Masters Degree in "The Beatles"

I'm not one who thinks that all degrees should be focused on a particular vocation or career; on the contrary, a well-rounded education has many benefits outside of the workplace. So I recognize that there are some, uh, novel degrees available out there.

But a master's degree in The Beatles? Definitely novel.

The city of Liverpool already has a Beatles museum and its airport is named after John Lennon. Now a local university says it rolling out a graduate program entirely devoted to the Fab Four.

Liverpool Hope University said Tuesday that its new master's program, "The Beatles, Popular Music and Society," would give students the opportunity to analyze music and culture through the band's work.

"There have been over 8,000 books about the Beatles but there has never been serious academic study and that is what we are going to address," said Mike Brocken, who is directing the program at the university, which is in the band's hometown in northwestern England.