- UConn is the only university in the nation that offers Bachelor's, Master's, and MFA programs in puppetry, with about 10 undergraduate students in the major led by one professor. - UConn is also the only school in the US with an undergraduate degree in maritime studies, which focuses on the relationship between oceans and people through various disciplines. The major has about 10 students and is based at the Avery Point campus. - Other majors discussed include sports management, African American studies, and turf grass management, along with student experiences and faculty perspectives on each program.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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 .

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

15. 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.