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Unusual Masters degrees around the world
Former Head of Recruitment & Admissions at the London School of Economics, Tim Rogers, investigates some of the more unusual Masters degrees available in the UK and much farther afield.
Internationally, we have, for years now, seen the increase in the more vocational types of postgraduate programmes, particularly at the masters level. Universities in countries all over the world have expanded the number of dedicated postgraduate qualifications in the fields of management, finance, business and law, in response to student demand and the demands of the global economy. As wholesale government subsidies reduce for higher education around the world, institutions of all types are having to think, in many cases for the first time, about developing and teaching programmes that are both intellectually valid and attractive to students. In a sector that has traditionally been determined to remain producer driven, this is quite some turnaround to cope with in university academic committees all over the world.
So what is the most unusual masters degree available? With over 250,000 postgraduate programmes available in Europe alone, some taught in English, some not, that is an almost impossible question to answer. Certainly the growth of academic areas such as media and cultural studies have fuelled a whole host of unusual masters degrees in many countries, but these are by no means the only areas where the unusual of five years ago have almost become commonplace today.
Kyung Hee University, one of South Korea’s leading institutions for postgraduate studies, is amongst the very first in the world to offer academically orientated programmes in such subject areas as Golf Management and Tae Kwon Do. Located in the School of Physical Education and Sports Science, whose alumni include Lee Woon-jae, Korea’s talismanic goalkeeper during World Cup 2002, the masters degree in Tae Kwon Do seeks to educate students to such a high degree that they develop and become missionaries for their art –Jesuits with a physical education specialism if you like – spreading an appreciation around the world. With an extensive curriculum designed to build theoretical, physical and spiritual knowledge, the masters’ programme includes modules on competition theory and practice, the history of Tae Kwon Do, biomechanics and advanced Poom-se (black belt) theory. Choon-hyun Kim, Chief Administrative Coordinator at the Centre for International Exchanges at Kyung Hee University comments that the programme attracts a great deal of interest from international students, particularly those from the USA, who “come to the programme to learn about a very Korean subject and enjoy a different cultural experience. Students from overseas can number as many as 200 a year and include various national representative teams.” Students graduating from the degree go on to pursue a range of careers, but it comes as no surprise that many become leading Tae Kwon Do practitioners all over the world.
Liverpool is home to some of the most famous developments in UK popular culture in recent years. Where would we be without The Beatles and Liverpool Football Club for a start? The co-location of such compelling international icons and a research-led institution has resulted in some very unusual postgraduate programmes. The University of Liverpool is regarded as a fine academic institution, with active research staff in many areas and excellent teaching staff across it’s many faculties and within the Institute of Popular Music, the MA Popular Music Studies seeks to develop a critical and analytical appreciation of popular music using an interdisciplinary approach, drawing together such areas as textual analysis and semiotics, basic methodological and research techniques, as well specific modules in music policy, music in everyday life and the music industry. The approach is certainly popular amongst students with a growing annual intake and alumni to be found in the record industry and other related fields. Not to be outdone, a short distance away from Liverpool University lays Liverpool John Moores University, home to the International Centre for Digital Content, a centre of excellence for research and teaching in digital games technology and the very popular MA in Digital Games. With an intake of less than 20 students a year, competition for places is intense and the regard in which their masters degree is held by prospective employers all over the world very high indeed. But perhaps this is not such a strange degree to hold in an age where everyone and their dog spends an ever increasing amount of time in front of their Gameboy or Playstation?
