What Are the Humanities?

What Is Humanities?

Humanities is a subset of the liberal arts, though they are often mistaken as being synonymous – a liberal arts education is more general than a humanities one. Studying the humanities can help us answer life's big questions by examining what motivates us as human beings and how our environment and the social constructs we create as a society impact our lives. The humanities can also help explain how we express ourselves through language and art and how these tools are used universally to capture moments throughout different eras in history.

What Is the Difference Between The Humanities and Social Sciences Fields?

Humanities and social science are both subsets of the liberal arts. However, while humanities disciplines and those in the social sciences may overlap, such as studying linguistics or culture, you'll approach their study differently. 

What Is a Humanities Degree?

A humanities degree can be an associate, bachelor's, master's, PhD, or doctorate. It provides you with a multidisciplinary approach to learning. A curriculum that supports a humanities degree is more historical and theoretical than STEM degrees, for example, because it helps you build your analytical and critical thinking skills and apply them to the challenges facing humanity rather than science or technology. 

A humanities degree generally takes full-time students two to four years to complete between 30 to 120 credit hours. 

Humanities Majors

There are several popular humanities majors:

• Art history degrees
• English degrees
• History degrees
• Music degrees
• Philosophy degrees
• Religious studies degrees
• Theology degrees

You can choose areas of concentration within many of these majors. For example, if you are interested in music, you may be able to concentrate on musical theater, musicology, composition, or music theory. If you are interested in language, you can choose from a foreign language major, a creative writing degree, or even the study of sign language.

Humanities Classes

Students often take humanities courses as part of a school's required general education core curriculum regardless of their major. This practice introduces an interdisciplinary approach to learning since many other academic disciplines intersect with the humanities. Humanities classes support a curriculum that helps you think more critically about the world and how we all live in it. Classes take into account our individual and collective experiences as part society.

While titles may vary across schools and programs, course intent and outcomes are similar:

Skills Gained From a Humanities Degree

You can gain skills from a humanities education that may prove invaluable to your personal and professional life. It's often thought that a humanities degree isn't professionally sound. However, the contrary is true. Many jobs rely on skills you can develop while earning a humanities degree which are often the hardest skills to recruit for. These are often soft skills that contribute to your work ethic and values, how you communicate and build relationships, motivate and support others, and problem-solve. 

• Accountability

• Quantitative Reasoning

• Adaptability

• Analytical and Creative Thinking

• Collaboration and Teamwork

• Conflict Resolution, Negotiation, and Leadership

• Emotional Intelligence and Empathy

• Oral and Written Communications

Humanities Careers

You can choose from several career paths that are intellectually rewarding, pay well, and provide opportunities for professional growth in and outside the humanities field. These occupations may enable you to work in diverse and even non-traditional environments, which may contribute to your overall job satisfaction. According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), many occupations in the humanities are anticipated to grow faster than average.

Is a Humanities Degree Worth It?

Yes, a humanities degree is worth it because not only can it provide you with discipline-specific knowledge, but it can also help with personal growth and development. These degrees can help you get career-ready, as well as help shape your values. You'll also likely meet like-minded people through school who may help you master your studies, open the door to professional opportunities, or become lifelong friends.

However, a degree's worth ultimately comes down to your personal and professional goals and financial situation. You'll want to consider a degree that will provide an adequate return on your investment (ROI) and prepare you for average or above job growth. There are also other factors to consider when weighing the pros and cons of earning a humanities degree.

Potential Benefits

• You can complete a humanities degree entirely online. Studying in the humanities requires a lot of autonomous work, such as reading and writing, so you should be able to find an online school to complete your degree if you have a busy schedule.

• A humanities degree can be affordable. Many two- and four-year institutions offer degrees in the humanities. Therefore, you'll have many schools to choose from at varying degrees of affordability. If you attend online, your school may offer low tuition, waive campus fees, or charge flat-rate tuition regardless of residency. 

• You'll learn to think more critically about the world around you. A degree in the humanities can broaden your scope and enable you to see the world through a different lens. You'll have opportunities to hone your analytical and critical thinking skills, which may build empathy and compassion.

Potential Drawbacks

• There tends to be a low degree of satisfaction among humanities majors. CareerExplorer found that humanities majors score their overall satisfaction with their degree at only 2.8/5. They are most dissatisfied with their job prospects and their degree as a whole.

• Your income potential may be lower with a humanities degree. You may not earn as much as someone with a bachelor's degree in another discipline. The Humanities Indicator shows that humanities bachelor's degree holders earned an average of $58,000 compared to those with bachelor's degrees in engineering, business, or the physical sciences, who earned $64,000 in 2018.

• Women who major in the humanities are not immune to the gender gap. The humanities indicator shows that women between the ages of 23-32 who majored in the humanities earned 8% less than their male counterparts on average in 2018. This number jumped to 22% for women between the ages of 48-59.

Bottom Line

A humanities degree can open the door to many traditional and non-traditional careers that pay well and are experiencing fast job growth. It's a versatile degree you can complete affordably on-campus or online. Skills are transferable and applicable to various environments and are appreciated by employers seeking applicants with the soft skills often developed through higher education in the arts and humanities.