18 Celebrities With Intriguing College Majors

Not all of your favorite stars studied theater.

18 Celebrities With Intriguing College Majors

When you hear about the college days of some of your favorite stars, it’s no surprise that many studied acting, performance or drama. Then again, there are some super smart celebs that followed totally unrelated academic paths before they graced the big and small screens.

Explore our “yearbook” of celebrity majors to find out the surprising study tracks of celebrities. From hard core science to professional disciplines, get a glimpse into the pre-acting aspirations of some famous alumni.

Mayim Bialik

Major: Neuroscience, with minors in Hebrew and Jewish studies

School: UCLA

Quote: “I was always kind of a school person – my parents were teachers, and my grandparents were immigrants, so their big thing was, 'Go to college, go to college, go to college.'”

Bialik best known for playing Sheldon’s nerdy wife Amy Farrah Fowler on TV’s “The Big Bang Theory,” and she’s pretty brainy in real life, too. She continued her education between acting jobs to earn her Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007.

Shaquille O’Neal

Major: General Studies; MBA; leadership

Schools: Louisiana State University; University of Phoenix; Barry University

Fun fact: Shaq wanted to leave college early to pursue his NBA career, but his dad talked him into finishing his degree first – advice that he’s now glad he followed.

Calling Dr. Shaq! Shaq has his bachelor’s in general studies, but he didn’t stop there, despite becoming an NBA star and celebrity. He went back to school – partially through online learning – to earn his MBA from the University of Phoenix and then his Ph.D. in leadership from Barry University.

Rashida Jones

Major: Comparative Religion

School: Harvard University

Quote: “In high school I never drank, I never smoked, I never smoked weed. I was president of the varsity club and was on the math team and then student government. I was in every activity. I saved all the bad stuff for college.”

The daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton is best known for her roles in “Parks and Recreation” and “The Office” is an Ivy League grad. She cultivated her creative side as musical director of the co-ed a cappella group the Harvard Opportunes and was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club and Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Lisa Kudrow

Major: Psychobiology

School: Vassar College

Fun fact: When Kudrow and Mira Sorvino, a Harvard grad worked on “Romy and Michele's High School Reunion” together, they nicknamed each other "Smart and Smarter.”

She might have played ditzy Phoebe on Friends, but Lisa Kudrow is as smart as they come, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1985.

Ashton Kutcher

Major: Biochemical Engineering

School: University of Iowa

(Not so) fun fact: In college, he was so poor that he donated his own blood.

Before he became famous on “That ‘70s Show” or even met Demi Moore or Mila Kunis, Kutcher was studying hard core science. That is, until he was discovered by a local talent scout and dropped out to pursue modeling.

Freddie Highmore

Majors: Spanish and Arabic

School: Cambridge University’s Emmanuel College

Fun fact: Freddie achieved 10 A* grades (which is like an A+) on his General Certificate of Secondary Education exams (GCSEs) – a big deal for UK teens.

He plays “The Good Doctor” on TV, but British actor Freddie Highmore was more of a language scholar in real life.

Ken Jeong

Major: Medicine

Schools: Duke University (undergrad); UNC (medical school)

Fun fact: Even while studying medicine, he had his sights set on comedy, taking on roles in Duke’s Hoof ’n’ Horn campus productions.

His breakout role in “The Hangover,” and all of his screen appearances since, are quite the opposite of Ken Jeong’s academic background and first career as a licensed physician.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Major: Criminology

School: University of Miami

Quote: “The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I know nothing. I mean, that’s my life lesson.”

He might be known for his brawn, whether he’s in the professional wrestling ring or in a big screen blockbuster, but “The Rock” used his brains, too, to complete his bachelor’s degree on a full football scholarship.

Connie Britton

Major: Asian Studies

School: Dartmouth College

Fun fact: As part of her degree program, Britton spent a semester in Beijing learning to speak Chinese.

On TV, she spent several seasons on a high school football field in “Friday Night Lights,” but she didn’t shy away from higher education after her own high school days.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Majors: Eastern Religion and Philosophy

School: Columbia University

Fun fact: He named his dog Atticus Finch after his favorite book character from “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

The fact that he’s been acting since he was 11 years old didn’t stop Jake Gyllenhaal from pursuing higher education – at any Ivy League school to boot. After two years, though, he left school to focus solely on acting.

Jennifer Garner

Major: Chemistry (later switched to Fine Arts)

School: Denison University

Fun fact: Garner was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority in college, and graduated in 1994.

Jennifer Garner’s original plans were to follow in her dad’s footsteps (he was a chemical engineer), but once she discovered a passion for acting during her college years, she changed her major from chemistry to drama.

Kenny Chesney

Major: Advertising

School: East Tennessee State University

Quote: “When I was playing for tips in college, I felt a fire in my soul.”

While he pursued and finished his college degree in marketing, Kenny Chesney was also writing songs and playing local bars during his college years.

Ray Romano

Major: Accounting

School: Queens College

Quote: “If my father had hugged me even once, I'd be an accountant right now.”

Before the comedian Ray Romano conquered the stand-up stage or prime time TV on his show “Everybody Loves Raymond,” he had aspirations to be an accountant. He only lasted two years in college, however.

Common

Major: Business Administration

School: Florida A&M University

Fun fact: Common is an ambassador for the Adopt-A-Classroom initiative, which helps provide funds to teachers to purchase classroom supplies.

The rapper Common studied business for two years before he decided to leave school to pursue a full-time career as a performer. Based on his success, those business classes must have stuck.

Steven Yeun

Major: Psychology

School: Kalamazoo College

Quote: “What I loved about Kalamazoo was that it gave me an opportunity to try everything at least once. I got to study the sciences while also jumping into the theatre. I got to write my thesis on religion while studying abroad in the U.K... It was a true coming-of-age college experience.”

You know him as Glenn Rhee on the "Walking Dead," but Steven Yeun credit his college days for all of his success and star power.

Aziz Ansari

Major: Marketing

School: New York University’s Stern School of Business

Quote: “By the time I was in my sophomore year, I was confident I could do well in comedy. Luckily, I was right."

Before he was a “Master of None,” he tried mastering marketing as an undergrad. He earned his degree in 2004.

Kumail Nanjiani

Majors: Philosophy and Computer science

School: Grinnell College

Quote: “I grew up watching 'Ghostbusters' and 'Knight Rider' and Hot Wheels commercials. When I got to college, having never set foot in America, I knew more American pop-culture references than my friends did.”

From “The Big Sick” to “Silicon Valley,” Nanjiani, a stand-up comedian turned actor, seems to be popping up everywhere on both the big and small screens. But if it wasn’t for the fact that he moved to the U.S. to attend college, we might not have gotten to love his work.

Brian May

Major: Ph.D. in Astrophysics

School: Imperial College in London

Quote: “I think music is about our internal life. It's part of the way people touch each other. That's very precious to me. And astronomy is, in a sense, the very opposite thing. Instead of looking inwards, you are looking out, to things beyond our grasp.”

Wait, what? The iconic guitarist of the band “Queen” is not just a musical genius, but he has a mind for science, too? That’s right. After returning to his alma mater to finish his Ph.D. in 2007, he’s also found time between concert tours to be a visiting researcher there.