In the years following the 2008 Great Recession, which disrupted millions of lives and caused unemployment rates to surge, there was a noticeable shift in the majors chosen by college students in the US. According to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the number of undergraduate humanities degrees earned has decreased every year since 2012. History degrees dropped almost 37% from 2012 to 2022, and English language and literature degrees have shrunk by approximately one-third over the 1987-2018 period.
Meanwhile, engineering, business, health and other pre-professional majors and programs have been steadily rising.
While STEM education is no doubt valuable and necessary for technological progress, it should not be prioritized at the extent of humanities.
The increasingly low enrollment in humanities fields signifies a deeper shift in the way students approach education. Concerned about future job opportunities and lower salaries, many students prioritize the majors with a clear career path rather than those they are most interested in.
This shift begins before college. For example, at Archer, students have the option to take an advanced math course starting in eighth grade and an advanced science course in ninth. Yet it isn’t until junior year that students can take an advanced history or English course. Regardless of the reasoning behind this fact, it does drive students towards STEM and language if they want to take advanced-level classes.
Combined with the fact that underfunded American school departments are forced to make cuts to majors that lack student interest, the shifted educational approach has perpetuated the notion that humanities are fundamentally less valuable than STEM. Every list I’ve seen of “most regretted college majors” or “most useless college majors” is overwhelmingly filled with humanity fields, serving only to further encourage this downward trend.
However, an American Academy of Arts & Sciences report found that with the exception of engineering, humanities majors’ salaries and unemployment rates are similar to those of other college graduates. The data also shows that they markedly outearn people without a degree.
Not only are the humanities equally important as STEM, but they are not mutually exclusive. Many prominent ethical questions today surrounding science and technology are intrinsically intertwined with the humanities. Issues like AI and climate policy require deep critical thinking and an understanding of human behavior and morality, and skills developed through humanities studies are in demand in the work field. For example, data scientists need effective communication skills to tell compelling stories, and the medical fields benefit from humanities education to better understand their patients.
“The benefits of the humanities extend far beyond the financial: they give meaning to life, and help us understand ourselves and our place in the world,” Oxford University Professor and Head of Humanities Dan Grimley wrote. “Nonetheless, it remains important to demonstrate that they also offer tangible “real-world” skills and a diverse range of outstanding career outcomes.”
Our growing disinterest in the humanities neglects the fact that our society depends on humanities, as well as the creative leaders, innovators and thinkers who shape our world. By disregarding the importance of writing, historical thinking, reading and language, we risk closing ourselves off to some of the most valuable skills in life.
Humanities education brings about a vast range of benefits. It helps students develop resilience, critical thinking skills, adaptability and creative problem-solving. Most importantly, though, it teaches us to be empathetic. Studying human culture and exploring our world through other peoples’ perspectives allows us to better understand ourselves, others and the societies around us.
Students tend to put themselves in a box: humanities or STEM. I encourage everyone, even self-proclaimed STEM students and career-oriented majors, to take a few humanities classes and truly try to engage deeply in them. I also encourage high schools to offer strong humanities courses for all grade levels if possible. It will only serve to enhance studies and augment feelings of intellectual fulfillment.
