Click image to learn the truth about university

Check out these actual degree programmes offered by various institutions of “higher-learning”:

• David Beckham studies – Staffordshire University, UK
• Doctorate of Philosophy in Ufology – Melbourne University
• Surfing Studies – Plymouth / Melbourne
• Queer Musicology – UCLA
• Star Trek – Georgetown University in Washington
• The Science of Harry Potter – Frostburg University
• Learning from YouTube – Pitzer College

Don’t get me wrong – universities are absolutely essential for people who want to learn a traditional professional such as law, medicine, dentistry or engineering. The problem is that there are many thousands of students who are not enrolled in such programmes, and end up taking useless courses like these.

Some argue that university is useful for young high school graduates who aren’t certain what they want to do in life, and therefore just want to explore ideas in general. The problem with this is that university is a very expensive way to gain knowledge. These individuals could easily spend a year exploring various professions and meeting the people who work in them. They would gain much more valuable knowledge than anything in university, it wouldn’t cost them tens of thousands of dollars, and could actually lead to work down the road.

That’s why I’m glad to be a teacher at Humber. Its standards are as high as any university, and it offers practical programmes that can lead to employment. While it’s true that no amount of education can guarantee you a job, you’re much more likely to get one after completing a college programme than learning 16th century French poetry.