Comedy

School: Humber College, Ontario, Canada

Humber students can graduate with a four-year degree called in Comedy: Writing and Performance. The degree includes classes in stand-up comedy, improvisation, script writing and sketch comedy, as well as classes in the business side of the industry of laughs.

Theme park engineer

School: California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, Calif.

Isn’t it nice to know that there is a college-educated mind behind these sometimes-terrifying rides? California State University at Long Beach gives thrill-loving, engineer-minded students the chance to learn how to design and build theme park rides. Considering all the press any new ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain receives, it could be a rather lucrative business.

Bowling management

School: Vincennes University, Vincennes, Ind.

Vincennes University is the only college in the nation to offer this major, so if you’re a true alley cat, this is the place to spend your tuition dollars. Students can choose one of three tracks: bowling center management, sales and marketing, or pin-setter mechanics. Students in the program have access to an 18-lane alley, along with impressive faculty like Gary Sparks, a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association Coaches Hall of Fame.

Adventure education

School: Plymouth State University, Plymouth, N.H.

Considering your tour guide on a white water rafting adventure has your life in his hands, it’s nice to think he may have had a formal education in rigorous outdoor activities. And he might have, if he majored in adventure education. Classes in the program include paddling fundamentals, wilderness expedition and whitewater kayaking. The major is intended to prepare students for careers in environmental education, outdoor leadership or therapeutic adventure.

Puppetry

School: University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn.

Puppetry is surprisingly picking up steam on the East Coast, and so is this major. Students in the program can hone their skills by producing their own puppet shows at the university, as well as at museums and theaters all over the country. Graduates from the program have gone on to perform and design for theaters, TV programs and other puppet-focused outlets.

Canadian studies

School: SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, N.Y.

The Center for the Study of Canada at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh, offers the most comprehensive undergraduate Canadian studies program in the U.S. If you’re wondering what sort of jobs one might get with the degree, consider this: Canada has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. So an individual with extensive knowledge on the area could find himself with interesting (and high-paying) opportunities.

Nannying

School: Sullivan University, Louisville, Ky.

Students who enjoyed their summertime jobs as nannies so much that they want to make a career out of it can earn a degree in professional nannying. The 12-month intensive program trains students in professional child care and includes classes in CPR and first aid. Ideally, nannies with this degree could charge higher fees than those without.

Beatles historian

School: Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, England

It was only a matter of time until the most popular band in the history of music had a college major dedicated to it. The full name of the program is the Beatles, Popular Music and Society program and involves classes on the band’s culture, as well as its musical and historical impact on the world.

Entertainment engineering and design

School: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nev.

Known as “the science of the entertainment industry,” this program allows students to study areas such as advanced visualization techniques, automation and motion controls, biomechanics and animatronics, entertainment venue design and structural design and rigging. To put this in terms a simple music lover will understand: these skills make for a great DJ.

Sexuality

School: San Francisco State University, San Francisco, Calif.

Most students end their formal education on sexuality in middle school health class, but students at San Francisco State University can become experts on the matter, studying the processes and variations of sexual functions and reproduction, intimate relationships, sexual- and gender-role development and behavior, and the social, cultural, historical and moral contexts of love.