Miskatonic University
Miskatonic University is a prestigious university located in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Miskatonic is classified as an "Ivy-Lite" university that focuses primarily on research and liberal studies. It's most well known, however, for being a recurring setting in the various works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. And like most other places featured in Lovecraft's works, it has captialized off of this popularity for its own benefit.
Structure
| Liberal Studies |
|---|
| Department of Africana Studies |
| Department of Americana Studies |
| Department of Anglo Studies |
| Department of East Asian Studies |
| Department of Education |
| Department of English |
| Department of Fine Arts |
| Department of French Studies |
| Department of German Studies |
| Department of History |
| Department of Humanities and Classics |
| Department of Italian Studies |
| Department of Journalism and Communications |
| Department of Latin American Studies |
| Department of Performing Arts |
| Department of Philosophy |
| Department of Religious Studies |
| Department of Russian and Slavic Studies |
| Sciences |
|---|
| Department of Biology |
| Department of Chemistry |
| Deparment of Computer Sciences |
| Department of Environmental Sciences |
| Department of Mathematics |
| Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry |
| Department of Neuroscience |
| Department of Physics |
| Department of Psychology |
| Department of Sociology and Anthropology |
| Medicine |
|---|
| Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Department of Biostatistics |
| Department of Epidemiology |
| Department of Health and Human Services |
| Business and Law |
|---|
| Department of Criminal Justice Studies |
| Department of Economics and Business |
| Department of Pre-Law |
Culture
Like most universities, Miskatonic tries to project the air of an institution that welcomes and recognizes students of all backgrounds and provides them with a safe and enriching educational environment. In practice, however, Miskatonic tends to fall victim to the same pitfalls that a lot of old money unversities fall into. Elitism runs rampant and students and faculty can escape the consequences of their actions if they have enough money or the right type of connections. In addition, the Greek life on campus has caused no shortage of headaches for the administration thanks to the amount of damages and scandals they've created over the years.
Not all of the negativity surrounding Miskatonic University is deserved, however. Because of its "Ivy-Lite" status, it has gotten the unfair reputation of being a backup university for students who weren't good enough or connected enough to get into a proper Ivy League school. And because of its connection to Lovecraft and his works, it has also gotten the reputation for adherenting "kooks" and "weirdos" in both its student body and faculty. It could be argued, though, that any unusual goings-on at Miskatonic are no more weird than the more bizarre happenings at other universities.
Assets
The Miskatonic University campus is home to over a dozen academic buildings as well as several student dormitories. Miskatonic's most important asset is the Orne Library. It contains over 400,000 books, including the entire Orne collection, and also houses an extensive collection of artifacts from past research expeditions.
History
Miskatonic University was originally Arkham College, founded in 1690. It wasn't until 1765 that it was renamed and reinvigorated via the assets of Jeremiah Orne, a local seafaring merchant and purveyor of occult texts and artifacts. Miskatonic University grew steadily over the years, adding graduate courses throughout the 1880s, a women’s college in 1889 (Pembroke College, which merged with the men's college in 1971), a graduate school in 1927, and a medical education program in 1973 (now the Miskatonic Medical School). It gained more publicity in the 1920s as a recurring setting in the works of author H. P. Lovecraft, most notably in Herbert West: Re-Animator and The Dunwich Horror. Today, Miskatonic University has capitalized greatly off the publicity it has gained, even going so far as to change their mascot from the traditional badger to the squid in 1990.
Sapientia ex Scientia, Lux ex Tenebris
First Semester Freshman Schedule
By Leila Katz-Kashif
- MATH 110 - Calculus I (MWF 10:00 - 10:50)
- BIO 120 - Introduction to Cell Biology (MWF 11:00 - 11:50, Thursday lab 3:00 - 4:00)
- HIST 110 - Introduction to Ancient History (MWF 12:00 - 12:50)
- CS 110 - Introduction to Computer Science and Programming (TH 10:00 - 11:20)
- ENG 250 - Introduction to Literary Study (TH 12:00 - 1:20)
Founding Date
1765
Type
Educational, University
Alternative Names
Misk U, Ole Misk
Leader
Location
Miskatonic Squids (Formerly the Badgers)
School Colors
Black and Green
Comments