When one imagines a university, the mind often drifts to cloisters and quads, ivy climbing up weathered stone, and libraries heavy with the dust of centuries. Tradition clings to these places as tightly as mortar holds brick. But tradition alone does not On the Horizon: Our First Campus – Central Birmingham College of Uncommonology
When one imagines a university, the mind drifts to cloisters and quads, ivy climbing weathered stone, and libraries heavy with centuries of dust. Tradition clings to these places as tightly as mortar holds brick. But tradition alone does not define learning — curiosity does. Curiosity brought us here, to the birth of the Central Birmingham College of Uncommonology, or CBCU for short.
This is no ordinary campus. It is the first of its kind, and it leads the way for many more.
Why Birmingham?
Birmingham is a city of invention, reinvention, and resilience. During the Industrial Revolution, it became the workshop of the world — a place where sparks, literal and metaphorical, reshaped society. We chose Birmingham as the home of the first Uncommonology campus with clear intent.
What Makes CBCU “Uncommon”?
The College of Uncommonology refuses to follow the usual catalogue of courses. Instead, its fields of study explore the rare, the overlooked, the peculiar, and the profound. Students can expect obscure histories, cryptic sciences, forgotten languages, symbolic arts, and the strange philosophies that slip through the cracks of traditional academia.
Modules combine theory with practice. One week you may debate forgotten wars, the next you might build a cipher wheel. The aim is not to memorise facts but to spark wonder, to learn by doing, and to carry uncommon knowledge into the wider world. At CBCU, curiosity is not a by-product of study — it is the central requirement.
The First Campus, Not the Last
CBCU stands as a seed. Its crest is fresh, its motto newly etched, yet already it points towards a grove of future campuses.
Plans for new campuses are already underway. Each will carry the banner of Uncommonology but grow its own flavour, personality, and specialisms. Some will lean into hidden sciences, others into surreal arts. Where CBCU opens one set of doors, another campus will open different ones.
Together, these campuses will form a league — not only a playful nod to academic tradition but also the structure for something larger: a global conversation about curiosity.
An Invitation to Students of the Uncommon
Though CBCU’s gates are not yet officially open, the invitation already stands. This campus is not built of stone alone, but of people — students, alumni, explorers, wanderers, and all who feel the tug when they hear the phrase “not many know.”
To enrol means more than signing up for lessons. It means stepping into a living experiment: what happens when learning sheds pretension and rebuilds itself with play, mystery, and wonder? CBCU exists to discover the answer.
The Chancellor’s View
As Chancellor, I am often asked what sets Uncommonology apart. My answer is simple: we treat learning not as a duty but as an adventure. CBCU marks the first point on the map, the “X” where the uncommon path begins.
This is not the final destination. It is the first step of many. The league of Uncommonology campuses will grow across places and disciplines, building not just a university but an ecosystem of curiosity. Each campus will share the same DNA: playful, philosophical, and profound.
Looking Ahead
For now, Birmingham waits. The crest is still being refined, the modules still tested, the syllabi still in draft. Very soon, though, the first classes will begin and CBCU will open its doors to all who dare step inside.
When that moment arrives, the rest will follow. Another campus will rise, then another, until a small spark becomes a constellation of uncommon lights.
So let us celebrate this first step not as an ending, but as the beginning of something greater. The Central Birmingham College of Uncommonology represents the start of a movement — one that believes curiosity deserves a college of its own.
The uncommon has found its first home. Many more will follow.
— Chancellor Adams