The number of college students choosing to major in humanities has been declining significantly over the past decade. The Academy of Arts and Sciences analysis of education data found that humanities degrees have fallen to the lowest levels on record since 1948. Between 2012-2014 alone, there was an 8.7% decline in core humanities degrees. This downward trend has been attributed to various sources ranging from increasingly evolving STEM fields, post-Recession job insecurity, and skyrocketing tuition costs and student loan debt. Yet a chorus of education experts, debt-ridden graduates, and even professionals without degrees say that despite their decreasing popularity, high school students debating college or college freshman shouldn’t assume that humanities are an irresponsible choice professionally or financially.
“We know that those with [any] college degrees, including humanities, earn more in their lifetime, they live longer, and they’re statistically happier,” says Phil Grant, a Ph.D candidate in Education Policy at the Carl Vinson Institute.
The term “humanities” traditionally brings to mind the core of English, history, linguistics and similar majors. Yet even by the broadest definitions of humanities that include art, religion, and gender studies, humanities have still hit an all-time low of just 9.9% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded.
Jack and Jenna Photography was founded in 2013 with a “huge leap of faith” brought about by desperate circumstances. Jack Cortez, a mostly self-taught amateur photographer since high school, studied Cinematography at the Savannah College of Art and Design for one year. He accrued $13,000 in student debt before dropping out in 2012, in part because of financial difficulties. Jack worked odd construction jobs until an injury left him out of work. Struggling to survive on his girlfriend, Jenna Hall’s, income alone, they decided to pursue wedding photography together. Jenna saved up tip money from her waitressing job at the time to buy a camera off Craigslist.
“Pretty much everything you need to know to run a successful small photography business you can learn, online, for free,” says Jenna. She later quit her waitressing job earlier as their business grew into a two-person, full-time business.
While you’d be hard-pressed to find a successful engineer working without a degree, fields like art, photography, creative writing and graphic design have a lower barrier to entry for those with self-taught skills and little by way of formal education.
“Literally the first thing I shot I had no idea what I was doing,” says Jenna, who originally obtained a college degree in Education but never worked in the field. In between bookings, Jenna poured over photography manuals, forums, and blogs to master basic technical elements. She joined photography Facebook groups centered around constructive criticism and mentoring. For the abundance of information on the internet, Jenna admits a degree would have likely made her a more knowledgable and confident photographer. She ‘lucked out’ with her partner Jack, who she credits as taking on a mentor role with her, filling in the gap of formal education. She considers herself even more lucky to discover that, beyond financial security, she’s actually truly passionate about her art.
And experts say the heavily cited lower employment rates after graduation for humanities majors may be overstated, with humanities majors generally facing only 2-3% higher rates of unemployment.
Another factor that isn’t discussed enough, particularly to low-income students who may be more avoidant of the humanities because of their perceived risk, is the flexibility of employment options for humanities majors, according to Phil Grant.
Andrew Schwegler is a graphic designer and a computer programmer based in Atlanta. His degree from the University of Georgia, however, is in political science. His obsession with graphic design and programming began in middle school, and in college he found himself designing websites for organizations like the Phi Kappa Literary Society at UGA.
Schwegler admits he has regrets about obtaining a degree in political science given his current position. In fact, he wishes he’d gone with what he loved, and studied English – a major with one of the steepest declines even within the humanities. In his position at the (now-defunct) Blink! Media years ago, he was told they see humanities as invaluable, because they teach you how to think independently and creatively.
And yet, eschewing humanities degrees means avoiding tuition costs and the average $35,000 of debt per undergraduate nationally. Just one year of tuition at a private college like the humanities-heavy Savannah College of Art and Design will cost you over $35,000.
Megan McCranie spent six years regretting her Art History undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia. She graduated with little direction and few tools to secure a job she was passionate about. After six years as an administrative assistant at an architectural engineering firm, she went back to SCAD for graphic design.
A closer look at the numbers shows that the much-cited income gaps between humanities and STEM degree holders is actually around $7,000 for similar levels of education. This income gap narrows with advanced degrees.
McCranie is quick to admit her $60,000 of student debt from SCAD is a ‘huge financial burden’. Still, she credits SCAD with being able to nail her dream job as a graphic designer at Coca-Cola straight after graduation.
SCAD boasts an employment rate of 91% for graduates. Though only 65% of students will actually complete a degree within six years, Jack Cortez hypothesizes the low graduation rate may be students who are recruited while still in school off the strength of their portfolios. Coca-Cola and other companies regularly visit SCAD to view student portfolios and recruit new employees. McCranie says her experience of being recruited for a position wouldn’t have happened without the visibility and reputation of SCAD in the industry. Jack, despite his self-made success, echoes the sentiment in favor of pursuing humanities degrees if financially able.
“If I had finished out my four years at SCAD in film…there’s no question I probably would’ve had a job right out of school. Just because SCAD is that great of school,” says Jack.
