People Are Taking Classes in Bars

You can learn a lot at the bar, and not just words of wisdom from your local barfly

Bars
It's educational.
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College is famous for pairing education with booze, so why shouldn’t other forms of continuing ed follow suit? According to Fortune, many are.

A new trend of hosting classes in bars is turning taprooms across the country into classrooms, and the curriculum includes more than just your standard Tuesday trivia night fun facts. From architecture and astronomy to dating tips, it turns out there’s a lot you can learn at your local watering hole.

Urban Elective offers six-week courses hosted in bars, where offerings include academic classes like “Intro to Architecture & Urban Design,” as well as more niche courses such as “the Art of Erotic Embroidery.”  Other offerings include classes geared toward building practical life skills, like the financial planning course “Financial Badassery: How to Finally Get Your Finances in Shape” or “How Not to Suck at Dating.” Most classes cost around $129 for the term, but you’ll have to pay your own bar tab.

Other forms of bar-based education that have become popular in recent years include Raising the Bar, a joint project sponsored by Columbia University and New York University that launched in 2014. The program hosts one-night events in cities around the world where professors give lectures in local bars. The New York-based Astronomy on Tap program hosts similar events in bars around the tri-state area, with an obvious focus on astronomical lectures.

Essentially, these low-stakes events and courses are all the fun of drinking through college without the worry of showing up to a final hungover. If nothing else, they may make your drinking habit a little more productive.

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