What Even Is This Place?
What is Uncommonology?
That’s the question at the heart of everything we do.
At first glance, it looks like a strange new subject — but really, it’s a playful way of studying the uncommon.
Uncommonology is the study of uncommon knowledge: the forgotten, the curious, the hidden, and the extraordinary ideas that don’t quite belong anywhere else.
Where most universities divide learning into neat boxes, Uncommonology thrives in the in-between spaces.
It blends philosophy with folklore, cryptic linguistics with curious sciences, mythology with mathematics.
It is part serious study, part imaginative experiment — a place where curiosity rules, absurdity is honoured, and the uncommon is celebrated.
So what even is this place? It’s not a traditional institution. There are no lecture halls, no dusty libraries (well, maybe a few digital ones).
Instead, there’s a constellation of digital campuses, each devoted to a different flavour of uncommon knowledge — from Central Birmingham to the future Colleges of Hidden Histories and Impossible Machines.
Here you’ll find pathways with improbable names — Subtle Undergrads, Feint Postgrads, and other soft, silent, or sideways degrees — all designed to stretch how you think rather than measure what you know.
Uncommonology may pretend to be a university, but its mischief has meaning.
Every subscription helps curiosity spill beyond the screen, quietly supporting real-world learning where it’s needed most.
In other words, fake education — real change.
If you’ve ever asked questions that refused to stay inside the textbook, you already belong here.
What is Uncommonology? It’s your invitation to think differently, learn curiously, and take part in the grand experiment where imagination masquerades as academia.
Ready to begin? Explore our courses, visit our campuses, or start your journey.
5 reasons to choose Uncommonology for your recreational studies
Because It’s Transformative
Uncommonology reshapes the way you see the world. By leaning into wonder and studying the odd, the improbable, and the overlooked, you begin to notice connections others miss. What once seemed trivial becomes a doorway to deeper insight; or at least to more interesting dinner conversations.
Because It’s Rooted in Curiosity
If philosophy asks why and science asks how, Uncommonology asks what else?
It thrives in the forgotten corners of history, in cryptic codes, in myths that echo through modern life.
It trains you to stay curious — even (and especially) about what everyone else ignores.
Because It Has Spirit and Tradition
Born in 2005 as a playful thought experiment, Uncommonology has since become a discipline in its own right — albeit one nobody asked for. With its motto Haud Multi Cognoscunt — “Not Many Know This” — it honours uncommon knowledge as something rare, peculiar, and worth treasuring.
Because It’s Practical as Well as Playful
Every module goes beyond theory. You might grow fungi in unconventional places, craft secret codes, map forgotten wars, or experiment with the art of silent philosophy. It’s learning that doesn’t just fill your head — it occasionally rearranges your furniture.
Because It’s a World Leader (by Default and by Design)
Since no other institution teaches Uncommonology, it is — by sheer absence of competition — already the world leader in the field. But we measure success differently: not in salaries or statistics, but in sparks of curiosity, moments of wonder, and the conspiratorial smile shared between uncommon minds.
Origins, Spirit and Motto
Uncommonology began in 2005 as a playful thought experiment: what if there were a subject devoted entirely to the uncommon?
Over time, that whisper of an idea grew into a discipline with its own curious branches, improbable modules, and faintly ridiculous traditions.
Through Uncommonology, we explore cryptic linguistics, obscure histories, strange sciences, and unusual philosophies — the sorts of studies that slipped between the cracks of ordinary academia.
Each field invites not only reflection but participation: you might grow fungi in implausible places, craft secret codes, map forgotten wars, or practise the fine art of silent philosophy.
Our motto, Haud Multi Cognoscunt — “Not Many Know This” — captures the spirit perfectly.
Uncommon knowledge is rare, fragile, and faintly absurd, yet always waiting to be rediscovered.
What began as a passing curiosity has become a living curriculum — an open invitation to explore, play, and wonder together, guided by curiosity rather than convention.
Recognition and the Road Ahead
Since no other institution teaches Uncommonology, it is — by definition — the world leader in the field.
Every ranking table that could exist for the uncommon would, quite naturally, place it in first place.
But that uniqueness isn’t about competition; it’s about creation.
Uncommonology is carving out a space for knowledge that doesn’t fit anywhere else — a home for the beautifully misplaced.
While traditional universities measure themselves in funding, facilities, or graduate salaries, Uncommonology keeps a different scorecard:
sparks of curiosity, moments of wonder, and the improbable connections made between minds that think sideways.
Our value is written not in statistics, but in stories.
The future lies in the growth of our modules, the blooming of digital campuses, and the gathering of our community through the Spiral Forum — the beating heart of this strange experiment.
Here, learners meet others who share their appetite for the unusual and their commitment to playful exploration.
Whether you arrive as a curious passer-by or a devoted student of the uncommon, you’re stepping into the syllabus of strangeness — becoming part of the first, and possibly only, generation of Uncommonologists.
2026 League Tables
We’ve taken the uncommon liberty of placing ourselves into the world’s most recognisable rankings — and, of course, we came first in all of them.
1st
Complete Uncommon Guide 2026
The definitive guide to everything strange, obscure, and delightful.
1st
QS (Quirkiest Studies) World Rankings 2026
Recognised globally for excellence in the uncommon arts.
1st (out of 1)
Guardian of the Unusual 2026
The only institution daring to list “absurdity” as a discipline.
1st
The Times & Sunday Odd-Times Good Uncommon Guide
Top marks in imagination, obscurity, and playful prestige.
Other Rankings
| Times Higher Education – World of the Weird 2025 | 1st globally | No one else even applied. We win by default and design. |
| US News & World Report: Best Strange Studies | 1st | Proudly unchallenged across the Atlantic. |
| Shanghai Jiao Tong Uncommon Subjects Ranking | 1st | A category invented just for us. We still topped it. |
Until another institution dares to teach the uncommon, we’ll happily remain unbeaten at the top of every table that matters — and plenty that don’t.