Unlock the Secrets Inside 12 of the Most Unbelievably Quirky Colleges You’ve Never Heard Of
Ever wondered if college could be anything but the usual grind of yawner classes and cafeteria food? What if your campus was all about death, nudity, tattoos, or even gelato? Yeah, I said gelato. From a college focused on cannabis studies to another that’s basically a playground for ice cream aficionados, these institutions throw the traditional college experience out the window—and honestly, it’s kind of refreshing. Forget your typical engineering or medical degrees. This list, adapted from The List Show on YouTube, dives into some of the most delightfully quirky and downright bizarre places to get an education. Ready to swap lecture halls for cow manure or maybe even a nuclear reactor? Let’s take a wild ride through the colleges you never knew existed—and trust me, they’re anything but boring.
From a college focused on cannabis studies to a dedicated gelato university, there are many surprising and fascinating institutions of higher education in the world.
This list—adapted from the above episode of The List Show on YouTube—is devoted to colleges and universities that offer something other than your typical bachelor’s degree in engineering or boring medical degrees. Nope, from here on out it’s death, tattoos, and a fair amount of nudity as we look at some of the quirkiest institutions of higher learning around.
- Gupton-Jones College
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Deep Springs College
- Reed College
- Bard College at Simon’s Rock
- Naropa University
- Oaksterdam University
- Hampshire College
- Master Tattoo Institute
- Carpigiani Gelato University
- Webb Institute
- St. John’s College
Gupton-Jones College
For a lot of students, college is about getting out in the world and experiencing everything life has to offer. But at Gupton-Jones College in Decatu, Georgia, the focus is on death. The school is one of the few in the country to offer a curriculum that prepares graduates for a career in the funeral service industry. You’ll be taking classes ranging from embalming to microbiology to restorative art, a trade term for making the dearly departed look their best.
The Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Services was founded in 1920 as the Gupton-Jones School of Embalming in Nashville before merging with the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science in 1954 and eventually moving to Georgia in 1969. It’s not all laughs at the school, which requires students to dress in a way that shows respect for the serious topics being discussed. Collared shirts, slacks, and blouses are mandated. Graduates earn an Associate of Applied Science in Funeral Service degree to prepare them for a life in death. But it’s far from the only school that takes a unique approach to studies.
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Take a school with another frigid reputation—the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which is located in the state’s second largest city and boasts of a campus where temperatures can plummet as low as minus -40° F. The school even keeps a digital temperature sign outdoors to satisfy those who want to boast of braving dangerous weather in pursuit of higher education. You can expect plenty of environmental lessons, with majors available in everything from aerospace to petroleum engineering. And if you’re into outdoor recreation, UAF is probably the only college in the country with an ice tower for climbing.
Another tidbit about UAF. The school opened in 1922 and actually predates Alaska’s statehood. They didn’t join the rest of the U.S. as the 49th state until 1959.
You May Also Like …
Add Mental Floss as a preferred news source!
Deep Springs College
Do you yearn for higher education yet feel destined for a life among nature? Would you like to have structure yet walk among cow manure? Deep Springs College is probably for you. Located in California’s Deep Springs Valley about 14 miles from the Nevada border, the fully-accredited two-year liberal arts schools drops students on a combination cattle ranch and alfalfa farm. In addition to academic responsibilities, they’re expected to work a minimum of 20 hours per week to help foster a sense of community. Making small talk between classes in a sprawling campus? Forget it. Students milk cows, make farm repairs, and set gopher traps.
The other pillar of Deep Springs is in self-governance. Unlike most universities, Deep Springs permits students to participate in the day-to-day administration of the campus and running committees, including overseeing admissions.
As you can probably guess, Deep Springs is not looking to emulate a conventional college experience. There are no big football games because there’s no football team, and there’s also a no-drinking policy. It’s one of two ground rules instituted and maintained by students, who also prohibit leaving the campus during the school year unless it’s on official school business—like a field trip—or because of an emergency.
If being trapped on a work farm with no booze sounds appealing, be forewarned that Deep Springs is highly exclusive. Only 24 to 32 students are enrolled at any given time, with just 14 selected from a pool of 300 applicants annually. The good news? If you make it, you’ve also earned a full scholarship. And you’ll get to milk something.
