The UA offers a wide variety of courses each semester. Among the numerous sections of organic chemistry and introduction to statistics that flood the catalogs on UAccess, there are some more unique classes that are easy to miss. Though some may be reserved for a specific major, the following three classes may have you visiting with your advisor about rethinking your academic future:

1. NSC 497F — Community School Garden Workshop (Instructors: Morgan Apicella, Sallie Marston, Sarah Kelly)

This special workshop course allows UA students to go forth into the wide world and plant the seeds of knowledge into the minds of local schoolchildren. Pardon the pun, but this course teaches valuable skills in leadership, lesson planning and general maintenance of building a community garden. From soil composting to raising hens, this course is versatile with its daily lessons, but the overall goal is to give students the chance to teach younger students about the sustainable benefits of growing their own food.
According to Sallie Marston, a geography professor and one of the instructors, the course first teaches students about the unique factors that go into designing a garden in the harsh desert landscape. Students then take what they learn at the UA and disperse it into the classrooms of local schools in the Tucson area. Though the students may not be able to eat the food that they grow due to regulations set by Pima County, their experience creates a lasting link with the community.

2. TAR 402A — Combat for the Stage (Instructor: Brent Gibbs)

If you’ve ever walked through the College of Fine Arts plaza on a Tuesday afternoon, then there is a good chance you may have seen students wielding swords. No, they’re not rehearsing a scene from an upcoming William Shakespeare production; they’re actually learning the essentials of professional stage combat. Students typically are paired off and assigned to practice the type of clever, hand-to-hand combat that might be seen in the latest Bruce Willis movie. Instructed by veteran fight director, Brent Gibbs, the course helps student performers maintain their safety without sacrificing any of the violent aesthetics.

3. ASTR 333 — Astronomy for the Arts (Instructor: Richard Poss)

For all those stargazers who are deterred by the scientific jargon associated with the study of astronomy, this course may satisfy their curiosity’s craving for the cosmos. Reserved mostly for students majoring in humanities-related studies, this course delves into the long history of man looking up in the sky and interpreting what he sees. Using plays, poetry, books and art as mediums for understanding mankind’s relationship with the universe, the instructor, Richard Poss, said that course looks to examine how astronomy has impacted the way people understand themselves. From the medieval to the modern, the course touches upon almost every era of history.

—Follow Kevin C. Reagan @DailyWildcat