Controversial Courses and Rising Tuition Cast Doubt on Higher Education

Recent developments have sparked skepticism about the value of college degrees, especially as some courses seem increasingly disconnected from practical life. At the New School in Manhattan, students can enroll in a sociology class called “How to Steal,” which examines the ethics, politics, and aesthetics of theft, even offering field trips to locations like museums, banks, and grocery stores where value is contested.

The course, worth four credits and costing around $10,000 alone, explores whether stealing can be justified as a response to systemic dispossession. Its curriculum questions if “it’s possible to steal back what was already stolen”—mirroring society’s diminishing sense of right and wrong, as shoplifting becomes almost routine in some urban areas.

The New School University Center entrance — The New School’s sociology department offers the course “How to Steal.”

Similar absurdities are found at Ivy League schools, such as Columbia, which offers a course on “Game of Thrones” to study empire-building, and Princeton, with courses exploring race and gaming. Yale’s “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics” even uses the rapper’s lyrics to analyze cultural politics, a stark contrast to traditional classics like “The Odyssey.”

Game of Thrones characters in snow — Columbia University offers a course on “Game of Thrones,” used to study empire dynamics.

These expensive programs come with hefty price tags—Columbia charges over $96,000 annually, NYU nearly $97,000, and Brown over $97,000—resulting in student debt that can reach hundreds of thousands. Meanwhile, many students question whether their degree is worth the investment, with surveys indicating a decline in public trust and increased perception of higher education as a waste of money.

Columbia students on campus — Many graduates see their expensive degrees as largely futile in the real world.

Academically, a troubling trend is the dominance of modern authors like Toni Morrison over the classics, which are essential for understanding Western civilization’s foundations. As universities become more esoteric and less career-oriented, critics argue that institutions have lost sight of their core mission: fostering responsible citizens and preparing students for successful careers.

Ultimately, the rising costs and questionable courses raise urgent questions about the practical value of higher education in today’s world.