Humanities departments across the country are building innovative programs that aim to grow humanities enrollment and support humanities undergraduates as they envision and prepare for their post-graduate futures. We researched a range of these programs–here’s a little of what we discovered.
Fundamentals
- Growing the humanities is about access and equity–it’s less about majors and more about impacts on a broad range of students (Arizona State University)
- The humanities are especially well-equipped for interdisciplinary thinking and study–even and especially students in pre-professional majors benefit from humanities courses and high-impact experiences (BYU)
- Humanities majors have almost unlimited possibilities for their futures–frame this as an adventure rather than merely uncertainty
- We should frame the humanities from a position of strength rather than defensiveness or scarcity. After meaningful investment in the humanities, UC Irvine saw a 23% increase in students declaring humanities majors in the last five years.
Innovative programs
This program compensates humanities students at the University of Wisconsin, Madison who serve as interns at arts and humanities-based organizations (radio station, music festival, garden education program)
Students, staff, faculty, and community members are invited to this full-week celebration of all things Humanities at Arizona State University each year, featuring speakers, film screenings, panel discussions, and games
Emory University’s Mellon-funded Humanities Pathways project has sparked “Career Treks,” which enables faculty to travel with students to experience humanities careers in action.
This wrap-around program for humanities majors at Brigham Young University helps students think through their in-class and extracurricular experiences to develop a personal narrative and a vision for their post-graduate futures
Professional development for Humanities students
These schools are leading the way in developing coursework and other opportunities for students to learn about futures in the humanities
Mentorship networks
- at University of Wisconsin, a mentorship program helps connect undergrads with alumni working in fields they’re curious about
Courses
- at UC Irvine and Rhode Island College, students can enroll in one-credit humanities-focused career readiness courses that help with resume and cover-letter development, networking, and career planning
Engaged English requirement
- English majors at Cal State LA must take at least one “Engaged English” course as part of their major requirements. These courses “ensure that every English major will have the opportunity to connect their English major studies to their communities and/or to their professional development.”
Humanities Mindsets for Career Development
- The career center at Columbia University offers this set of insights about how to apply modes of thinking in the humanities to work through tricky career development challenges.
Here’s a list of the schools whose humanities professional development programs we researched–representing just some of the innovative work being done nationwide to help launch humanities majors
- Arizona State University
- Brigham Young University
- California State University, Los Angeles
- Columbia University
- Emory University
- Fairfield University
- Knox College
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- Rhode Island College
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Wisconsin
- University of California, Irvine