck novel (everyone thought so)... actually a first-year seminar class focused on animal rights.

 

[CookieBear]

"Native Plants & Poisons: Ethnobotany" - very cool Anthropology elective special topics course.

"Fantasy and Fairy Tales" - 300-level English course with a professor who doesn't smile much....

One of the best classes ever was a Forensics Anthropology course (another elective). If only I could've comprehended then the implications of drawing all those bones in such detail... [groan]

I'd have to dig up a transcript, but I recall having issues trying to truncate, appropriately, an early modern Europe history elective I had, which was entitled "Sex and Women..." I can't remember the rest of the title, but it was fun trying to abbreviate "Sex and Women" on the VMCAS app! I guess it was Sex and Women in Early Modern Europe or something.

I wasn't asked about any of these during my interview... but maybe because, by then, these courses were ancient history for me!

 

[starlene45]

I forgot the student-run 1 unit music class that I audited Freshman Year:

The History of Punk!!

it was awesome! I still kinda regret not officially signing up for it, but I was super busy and wanted to be able to show up when I had time and enjoy the class (taught by a hot english major goth girl who analyzed new order lyrics and a really really hilarious kinda hyper industrial guy with incredible hair)