Students at Idaho State University will now have the opportunity to take a class on human evolution that includes studying scientific theories about Bigfoot.

Starting next semester, the experimental class, titled The Relict Hominoid Inquiry, will be taught by Prof. Jeff Meldrum, a noted Bigfoot expert, Idaho State Journal reports.

However, Mark Austin, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences at ISU who approved the new course made sure to emphasize to the that "It is not a course on Bigfoot."

"It is a course on anthropology," he said. "The idea behind it is to propose these new courses to students and give them a variety in the courses they can take."  

The entire course will focus on the human evolutionary chain, while two days will be dedicated to studying Bigfoot and Yeti. The theory suggests that offshoots of human evolution could be relatively recent and exist in today's world although they have yet to be discovered. Such examples include Sasquatch and Yeti.

"What I'm trying to do is address a shift in perception that's been gaining traction in the anthropological community," said Prof. Meldrum.

That shift involves looking at human evolution as a tree while scientists continue to discover new branches.

"Each year it seems like there are more discoveries," Meldrum said. "The phylogeny is becoming bushier and bushier."

The description for the elective course states: "Are we the last hominin standing? Or could there be others? ... Are these mystery hominoids -- the sasquatch, yeti, almas, yeren, orang pendek -- surviving branches of a bushy family tree?"

"If this is successful we can decide to continue offering it on a regular basis," Meldrum said.

Prof. Meldrum has over two decades of experience teaching anatomy and anthropology at ISU. He has dedicated his life to studying ancient footprints, archeological records and legendary creatures from a scientific viewpoint. As a result, Meldrum's accolades have led him to be featured as a noted expert on Animal Planet TV specials about Bigfoot.