The term ‘Mickey Mouse’ was first used by education minister Margaret Hodge in 2003 during a discussion on higher education in the UK. She defined ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses as those “where the content is perhaps not as rigorous as one would expect and where the degree itself may not have huge relevance in the labour market”. In 2000, Staffordshire University was mocked for its module on footballer David Beckham and the debate flared up again last year, when a leading scientist, Dr Richard Pike, attacked the government for funding students doing degrees such as celebrity journalism and international football business management, saying that the funding should be channeled into science degrees and research instead.

But others insists that the degrees are of worth and have said that derogatory comments by the media rarely look beyond the titles of the courses to the actual content. Earlier this year, the first ever graduate from Liverpool Hope University’s master’s course in British band The Beatles, Mary-LU Zahalan-Kennedy, defended her course to the BBC, saying: “It’s absolutely academic […] It was an examination of how the Beatles came to be. What the political and social climate was and the cultural aspects that helped to facilitate an environment where the Beatles could happen.”

Last year, New York anthropology professor Philip Haseley claimed that UFO studies should be a ‘legitimate university subject’, saying: “It’s about time we looked into this as a worthy area of study [...] It’s important that the whole subject be brought out in the open and investigated.” He also said: “We know people who think this is a nonsense subject. And we’ll refer you to voluminous literature and facts about UFOs.”

Here’s some of the courses often quoted in the media as ‘weird and wonderful’ or ‘unusual’:

• Harry Potter – Durham University in the UK is offering a unit called ‘Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion’ as part of their Education Studies course. The module “places the Harry Potter novels of J.K. Rowling in their wider social and cultural context”, allowing students to explore themes such as ‘Harry Potter and Britishness’, ‘Gryffindor and Slytherin – prejudice and intolerance in the classroom’ and ‘the moral universe of the school – the legacy of the school story’
• Star Trek – Georgetown University (USA) offers a course in Philosophy and Star Trek, which looks at themes such as ‘is time travel possible?
• Star Wars – Queen’s University Belfast (Ireland) offers an open learning course in ‘Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way’, teaching students the psychological techniques behind Jedi mind tricks and looking at wider issues in Star Wars such s balance, destiny and fatherhood
• Maple syrup – Alfred University in New York (USA) offers “Maple Syrup – The Real Thing” as an honours seminar, looking at the profession and production of maple syrup
• Lace knitting – The University of Glasgow (UK) offers a fully-funded doctoral studentship on the ‘History of Lace Knitting in Shetland’.
• Zombies – The University of Baltimore (USA) is offering students the option of studying zombies, taught by Arnold Blumberg, who has written a book on zombie movies
• Vikings – The University of Nottingham (UK) offers a course in Viking Studies, where students can learn about Icelandic medieval literature and the archaeology of Medieval Britain, Celtic Britain and Ireland

What do you think about ‘unusual’ university subjects – valuable or useless? And what subjects would you consider to be a ‘Mickey Mouse’ degree? Would you ever study a degree in one of the subjects above? Join the debate!

Pearson has recently announced a partnership with Royal Holloway university that will see the university quality-assure and validate a degree in business that has been developed by Pearson. The degree will be available for the academic year starting in 2012, but the fees are yet to be announced, though Pearson have promised to offer good value and a cheaper rate than traditional universities. This is not the company’s first foray into education – it already provides some vocational courses (such as BTECs and Higher National Diplomas) and owns the exam board Edexcel.

The announcement comes as the ‘White Paper’ on education, which was released by the government last week, revealed plans to allow the expansion of private degree providers. In it, the government said it would “make it easier for new providers to enter the sector” by simplifying the process to obtain degree-awarding powers. Currently only five privately-funded organisations in the UK, one of which is for-profit, have degree awarding powers.

President of Pearson UK, Rod Bristow, said the new degrees would create more flexibility for students. “A Pearson degree could allow students to go somewhere near where you live for some of your tuition, do some of it online and still potentially work,” he said.

However, the new degree has sparked fears about the quality of education, if more profit-driven companies are encouraged to offer qualifications. The lecturers’ union warned of a possible focus on profitable courses, whilst the University and College Union has warned that it might lead to a drop in standards. They said that there are concerns that profit-driven providers will focus on courses that are likely to earn them the most money, and could lead to “an incremental narrowing of the curriculum and some students doing inappropriate courses at a greater cost”.

What do you think? Are companies who offer qualifications a good thing, or do you share similar fears? Let us know your thoughts!

The QS rankings, which are scored out of 100 and based on research, internationalism, teaching and graduate employability, have been running since 2004.

Scoring over 90 out of 100, Harvard University easily came out on top for each of the three categories and both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford feature in the top 5 on each list.  Yale University, Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also feature heavily in each of the top tens.

The University of Melbourne is the only Australian institution to have made the top ten, featuring at number 8 in the Psychology list. Other high listing entries from Australia, Canada and Singapore also mark a slight shift in the heavily US dominated list.

Talking of the new subject specific rankings, Ben Sowter, Head of QS Intelligence Unit says, “The new QS World University Rankings by Subject respond to a need for comparative data at a more granular level.

“In many countries students are being charged more than ever before for their degrees. So assessing the potential career outcomes of one’s study choice is becoming increasingly important”, he continued.

The theme of the competition is: “How will I use my learning to become a ‘Graduate with Impact’?” This theme has been chosen because:

• Obtaining a degree is important but the whole university learning experience should contribute to your effectiveness as a citizen, in work and in the world
• Employers have expressed views about the suitability of new graduates for the world of work and the concept of ‘global citizenship’ is an expectation that graduates will contribute more widely than within employment

This competition offers the opportunity for students currently in business education to have a voice and identify within your learning experience ‘What works for me?’

BMAF is looking for bright, enthusiastic students to submit a podcast, video, A1 poster, article or likewise describing their experiences studying and how they intend to make an impact with their experience.

When submitting their entries, students should consider:

• Which elements of your learning experience make you feel you will have impact in the world in the future?
• Why was that experience effective for you?
• How do you intend to have impact? What have you contributed already?
• What could other students and academic staff learn from your experience?

What can you win?

The author of the winning submission will be win:

• a cheque for £300 from the Higher Education Academy BMAF Network
• an iPod Touch donated by the Association of Business Schools (ABS)
• and will be invited to attend the Higher Education Academy Annual Conference at the East Midlands
• Conference Centre, Nottingham, on 5-6 July 2011

There are also two runner-up prizes of £150 available from the BMAF and these and other submissions will be made available via the HEA/BMAF website.

Plus! School awards

The School or Faculty that the winning student is registered with will be presented with a Certificate to recognise the positive environment that student has described. The outcomes of all submissions will be aggregated and shared with business and management schools and students and may contribute to future BMAF/ABS activities.

Criteria

If you fulfil the following criteria, you are eligible to enter the competition.

• Open to students registered on programmes with business and management schools in the UK. Please identify the university you are at
• Submitted to bmaf@brookes.ac.uk on time – 17:00 on Friday 18th March 2011, accompanied by a completed Entry Form
• Maximum size of 1100 words if written, 5 minutes if podcast or video, A1 if a poster (Contact bmaf@brookes.ac.uk for arrangements if submitting video or audio)
• Of a standard of writing, language, presentation, content, etc. acceptable for the BMAF website, and for use in their publications where appropriate
• Describes particular learning experiences and how those influenced you, why the opportunities were of benefit, with linked advice for students and university staff
• Outlines how you hope this experience, knowledge, etc. will enable you to have impact in work and society, or possibly already has
• Contains interesting, thoughtful and constructive discussion
• Appropriate use is made of the format chosen

More information

To learn more about the competition, and about last year’s entries, and to download an Entry Form, visit the BMAF website here . For queries, please contact the BMAF Network office at bmaf@brookes.ac.uk or 01865 485670.

Next week will see the launch of i-studentadvisor’s first issue of i-LASH, the online magazine to promote courses and institutions in the fields of liberal arts, social sciences and humanities internationally.

The liberal arts, social sciences and humanities and the subjects encompassed within, continue to be popular study options for both international and domestic students.In particular, psychology and politics remain in the top 15 subject choices for international students in the UK in 2009, whilst history, sociology, geography and philosophy also feature highly.

The social sciences are about people and how they behave, both individually and collectively, as part of society. The role of the social scientist is to question and attempt to understand the environmental, social, biological or cultural factors which shape, change and diversify societies and the individuals within. Similarly, the humanities encompass academic disciplines, which study the human condition. This is done using methods that are principally analytic, critical or speculative, rather than empirically focused.

For those students not wishing to focus on one specific subject, the liberal arts are a good choice. This indicates a curriculum which imparts general knowledge, rather than specialising in one particular field. Study areas include languages, literature, history, philosophy, mathematics and science, designed to develop an individuals rational thought and intellectual capabilities. Throughout the US, there are many public and private colleges and universities emphasising undergraduate study in 
the liberal arts.

A critical mind is essential when studying in the field of liberal arts, social sciences and humanities and you can expect to be equipped with the skills to analyse, scrutinise and question issues of society, culture and humanity.

Many liberal arts, social sciences and humanities graduates pursue successful careers in teaching, research and public service or policy. Whilst others go on to become psychologists, counsellors or to work in human resources or other business sectors. Alternatively, almost 50% of humanities and social science graduates go on to further study.

In this issue we have collaborated with writers, professionals and academics within the liberal arts, social sciences and humanities sectors to create a guide to the individual subjects in these fascinating fields and the endless career possibilities that follow.

The i-LASH issue will be online on Wednesday 7th October at www.i-studentadvisor.com check the website on Wednesday to get the first look at the issue our subscribe free to get all the latest i-studentadvisor issues direct to your inbox.