A university has launched what it says is the first Master of Arts [MA] degree course on the Beatles, to study their (impact) on popular music and society.
Students taking the (postgraduate) course at Liverpool Hope University -- in the Fab Four's home city -- will take four 12-week modules and be required to write a dissertation.
"There have been over 8,000 books about The Beatles but there has never been serious (academic) study and that is what we are going to address," said course leader Mike Brocken, a senior lecturer in popular music.
"The Beatles (influenced) so much of society, not just with their music, but also with fashion from their collar-less jackets to their psychedelic clothes," he added.
Their output covered a huge range of music and film, from the black and white film "A Hard Day's Night" to "Strawberry Fields Forever," which Brocken (noted) was "accompanied by arguably the first pop video."
He added: "Forty years on, now is the right time and Liverpool is the right place to study The Beatles. It is (definitely) the first Beatles related MA in this country and I would say probably the first in the world."
The course (entitled) Beatles, Popular Music and Society -- which can also be taken part-time -- starts in September, and Brocken said he has already had expressions of interest from the United States (as well as) in Britain..
Fees for an MA course at the university are around 3,500 (pounds) and students will have to fund themselves unless they win backing from another institution, (although) there may be "some" bursaries.
Questions)
1. How much do you know about Beatles?
2. Have you ever heard any crazy fans about Beatles?
3. How do you view the MA of the Beatles?