NEWS
In the search for the perfect major, some students choose the road less traveled with uncommon majors, or a unique specialization.
One of these unique career paths, with only two current students, is the Canadian Studies specialization.
It is designed for students who wish to increase their understanding of the processes of social, economic, political and cultural change in Canada and Canadas international relations.
Senior Kathryn Telford, one of the Canadian Studies students, said she feels the specialization will help her pursue her goals.
I am a food science major and because there is so much cross-border trade, its good marketing for me to understand all the laws and the differences in the two governments, Telford said.
She hopes her specialization will help her to work in trade for a Canadian company.
Veterinary students also have an unusual option for their studies as well.
The Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation program allows students who have finished Veterinary School to pursue more specialized research in different areas of the field.
Thomas Bell, professor and associate chairman of the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, said students of pathobiology are more concerned with looking at diseases that occur, finding ways to diagnose uncommon diseases and performing research to help identify and define bizarre diseases in animals.
Bell said many MSU researchers have been instrumental in diagnosing important diseases that have entered the state.
Jon Patterson, associate professor, identified the West Nile Virus, which killed people in New York last year, in a bird in Michigan, Bell said.