Forget studying silly things like engineering or economics, what your college bound student really needs is a course on surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Fortunately, Michigan State University has a new course offering that fits the bill. “Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse: Catastrophes & Human Behavior” is a new seven week online class put on by MSU School of Social Work professor Glen Stutzky, according to the Mother Nature Network.

“The class actually is about different kind of catastrophic events, like the black plague and how people behave during those kinds of crisis situations,” Stutzky says in a promotional video for the course. “I’m using the zombie thing to hopefully make the class more interesting.”

According to the course description, the class will cover topics in social welfare, social policy, and basic social worker values. Using the scenario of a zombie apocalypse will allow students to envision an “end of the world” scenario, and “learn about the nature, scope, and impact of catastrophic events on individuals, families, societies, civilizations, and the Earth itself.”

“In times of catastrophe, some people find their humanity,” Stutzky says. “Others lose it.”

And not only will you be prepared when zombies take over the planet, you’ll also earn two college credits.

MSU isn’t the only school of higher learning to attract studies by capitalizing on the zombie pop culture phenomenon. Columbia College in Chicago offers the course “Zombies in Popular Media” which “explores the history, significance, and representation of the zombie as a figure in horror and fantasy texts.”

Read full story