UConn is the only college in the nation with a MFA, MA, and BFA program for puppetry. About 10 undergraduates

are in the major, according to Bart Roccoberton, professor of Puppetry Arts.

Bart. P. Roccoberton, is the only professor in the puppetry department. About 25-40 students audition to the major each year and about three are accepted,

according to Roccoberton.

Students have gone to build the set of the Lion King on Broadway, work for Avenue Q, Sesame Street and

Bear and the Big Blue House, develop their own shows, and even became lawyers, according to

Roccoberton. “They claim it’s all about manipulation,” Roccoberton said.

UConn is the only school in the United States with an undergraduate degree in maritime studies. Many other schools

have focuses on maritime studies, according to Dr. Helen Rozwadowski, a history professor who teaches for maritime

studies.

The program grew organically from professor and student interest. The major focuses on the relationship between oceans

and people through economics, history, sociology, and other liberal arts focuses, according to Rozwadowski. The classes

primarily take place at UConn’s Avery Point campus.

Students who major in maritime studies have moved on to run their own marina businesses, work in museums, work for non-profit environmental groups, became research technicians and

teachers, according to Rozwadowski.

Sports Management is a major in the Neag School of Education’s Kinesiology department. Students need to apply into the major half-way through their sophomore year. About ten students are admitted into the major per year, according to the University of

Connecticut’s Office of Admissions.

Danielle Upham is a senior sports management major who now interns for the UConn Athletics Department. “It’s freaking awesome. I love the classes and the teachers. And the

experience is actually something I really enjoy and have fun with,” Upham said.

As far as classes, sports management majors learn about participation in sports, specific athletes, and the psychology

and business of athletics, according to Upham “I am hoping to work in event management but not sport specific. I’d like to

work at a university and be the contact for visiting teams and planning for games,” Upham said.

African American studies was not made into a major at UConn until 2008, according to Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar, a history professor and associate dean of the humanities at the College of Liberal

Arts and Sciences.

Many other schools have the African American Studies major including: Yale, Princeton, Ohio State, UCLA, University of Michigan, and Harvard. For a large state school, UConn is

behind in this category, according to Ogbar.

The institute for African American Studies was established in 1989, according to Ogbar. UConn’s African American Cultural

Center was established in 1968, according to the African American Cultural Center’s web site.

According to UConn’s turf grass management web site, there are 26 students earning bachelor of science

degrees in turf grass management.

Spandana Sudapalli was an undergraduate researcher at the UConn Turfgrass field day. Here, she studied Japanese beetles that were affecting the New England area. She did this research in an Integrated Pest Management lab on a plant science farm where many turf grass management

majors conduct their research.