Mickey Mouse degrees
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Mickey Mouse degrees is the dysphemism built from the common usage of the term "Mickey Mouse" as a pejorative. (See Pejorative use of Mickey's name). It came to prominence in the UK after use by the national tabloids of Great Britain to label certain university degree courses worthless or irrelevant. The term was used by education minister Margaret Hodge, during a discussion on higher education expansion.[1] Hodge defined a Mickey Mouse course 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" and "Simply stacking up numbers on Mickey Mouse courses is not acceptable" . This opinion is often raised in the summer when exam results are released and new university courses revealed. The phrase took off in the late 1990s, as the Labour government created the target of having 50% of students in higher education by 2010.[2] This, along with a funding crisis, resulted in a major increase in degree course places, and at present there are more course places available than there are qualified students,[citation needed] resulting in hundreds every year going to university despite poor A-level grades.
Media Studies has fallen victim to the term,[3][4] since there are 43 times as many Media Studies students in higher education as there are jobs available in the media annually.[citation needed] In 2000, Staffordshire University was mocked as providing 'David Beckham Studies' as it provided a module on the sociological importance of football to students taking Sociology, Sports Science, or Media Studies.[5] Other degrees deemed 'Mickey Mouse' include Golf Management, Surfing Studies, Wine Studies, and Boxing.[6] One thing these courses share is that they are vocational, which are seen to be less intellectually rigorous than the traditional academic degrees.[6] Perception has not been helped in Great Britain by the conversion of Polytechnics to 'new' Universities.[6] These 'new' universities then have trouble competing with the more established institutions instead of being judged as polytechnics.
Defenders of these courses object that the derogatory comments made in the media rely on the low symbolic capital of 'new' subjects, and rarely discuss course contents beyond the titles.[1] Another factor is the correct or incorrect perception that the take up of these subjects, and the decline of more traditional academic subjects,[7] is causing the predictable annual grade rise in Great Britain.
Although it is perceived as a recent phenomenon, 'dumbing down' has historical roots. In 1828, University College London was criticised for teaching English Literature, a subject which has now become prestigious because of the high analytical and theoretical skills, or level of intellectual inquiry, required for a discussion of texts.[8]
The A-level in General Studies is seen as a Mickey Mouse subject,[6] with many universities not accepting it as part of the requirements for an offer. The London School of Economics has a list of subjects on their website which they prefer students to not have chosen.[9] Applicants with two or more of these (out of three altogether) will not normally be considered for a place. Recently, more and more people are recognizing the disparity in difficulties between the arts & humanities and sciences & languages. A recently published report stated that the sciences were much more challenging than subjects such as English, which are commonly being taken by students to get higher grades to get into university more easily. This has led to claims that English, History, and the other arts and humanities are Mickey Mouse subjects. [10]
An example found in the US are degrees in Physical education. These have been issued to members of the college's athletics teams, to make them eligible to play otherwise they would fail to pass traditional subjects. These were derided when a character in NCIS, special agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo announced that he had a degree in phys ed (as he abbreviated).[citation needed]
See also
- Media Studies for further information regarding derogatory attitudes
- Academic degree for a history of degrees given by universities
- Academia or Scholarly method for a discussion of the academic world and what makes a scholarly study.
References
- ^ a b "'Irresponsible' Hodge under fire", BBC News, 14 January 2003. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "50% higher education target doomed, says thinktank", EducationGuardian.co.uk, 14 July 2005. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "Media Studies. Discuss", BBC News, 18 August 2005. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "'Mickey mouse' courses jibe angers students", EducationGuardian.co.uk, 14 January 2003. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "Beckham in degree course", BBC News, 29 March 2000. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ a b c d "Taking the mick", EducationGuardian.co.uk, 15 January 2003. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "A-level pupils urged to spurn 'soft' subjects", EducationGuardian.co.uk, 12 August 2005. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ "A Mirror to Society", Ideasfactory. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ How to apply: A level subjects", London School of Economics. URL accessed on 24 June 2006.
- ^ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2147194,00.html
External links
- Tutors feel need to boost grades Excerpt from a BBC documentary about Higher Education Standards.