6 Extinct Majors from 1916

July 1, 2016

Reading time min

6 Extinct Majors from 1916

Would you have majored in Botany? Main illustration: Christopher Hitz

Here are six Stanford degree programs that died out during the last century. We can’t say for sure what led to their demise—was it a curricular asteroid, academic evolution or simply dwindling numbers?

1: Mining

2: Entomology

3: Botany

4: Bacteriology

5: Nursing

6: Zoology


A cartoon of two men wrangling a live crocodile. One sits on its head and holds a magnifying glass into its mouth. The other holds plyers up to its teeth.

Trending Stories

  1. The Case Against Affirmative Action

    Law/Public Policy/Politics

  2. Big Fish
  3. What to Read This Summer—2025

    Recommender

  4. Wealth of Information

    Education

  5. Broadcast Brothers

    Athletics