A degree in Role Playing?

[Munkay]

Couldn't help but ask,

What degree(s) fellow lurkers obtained through their years at college?
What degrees are people in the process of persuing?
Or what degree will the not-yet-college bound lurkers pursue?

As little or as much information is welcomed, locations, years, stories from classes, advice, anything is fair game!

I'm a sophomore at Boston University, searching for a double major in a 'classical education:' Philosophy and Ancient Greek History. I'm also becoming adept at weilding my goal for a Masters as a sword to knock down the ever abundant 'What the heck ya gunna do with that?' reaction. :)

-Munk

A quick disclaimer, holding a college degree does not always equate into intelligence. This post is not to make a competition out of who holds what, but rather to know what interested our fellow lurkers academic minds' !

[Count Duckula]

I'm officially a senior at Hollins University. My major is all but finished--English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Researching grad schools for a master's degree in Library Science and Information Technology.

But oh, to be a senior. Indulge in all the traditions. Like Tinker Scares, when the seniors wear their goofy robes and run up and down the dorm halls at 3am, banging pots and pans and (accidently) breaking dry-erase boards and ripping posters. I'll be starting the tradition of the Tinker Spray-The-Stupid-Seniors-With-Super-Soakers-If-They-Break-My-Stuff in my own goofy graduation robe. :D

[Griselda]

I have a Bachelor's degree in literature-theatre, and a Master's degree in education.

For the literature-theatre degree, I mostly ended up studying French literature because I had a lot of French credits by the time I declared my major, and I found the French theatre to be pretty interesting. My school requires seniors to complete a thesis project, so I directed "The Maids" by Jean Genet, and wrote a little something about it. I did make every possible effort to stay away from Sartre, though, and I managed it for the most part.

The "Education" degree was obtained for more pratical reasons. I finished it 8 years after my BA. The program I was in offered degrees in teaching and education, and the education one seemed a little bit more serious than the teaching degree, so I picked that one.

I am finally going to take some University Spanish this summer. I'm looking forward to that. :)

[dotPlaid]

The Universtiy of Northern Colorado was silly enough to bestow upon me a B.S. in Physics a spring or two ago.

I applied to (the lesser known) UNC because I thought it might be nice to teach science to young'ins, but that illusion was quickly shattered, so I picked up a computer science emphasis. A few programming courses later I realized I'd made another dreadful mistake (ain't college grand?) and slid into a liberal arts emphasis and picked up a math minor.

It'll be another decade before I use the meaty bits of my education; right now I apply the scientific method and analytical skills simply as a hobby. I plan to create a research lab wherein we'll study the aerodynamics of flying discs (Frisbees®) in order to develop superior golf discs.

Cheers.

[whyBish]

I'm also becoming adept at weilding my goal for a Masters as a sword to knock down the ever abundant 'What the heck ya gunna do with that?' reaction.  :)

Good thing that I read the whole post before responding then :-)

What I have done:
BTech(CompSysEng) hons.
GDipSci(Math) (Essentially like a BSc majoring in math, but without the non-math papers, yay!)
GDipBusStuds(Finance)

Currently doing:
First year/Second year stuff in Chinese, Spanish, Psych and Philosophy. Have enjoyed the Chinese so next thing will probably be a GDipArts(Chinese) (or if I chicken out, just a CertArts(Chinese))

I have no defence against the 'What the heck ya gunna do with that?' reaction :P

[whyBish]

I am finally going to take some University Spanish this summer.  I'm looking forward to that. :)

Good luck with that. I found Spanish very interesting and enjoyable ... until I took the course here. It was not well run (too much emphasis on grammar, and who needs that ;) )

As a side note, I had my oral examination this Saturday... I realised afterwards that the reason for my interviewers puzzled questions when he asked me to describe where I lived was because I told him that I don't have a toilet, I have a shower instead (I meant to say I don't have a bath!). :lol:

[Tal]

I dual majored in History and English. My emphasis in History was early American and in English was creative writing.

I work as the webmaster for my library system, and find myself most often writing content for the site and for the library's intranet.

[[wcip]Angel]

We don't have "majors" in Norway. We have "foundation courses" (1 year), "intermediate courses" (6 months) and a "Masters degree" (2 years; the last year being spent on one's dissertation/thesis)

After high school I went straight to "English foundation course." After that I took something called Exam philosoficum and Exam faculties. (Philosophy, ethics, etc) These subjects are prerequisites for going to university, but since I attend college, I don't really need these subjects. I only took them because the English intermediate course started after Christmas, and I had to spend my time on *something* beween the summer of 2002 and and fall 2003. After the intermediate course in English, I applied for History foundation course, which is what I'm taking now.

Assuming i pass my exams and essays (with the help of you, thank you very much! :)) I will hold a bachelor degree in English and History, and I will be able to take the English Master's course (probably equivalent to your "major"?) which will award me with a Master degree in literacy studies.

After my dissertation in (*counting*) 2005/2006, I will need to take a course (I don't know how to translate the name pedagogikk) on "how to be a teacher". With a Master in English and that course I will be able to teach English at high schools, which is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

edit: I've avoided mass conscription so far. A military service of 1 year is mandatory for all men in Norway; I guess they forgot all about me, or perhaps didn't think I was macho enough for that kind of environment. I whole-heartedly agree. :)

[Bob]

Assuming I get the grades in my A-levels, I'm off to Cardiff University (off to? I live in Cardiff) to study Theoretical & Computational Physics

The coffee industry should start booming.

-Bob

[Kevin]

I have a Bachelors in Management (of Information) Systems from the University of Missouri-Rolla, where I now work. I have minors in psychology, computer science and economics (though I didn't actually get the paper work filled out for the econ one), if the university allowed minors in engineering for non engineers, I would also have an Electrical Engineering minor. Had I not already split up my schooling the way that I had, I should have gotten a BS in Computer Science as well, but I didn't want to add yet another semester.

I had started as an EE student did that for 3 and a half years (so a year and a half from graduation), then I left school for 3 years and ran my own computer business out of the home while working part time elsewhere. When the business got to a point where it was get a store front and do this full time I re-evaluated and decided that I wanted to get a degree, but I knew it wasn't EE anymore. So I went back and got the MIS (though they didn't actually have the I in it when I got it they morphed the degree into a whole new school my senior year, but that's anothe story) degree which is what pulled me so close to getting the CS degree as well.

I'm debating on whether to go more business or more technical with my masters, which will take awhile as I will be working full time while I pursue that degree. It won't be till Jan 05 that I start up again though, so I still have time to figure that out.

[Yrrek]

I'll be a senior in HS but am already enrolled in college and am working on my degree. We have a technical school in my school district that serves I believe 8 districts, and students can go there to either take Computer Sciences(computer repair/intro to networking, and then advanced networking, through Cisco), Physics and Engineering 1 & 2, or Biosciences. I just finished the Computer Repair/Intro to Networking, where I was #1 in my class both semester and I have earned 12 hours of college credit, and I currently have a 4.0. Next year I will be enrolled in the CCNA course(Cisco Certified Network Associate) and I will end up with 32 total credit hours. I currently have 2 certifications, both from CompTIA: A+ (computer repair/technician) and Network+ (network technician). I am studying for a few others, Server+, Linux+, Security+, and next year my CCNA. :) I've been rather busy hehe. After HS I am going to pursue a degree in Computer Networking, and then go from there!

[--Pete]

Hi,

When I was twelve years old I had a tonsillectomy. While I was recovering my parents gave me a set of books put out by Colliers whose titles were Understanding . . . where the ellipses represent things like light, mechanics, electricity, etc. I don't remember how many books there were or their exact titles. That's when I discovered that people got paid to do the things I did for fun :)

Having a talent for math and being naturally lazy, I didn't go to college, instead I went to the North Avenue Trade School (aka Georgia Institute of Technology) where I was able to avoid all the (few) courses that required compositional skills and concentrate on fun puzzles (or problem solving if you prefer - but that sounds so blah). Started in '64, got my bachelor's in '73 with a war, a wife and a child helping to slow the process down :)

I set about to look for a grad school that had no language requirement and was on the semester system. The first requirement was again driven by my laziness. The second was that all too often at Tech (on a quarter system) we would get about three quarters through a book, covering the fundamentals, and just as we were getting to the good part the quarter would end. I figured that the semester system would fix that. I figured wrong but that's another story.

Found what looked to be a good one at Washington State University (aka Wassu, aka Moo U) and started there in the fall of '74 without wife or child (and that too is another story -- but I'll need to know you a lot better before I tell it). Took my course work, played around with three dissertation projects, did some pre-doc teaching and research. Finally, after the grad school let it be know that I would not receive another extension (in '83) went ahead and submitted a dissertation and got my Ph.D in '83. I think I hold the record for longest time in the grad school, but, hey, I was having fun :)

Stuck around for two more years playing post doc when a friend recruited me for Boeing. Retired from there in 2000 when, again, things stopped being fun :)

--Pete

[Bob]

which would make your PHD in what? having fun?

I wish I could get a PHD in having fun

-Bob

[Griselda]

Well, maybe that means your interview will be one of the more memorable ones. ;)

I know this course will be all about grammar, because when I took the placement test, all the questions were about verb conjugation and pronouns. While I don't think that's an effective way to teach language, it's exactly the part of the language that I'm not getting by just being around Spanish speakers (they don't correct me nearly enough!). So, I will try to enjoy it for what it is.

[--Pete]

Hi,

which would make your PHD in what? having fun?

Well, technically in physics. But since physics is fun (at least to every physicist I know, we sure as hell don't do it for the money ;) ) I guess it is in "fun".

I wish I could get a PHD in having fun

You can. Find something you enjoy doing then find the nearest field to that that is taught at university level. Odds are, you can have fun in school and in whatever jobs you get later on. Or, in the words of Bob Dylan, you can become one of those

"Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something
They invest in."

The choice is yours. You'll probably have to "work" for most of your life (unless you were born rich), so it makes a bit of sense to find something you wanted to do anyway and get people to pay you for doing it.

Oh, and BTW, it's "Ph.D." for the degree. "PHD" is probably some bureaucratic nonsense like "Public Health Division". ;)

--Pete

[Jester]

Just finished my Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance this year.

Next year, I'm going back, and taking a whole schwack of history courses, then the year after I'll be taking a masters in history. History is fun. :)

Jester

[Baylan]

I'm in a rather high quality high school band, and while I will likely not end up at any school's School of Music, I do have a few friends who will be entering the University of Michigan School of Music next year - one playing saxophone, and the other basoon. So I was wondering if you'd have any idea who they were come next year :-).

Besides, not too many people get the opportunity, nor the talent, to graduate with a major in performance.

Baylan

[Chaerophon]

Well, I've got one more semester left in my BA in Political Science (Theory), minor in Philosophy. I'm hoping to get a Chevening or other such scholarship so that I can attend one of my "preferred" schools in England/Scotland in order to get my MPhil/MSc (hopefully London School of Economics or Edinburgh... Oxford seems unlikely ;) ). Then, it will either be PhD or Law school for me (probably PhD, and most likely back in Canada).

Anyways, as far as your disclaimer is concerned: my particular research interest concerns the relevance of normative political theory and the institution of the nation state in the "global era". As far as political theory is concerned, right now I'm particularly interested in the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment. My real passion is philosophy, but I'd rather keep that fun. ;)

[Assur]

Hi

I've got a M.A. (equivalent to a Master) in Political Science, secondary subjects were Political Science of South Asia and History of South Asia, in Heidelberg. I want to finish my thesis for my Ph.D (Political Science of South Asia) by autumn :)

[Munkay]

Anyways, as far as your disclaimer is concerned: my particular research interest concerns the relevance of normative political theory and the institution of the nation state in the "global era".  As far as political theory is concerned, right now I'm particularly interested in the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment.  My real passion is philosophy, but I'd rather keep that fun. ;)

Does that mean you're one of those scurvy Humian Empiricists?

Practical philosophy leaves me on par with Hume, though it can be expected seeing that rationalism in the United States is next to non existant. What can I say, I'm a product of my times.

Though I must say in the normative realm I find my fancy with the ancients, and idealogically I find it hard to not be a rationalist on some level. I am double majoring in ancient greek history, so I suppose that is to be expected. :)

I do find it interesting that your passion is philosophy, but major in political theory. I love normative political theory, and looked at Poli Sci as a major. Couldn't get the image of me smacking my head against a wall over and over when I compared true political theory to practice. :lol:

I have yet to chose a concentration, though epistemological philosophy is catching my eye. I suppose I'm a sucker for the most frustrating of things.

So whereabouts are you attending college?

-Munk