Perhaps more celebrities should follow Shakira’s example who is using her spare time to enrich her knowledge of history of western civilization.

The Columbian pop singer has been attending history of western civilization courses with prestigious professor Robert Cleve, who has his doctorate in the subject, at the University of California, Los Angeles, for over a month.

"While everyone else has been at the beach, the MTV Awards and the Emmys, Shakira's been studying History of Western Civilization all summer at UCLA," a source was quoted by People as saying.

Apparently, the teacher had no idea who Shakira is and was surprised to find out she’s such a famous singer.

"She told me she was visiting from Colombia and that she was just doing this for her own enlightenment and enjoyment. She looked like just an ordinary student. She wasn't flamboyant, she didn't act like a big celebrity or anything," he said.

Since her attendance was voluntary, Shakira, who most recently got awarded for "Most earth shattering collaboration" with Beyonce for Beautiful Liar at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, didn't receive a grade or take exams, but Cleve noted that he "was really impressed with how intelligent she was," and she often discussed the course material with him after the class.

Her manager confirmed she had enrolled on the course, saying: "She went when she finished her tour, for the summer." The 30-year-old star has been studying on her own for a long time.