---

Students in a lecture class at Carnegie Mellon University were packing up to leave when Elliott Curtis, their instructor, called them back to their seats, saying he'd forgotten a key part of the lesson.

It was time for them to come forward and show their sneakers.

One by one, volunteers stepped to the front of the room, removed a shoe and -- in the name of higher learning -- placed it on an overhead projector so the class could study and admire the footwear.

One offered up his Halloween edition Air Force 1, a spiffy half-orange, half-black patent leather creation that drew a smattering of applause. Next came a custom-made Nike Dunk in Burberry plaid that moved a woman in the third row to declare, "That is sexy."

Finally, Curtis, 22, a Carnegie Mellon senior who team-teaches the course with another student, took the plunge, removing one of his own Nike Penny IIs.

"I'll contribute," he said.

No, this was not somebody's shoe-fetish fantasy.

All semester long, these students attending one of the nation's most rigorous universities are earning college credit by taking "Sneakerology 101."

Designed and delivered by Curtis and senior classmate Jesse Chorng, the hour-long weekly course explores the impact of sneakers on identity and culture. In doing so, it straddles the worlds of hip-hop, fashion and basketball.

Sure, a course devoted to sneakers sounds frivolous at a place better known for classes in engineering and computer science. But consider this: Not only does Sneakerology sometimes have a wait list, those who complete it sometimes come back the next semester for more.

"We actually can't give them credit again," said Chorng, 21, an economics major from Los Angeles. "So we'll have them come in and speak."

Some of the 45 students sitting in this spring aren't even from campus. Among them is Adam Abu-Elmagd, 21, a marketing major at the University of Pittsburgh who said he was told he could not get credit for the course because of the waiting list. He showed up anyway.

"I love sneakers. Anything about sneakers," said Abu-Elmagd, who owns 150 pairs and views the class as a way to network for jobs in the sneaker industry and mix with others who share his passion.

"It's almost like a little cult," he said. "If you're a sneaker person, it's exciting to talk to other people about stuff like that."

Since its debut last year, Sneakerology has developed an Internet following among those deeply into the sneaker culture. Many "sneakerheads" think nothing of camping overnight outside a shoe store to get first crack at a soon-to-be released model, or owning enough Reeboks, Nikes and Vans to stuff a closet.

Carnegie Mellon delivers Sneakerology through the school's student college, an initiative that lets students explore and teach subjects not available through regular university offerings.

The one-credit, pass/fail offering attracts novices as well as the sneaker obsessed. It takes a serious look at topics including early hip-hop roots and New York City street fashion, footwear advertising and consumerism, shoe design and technology, and the effect of boutiques and limited-edition releases.

Naturally, a lecture is devoted to the history of the Air Jordan, that iconic Nike line bearing the name of basketball legend Michael Jordan.

As a mid-term assignment, students must design their own sneaker and compose a 200-to-300 word description of its makeup and what inspired it. Some go all out, like the man who envisioned a sneaker dedicated to the best beards of all time. His shoe, dubbed the Hemingway edition, had fur on the toe.

For their final exam, Sneakerology students take part in "Kicksburgh," an April 15 campus event with vendors and artists that celebrates the city's urban fashion and footwear.