For some students, the high point of college is spring break. Perhaps mindful of that, one university in France has added a program of study among its degree offerings that effectively teaches students how to become world-class partiers.
Sciences Po Lille, the nation’s most prestigious political science school, is now offering a masters degree in Boire, Manger, Vivre (BMV)— “drinking, eating, and living (it up)” to you.
According to The Telegraph, the degree path includes course modules on “gastro-diplomacy,” food technology and fighting sexism in the kitchen. One stated goal of the program is to preserve France’s place as the world’s most treasured culinary destination. And the people behind the program are dead serious — kind of. “BMV is neither the Michelin guide nor the boozy student common room,” economics lecturer Benôit Lengaigne is quoted as having said. Yet, Sciences Po head Pierre Mathiot countered, telling France’s largest newspaper, Le Monde, “Here we propose to do things seriously without taking ourselves seriously.”
When the program was first announced, applications flooded into the university. Ultimately, only 15 were selected. One of the lucky few, Clémence Ricart, told the French-language newspaper Le Monde, “We threw ourselves into this major without knowing what was in it but it’s fascinating. It is a master’s course that unites us around one passion: the world of gastronomy and food.”
