Denis: Doctor Denis and Kevin moon

Feb 23 2010 By Denis Kilcommons

SCIENTIST Dr Richard Pike has raised that old educational chestnut of Mickey Mouse degrees again.

They should be scrapped, he says, and the money put into areas that really matter. Such as, surprise, surprise, science.

Dr Pike is the chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry. The sort of degrees he criticises include dance with equine studies, drama combined with waste management, and celebrity journalism, which includes topics such as interviewing celebrities and understanding celebrity culture.

Oo-er. Will watching What Katie Did Next be compulsory? And those Paris Hilton tapes that made her famous?

He says: "These courses should be kicked into touch, especially at a time when the UK is desperately short of funding research into Alzheimer’s, alternative energy sources and more effective health care provision."

Three years ago, the Taxpayers Alliance had a go at degrees in golf management, surfing, equestrian psychology, aromatherapy and "outdoor adventure with philosophy".

One module for students was David Beckham Studies. I’ll bet Posh was annoyed.

"I want to be a module, too. I’ve got the figure for it."

"No Victoria, this is module. You want to be a model."

There is, of course, academic snobbery involved as well as some duff subjects. Many of the so-called vocational degrees are offered by universities that not too long ago were Polytechnics, and they appeal to a different class of 18-year-old to the one who wants to go to Cambridge and become Prime Minister.

But does that invalidate them?