In Defense of the Endangered Humanities Major

Back in college, I felt like an endangered species. I was an English lit and political science major, seemingly surrounded by engineering, pre-med, and business school students.

I can’t imagine what it must be like on campuses today, with the drastic cuts to liberal arts and humanities programs. 

Yes, I get it. The high cost of tuition and the changing job market are driving students toward more “practical” degrees. But I can personally attest to the real-world value of a liberal arts education and the many important — and marketable — skills it can equip you with. 

So, for my liberal arts brethren — students, recent grads and their worried parents — I’ve put together this defense of the humanities major (with a little help from my friends). 

Use these points to support and justify your choices in job interviews and applications, on your résumé and LinkedIn profile or among your peers.

The practical benefits of a humanities degree

Here is what I’ve found a humanities education can teach you:

• Critical thinking. In high school and college, we would exhaustively analyze literature, identifying motifs, symbols, and themes that offered clues to the text’s larger meaning. I use this skill every day to make sense of the world around me.
• Open-mindedness. Very often in these disciplines there is no single “right” answer. As long as you could support your point with textual evidence, it was valid.
• Empathy. In literature, as in life, few villains are motivated purely by evil. The best ones are complicated. This helped me see things from others’ point of view and try to understand their motivations.
• Creativity. There is nothing like sitting in front of a blank screen and having to fill it with words and ideas and viewpoints — and to make it all fit together.
• Storytelling and communication. Finally, of course, learning the patterns and rhythms of great stories, debating in the classroom and writing essays were an excellent training ground for, well, everything.

Wisdom from the trenches

All of this may be easy for me to say because I went to college way back in the last century! So I sought a reality check from parents of college kids, current students and the people hiring them.

Marketing and communication veteran and father of two college grads Pete Brace says, “Can certain skills/majors help? Yes, but I’d hire curiosity, drive and ambition over degree any day.”

Editorial and creative director John Hubbell says, “Degrees that will ‘get you hired so you can pay your mortgage’ don’t build the empathy, storytelling, and emotional intelligence skills that one needs to be a good peer, let alone a good leader.”

Sadie Jenkins, a political science and English writing student, says that “these fields have shaped who I am in profound ways. They’ve taught me how to think critically, communicate effectively, and understand the world with nuance and empathy.”

Finally, a word of warning: A humanities degree is going to make the job hunt a little more challenging. As communication strategist and mother of a classical vocal performance grad Melinda Brunell puts it, your liberal arts degree “is not going to get you in the door,” echoing the thoughts of several parents.

Magazine editor Christine Barakat added that her son worked to “build a portfolio and connections” and “thoughtfully curated his LinkedIn profile, which is where a recruiter found him.” 

Timeless skills for the AI age

All of these skills are critical in any setting and age. But especially in the AI era, they constitute key differentiators. 

Just listen to Anthropic co-founder and president Daniela Amodei, herself a literature major. “Studying the humanities is going to be more important than ever,” she says, pointing to the value of “the things that make us human.” 

That includes “understanding ourselves, understanding history ...what makes us tick ... critical thinking skills” and the ability to “interact with other people.”

So to my fellow liberal arts/humanities majors, take heart. Be confident in the knowledge that you bring genuine, practical value to the workplace and the marketplace. And be prepared to vigorously make the case for your chosen path.