World of Warcraft college course has to be next
by Adam Holisky 
Jan 28th 2009 at 8:00PM
Out on the internet today the story that UC Berkeley is offering a course in StarCraft is spreading like wildfire. Joystiq covered the news today, and you can also find an extensive Digg on the subject. The course description partially reads: "What may look like complex topics are just ways we want you to think more deeply about the game to derive a greater satisfaction from playing."So... who wants to take bets on how long until there is a World of Warcraft course?
If they're offering a StarCraft course aimed at "thinking more deeply about the game to derive a greater satisfaction from playing," imagine what a World of Warcraft course could do for that. Taking down raid bosses with 24 other people is quite satisfying, especially if it's the first kill. The communication and leadership skills necessary to successfully run raids are akin to running a small business, and the mathematics and statistics behind the true upper echelons of play require a solid understanding of calculus.
That would be a course I'd be interested in. Not that I wouldn't sign up for a StarCraft course in a heartbeat, mind you.
Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mognet T Jan 28th 2009 8:05PM
With a title like that, you might need to take a few more "cours"es at college.
; )
Mognet T Jan 28th 2009 8:08PM
Aw you changed it! Anyways, fun article, but all I think about is how employers are shrugging off WoW players, would they hire someone who took a WoW class? I would never take a clown class like that, college is too expensive as it is!
V Magius Jan 29th 2009 10:00AM
Really, employers don't know what classes you really took. All they see is "graduated from college" and .
Thinking about it, being denied employment because you play a video game is discrimination. I'd have to look back at previous articles if there was any valid rationale for it.
Xtyle Jan 29th 2009 10:03AM
Heh, victim of "online" college. ;)
turb0dog Jan 28th 2009 8:09PM
God I miss Belushi.
Decrusher Jan 28th 2009 8:13PM
i dont get this... ^^^
mark Jan 28th 2009 9:52PM
a wow class would be great wouldnt it but i dunno if i would pay 200$ for it xD i would like to learn some mechanics i never do in the game like pvp/BG's
akbeancounter Jan 28th 2009 8:37PM
This is actually pretty standard at UCB. Their College of Democratic Education (referring to the process of soliciting advice from the masses, not to the currently-dominant U.S. political party) offers dozens of courses on niche topics; current courses study such phenomena as Sex and the City, Second Life, advanced Scrabble strategies, and James Bond.
http://www.decal.org/courses/index.php
The DeCal courses are generally not applicable toward a degree, so they're more like student clubs. Every now and then, though, something gets promoted to actual course status, leaving the rest of us to ask, "Can you imagine the parents who later learn that they've been paying for their kid to study Starcraft?"
They could at least have tried to make it sound like a legitimate educational experience: "This course will examine the racial and territorial conflicts within the Starcraft universe, as a metaphor for similar conflicts within modern and historical political landscapes." The way they say it, it sounds like a strategy guide that's only available two nights a week.
pillysillows Jan 28th 2009 8:49PM
starcraft is infinitely more deserving of a class dedicated to it than WoW. I mean, which one takes actual skill and strategy and boiling down hard numbers, and which one just requires the latter of the three..
Lemons Jan 28th 2009 9:05PM
Theorycrafting could almost be a college course. I'm just glad the people over at EJ do most of it for me. I don't think taking a wow course would reflect poorly if you were searching for a job.
It's not like en employer is going to say "Well you would be perfect for this job except for that course you took in "the worlds of the warcrafts", I'm going to have to say no based on those grounds alone...and...I don't like your face."
SaintStryfe Jan 28th 2009 9:56PM
you must be a lucky class/spec. For mine, they just say "Run the Simulator" and dismiss class. And unfortunately, the prereq for running the simulator is a BA in Computer Science.
apollonian Jan 28th 2009 9:28PM
As a Berkeley alum I can confirm this is pretty par for the course for the university. The Starcraft course is probably a DeCal. To clarify, DeCals is not its own separate department, rather it is a program that allows students to teach their own courses that accord with their interests. You do get credit for taking them (1 or 2 units at the most) but they are not really part of the core cirriculum and don't count towards satisfying any requirements.
I actually taught my own DeCal, you have to design your own syllabus, course material, etc and find a professor willing to sponsor and oversee your course. It was pretty fun and very fulfilling and I feel helps round out your undergraduate education.
I've taken alot of fun DeCals before, one was a "Beer DeCal" where we analyzed the chemical properties of beer and fermentation. We learned how to brew our own, went beer tasting and took a tour of a local brewery. I also took "Simpsons and Philosophy" where actual Simpson writers and voice actors came and spoke to the class. Another fun one was the Blackjack DeCal where you learned how to apply statistics to counting cards.
Perhaps the most controversial DeCal I took was Male Sexuality that actually made international news. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1831644.stm) Don't believe most of the article, most of it is journalistic sensationalism.
I totally would have taken a WoW DeCal course though or maybe even taught one of my own! Berkeley is an amazing place to learn and DeCals are just another great aspect of it.
Freebird Jan 28th 2009 9:44PM
Bah, I am jealous. I am a UCSD alum. We didn't have such classes.
T Jan 29th 2009 11:57AM
While I was at Cal, I took a DeCal on MMOs, which lead me to play Dark Age of Camelot and Shadowbane. Since then I've continued to play MMOs.
Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo Jan 28th 2009 9:53PM
I would just fear people playing in a class, which is funded by the government. A class could try for a world first, but on the way to the raid a guy gets ganked, so the professor could complain that the ganker interrupted and obstructed a government funded class. Granted thats a worst case scenario thing, but still having official government backing for players, or even an entire guild, would spell Trouble with a capital T, right here in Undercity. (right here)
Michael Jan 29th 2009 4:32AM
That's the worst name I've ever heard.
Anthony Jan 28th 2009 9:58PM
Could I pay a chinese guy to attend for me?
Hal Jan 28th 2009 10:42PM
Wasn't there a school that tried to put together a class based on the economics of WoW?
shysty Jan 28th 2009 10:21PM
MRKT 3371 Managing MarCom: Spamming Trade Chat
sign me up!
Kalvin Jan 28th 2009 10:21PM
Berkeley is misspelled...
Why do people have such issues with that? I was in class once and some dude wrote "Berkley Group" on the board and proceeded to give a speech 'bout it until someone raised their hand and said, "You spelled Berkeley wrong, do you really think we want to learn about consulting from you?"
Hilarity ensued.