The term "Mickey Mouse degree" is used, particularly in the UK, to describe a university degree that is seen as less worthwhile and demanding than more traditional, academic courses, such as engineering, law and medicine.
In the late 1990s, the British Labour Government expressed its desire to have 50% of the population in higher education by 2010, which has led to new courses being created, in an attempt to appeal to everyone. The true value of some of these courses, however, is open to debate.
Criticism of Mickey Mouse Degrees
The idea that those who study non-academic subjects will leave unprepared for the outside world, is a commonly-held view.
Former Labour Minister for Higher Education, Margaret Hodge, speaking on January 13th 2003 at a public seminar at the Institute for Public Policy Research, defined these degrees as: "one where the content is perhaps not as rigorous as one would expect and where the degree itself may not have huge relevance in the labour market."
Media Studies: The Most Famous Mickey Mouse Degree?
Media Studies is often regarded as a course fitting the above criteria. This is largely because there are far more Media Studies graduates than there are jobs available within the industry, although some media graduates, such as British TV and radio personality, Becky Jago, have managed to carve out a successful career.
"New" Universities Offering "New" Courses
Media Studies became part of the syllabus at many polytechnics, (higher education institutions lower in status than universities), before the polytechnics gained university status following the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992.
These "new" universities have been criticised for their "soft option" courses and, as such, have tended to be looked down upon by the more traditional "red brick" universities.
"We have got ourselves into a situation where we're pretending that a degree from the London Metropolitan University [a former polytechnic] is the same quality as a degree from Cambridge. It's not," says Cambridge writer and historian David Starkey in "Taking the Mick," an article that appeared on the Guardian website on January 15th 2003. "There are Mickey Mouse students for whom Mickey Mouse degrees are quite appropriate."
Modern Courses at Traditional Universities
Interestingly, the aforementioned course in Facebook, or "Social Media" is being offered at the University of Salford, which is not an old polytechnic.
The world-famous Harvard University also pioneered "Madonna Studies" back in the early 1990s by including it as a module on their Master's degree in Gender Studies. One class was allegedly even devoted to Madonna's relationship with her belly button.
Harvard also provided a module entitled: "Sex and Real Estate: Why We Love Houses", as well as "Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety."
Newer Degrees in the UK
The University of Staffordshire faced widespread ridicule in 2000 for its course on "David Beckham Studies", while the University of Luton currently offers a degree in decision making, known as "Decision Management."
There is "Surf Science" at Plymouth, "Science: Fiction and Culture" at Glamorgan, "Golf Management" at Lincoln and, perhaps most bizarrely, "Equestrian Psychology" at the Welsh College of Horticulture, to name but a few.
The Future of Mickey Mouse Degrees
As English, Sociology and Gender Studies, once regarded as "Mickey Mouse" have now become more respected, the day will almost certainly come where degrees in Media Studies, Film Studies, and maybe even "David Beckham Studies" will be too.
Who knows, perhaps one day they will even be offered at Cambridge.
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