Cheesiest Sounding DL degree

First apologies to anyone enrolled. In the search for programs, I am sure people have come across cheesy sounding degrees. My favorite so far.

Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland.

Anyone else run across a favorite?

 

Bachelor of Independent Studies (BYU)

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (Regent U)


Bruce

 

"Doctor of the Universe" offered by the Universal Life Church

 

I'm completely at a loss as to why you find this program "cheesy".

"Master of Arts": a standard degree title. "University of Maryland": one of America's more prominent universities. "Ethnomusicology": This has to be the problem, but I can't for the life of me imagine why.

The Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) defines 'ethnomusicology' this way:

"scientific study of music in any world culture or subculture in terms of its actual sounds and performance practices, in its relation to the specific culture, and in comparison with other cultures. The field was originally called comparative musicology in the 1880s by scholars concerned with the measurement of pitches, anthropological data, museum archiving, or the study of exotic music.

Jaap Kunst, a Dutch expert in Indonesian music, created the term ethnomusicology in the 1950s, and in 1956 an ethnomusicology society was founded, consisting of musicians and anthropologists interested in world music. In the spirit of the preceding definition, the field has continued to expand so that such topics as Japanese art music, New Guinean tribal music, African court music, English folk songs, jazz, and the social and financial structure of European-American popular music can be found in its studies."

Sorry to be obnoxious here, but I find the possibility of a DL masters in ethnomusicology to be downright exciting. This is very good news and there is nothing "cheesy" about it.

 

Any degree that includes the word "consciousness".

 

Here is some words of wisdom from a Dean of a school I am trying to get a position at (Business):

Stay away from any degree that is not the "true" business naming. For example, Marketing, Finance, Management, etc.

If they have other classifications, they are probably not equivelant: Leadership, Technology, etc.

I never thought of that before, he said it was becuase there is a standard for the traditional names, and many get around it by being more exotic with their names. Not sure if that is accurate, but what I was told.

 

Wasn't there once a univesity in New Jersey that offered degrees in garbology (the study of garbage)?

 

Hey Bill,
Thanks for the update. What people know here is fascinating. To be honest I just like typing "ethnomusicology". You have to admit though, it's a great sounding word.

 

It's very tempting to use this thread to heap scorn on the programs that I love to hate. But I shall stick to those with the "cheesiest" names.

How about the MSc in eTourism at U. Surrey? (Perhaps I think this is cheesy only because I don't know what eTourism is!)

Or how about the MA in European Cultural Planning at De Montfort U?

Or MSc in Hand Therapy at U. Derby?

Or MA in Personal and Organisational Development at Northumbria U?

 

Cheesiest degree

When I was at Michigan State it was possible to major in cheese, in the Dairy division of the Animal Sciences Dept. I don't know if it actually said "cheese" on the diploma, however.

Some of the cheese that students invented as term projects were sold in the campus dairy story. Indeed, Nicole Ballard of the Dominguez Hills HUX program (MSU alum and former regular here; she is just too busy now, she says), created three very fine recipes for our new Not Your Mother's Cookbook based on MSU's excellent chocolate cheese (which they still sell by mail).

Incidentally, the current chairman of the Animal Sciences Dept. at State is Dr. Maynard Hogberg.

 

I don't think any of these are DL programs but they sound cheesy regardless From the College Blue Book:

Mount Ida College offers a bachelors degree in Funeral Service

University of Houston at Clear Lake offers a masters degree in Future Studies

Universite du Quebec a Montreal offers bachelors and masters degrees in Sexology

SUNY FIT has a bachelors degree in Toy Design

Mills College offers a bachelors degree in College Major

 

Like a doctoral degree in leadership?

Is that a way of dumbing down a degree?

 

I was just looking at the University of Maryland's (semi) DL M.A. in Ethnomusicology.

http://www.elearning.umd.edu/ethno/description.html

There's good news and bad news.

The good news:

This degree comes out of the University of Maryland's College Park campus which has a high-profile graduate program in ethnomusicology. They say that qualifying graduates of this masters program may continue on into the Ph.D. program. The cost is low: $150/unit.

The bad news:

There are two required summer residential terms which are taught in Spain. Not only that, but the summer terms are taught in Spanish, so all students must be bilingual. (Apparently they supervise fieldwork in traditional Andalusian and North African music during these terms.)

http://www.elearning.umd.edu/ethno/courseschedule.html

 

I'll add to John Bear's example by remembering that back in the early 70's when I was studying at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, they had a bachelor's degree major (not DL) in Swine Husbandry.

We undergraduates positively loved that one, but could never decide whether the husband or the wife was the pig.

Here's a pretty cheesy contemporary offering:

Maharishi University of Management's Ph.D. program in Maharishi Vedic Science.

http://www.mum.edu/cmvs/phd.html

Hey, shut up! It's RA!

"My Vedic Science not only includes within its range all knowledge about everything in the universe, and not only gives the student intellectual understanding, but also gives him the the spontaneous ability to know anything, do anything, and accomplish anything. It actually enlivens infinite Creative Intelligence in the simplist form of his awareness, and makes him spontaneously live all possiblities and fulfillment in his daily life." — Maharishi

Bet your major can't promise that.

 

It slices! It dices! It is both a floor wax and a dessert topping!

Regards,

Michael Lloyd, who no doubt dates himself by these references
Mill Creek, Washington, USA

 

Is MUM's PhD program DL? I could not find any info that it was.

Sure is intriguing to think that I could have the "spontaneous ability to know anything, do anything, and accomlish anything". Did Steve Levicoff do his PhD at Union or at MUM.??

North

 

The MUM doctorate requires 36 days of residency. Steve has stated he only completed 35 days, so his doctorate must be from Union!

 

Bruce,

When I was at BYU, over a decade ago, I mentioned to some folks at Continuing Education (where the B.I.S. degree was housed) that it had a terrible name. They said that the degree would soon be re-done and improved (including a name change). The result was that the B.I.S. is no more, replaced by the Bachelor of General Studies degree.

Last August, I spoke with the new director and suggested that they should use the more recognized B.A. or B.S. instead of B.G.S. He said that he would look into it, but that hundreds of people have enrolled in the program and he has yet to receive a complaint about the program name.

FWIW

Tony Pina
Faculty, CSU San Bernardino

B.A., M.Ed. BYU
Ed.D. Candidate La Sierra U.

 

Well, it was a cheesy sounding degree name.

Seriously, that's good news, although I agree that a B.A. or B.S. would be better received.


Bruce

 

The DETC website has quite a few subjects that I would only consider cheesy because I do not understand how they can be by distance learning.

Truck Driving, Automotive Work, Breastfeeding Counselor, Dog Obedience Trainer, and Gunsmithing. Come to think of it, put all of them together and you could have a pretty fun weekend.