To be a student at Mississippi State University is to know its "big three" majors. They're the majors that everyone seems to be in - engineering, agriculture, business. All in all, it's not surprising that agriculture and engineering make the list - we did used to be Mississippi A&M - and majoring in business is on the rise in most universities. What a lot of people don't know, though, is that MSU offers a veritable plethora of interesting majors, and a little digging revealed the most obscure (and the most interesting) of these off-the-beaten-path programs of study. Here are the highlights of that Mississippi State has to offer for those who aren't quite sure what they want to do yet, but aren't satisfied with what everyone else is doing.
1. Culinology
The Mississippi State Culinology program that falls under the Department of Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The MSU website describes Culinology as "the integration of Food Science and Culinary Arts so that students are prepared to work in diverse areas within the food industries -- from experimental research chefs and menu planners to food manufacturing, fine dining, and product development." Classes essential to this curriculum, which prepares students for careers in catering, running a restaurant, and personal chef-dom, include Food Prep, Food Law, and World Cuisines.
2. Floricultural and Ornamental Horticulture
Did you know MSU offers an undergraduate program in flower arranging? Yeah, me neither. But make no mistake - this degree program emphasizes the potential for several lucrative careers, including:
- Greenhouse owner/grower
- Ornamental Nursery owner/grower
- Horticultural Therapist
- Garden Center management/owner
- Public Garden, Botanical Garden and Arboretum curator
- Landscape Maintenance
- Garden Writer
From the website: "Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture offers diversified opportunities that are challenging, intellectually stimulating, and economically rewarding. Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture is the science and art of producing, distributing, marketing, and using flowers, flowering and foliage plants, and woody ornamental landscape plants." Hm.
3. Printmaking
Part of the College of Architecture, Art, and Design, the Printmaking concentration allows students to "gain technical understanding, historical perspectives, and an increased aesthetic awareness and ability. Students can study printmaking processes such as intaglio, relief printing, lithography, and monoprinting." Printmaking is an art all its own, different in myriad ways from painting, drawing, and graphic design. View student work here.
An Undergraduate majoring in music education chooses between vocal, guitar, instrumental, and piano music education. As suggested by its name, this program of study prepares students to teach music to young protégés at elementary school, high school, and possibly even higher levels. Classes include Music Theory, Ear Training, applied classes, and more.
Want to be a TV or radio weatherperson? This is the program for you. The centerpiece of MSU's meteorology program is the Climate Lab Studio, which "serves as the hub of the Broadcast Meteorology Program. It is comprised of a large studio featuring two green-screen chroma-key walls, two cameras, four monitors, and IFB capability. The studio is powered by a control room that features studio controls, a TriCaster 410 production system, and Baron Omni and VIPIR weather graphics." Turns out a lot goes into predicting our weather.
The PGA Golf Management major is one of those majors where must students in it (probably) know exactly what they're going to do when they graduate. Curriculum includes classes on turf management, marketing, food service, and golf professional management. According to the website, the PGA Golf Management program at MSU "focuses on giving our students the tools to become better golfers, better managers, and better people—in short, golf professionals in the best sense of the term."
