Anyone who thinks a course devoted to Dracula is a waste of time should read the classic novel by Bram Stoker before voicing any criticism. It’s not Twilight, folks.

Kara Mason of The College Fix notes that the course is incredibly popular among students.

Public University Devotes Course to Dracula

Nowadays, vampires are everywhere: television, the big screen, books – and the University of Virginia.

This fall, the venerable public university will offer a course titled “Dracula,” a three-unit class that fulfills an English or Slavic elective.

Taught by Professor Stanley Stepanic, the class is incredibly popular among students (as of Monday the 150-seat class was at capacity and had amassed 45 students on its waiting list). Spring and summer sections have also been added.

It’s also been called an Easy A, as the course, which has been taught at UVA for the last eight years, includes watching a half-dozen vampire movies, according to students quoted in the campus newspaper.

But Stepanic, in a recent interview with The College Fix, defended his “Dracula” class.

“Don’t think that because it isn’t a course on chemistry or physics it’s any less useful,” he said in an email. “In this day, even a degree in one of those fields is most certainly not a guarantee for a job.”

Stepanic says his class delves into the history and applications of Dracula, and teaches students how to thoroughly analyze a subject and properly write research papers, adding “there’s still this mentality in America, not just towards Dracula, but towards classes that are different that, ‘well, there goes our taxpayer dollars.’ ”

“I love teaching and I love it when my students take the time to pay attention and learn from me, and that’s what it’s about.”

In essence, the course is dedicated to a study of Slavic demonology, or vampires, but that doesn’t even scrape the surface, Stepanic says.