why are humanities classes a required course for liberal arts and stem based degrees

by Belle Gibson III 8 min read

Humanities courses help teach STEM students how to think creatively, reason, and analyze situations. These skills aren't limited to teachers and philosophers—doctors, lawyers, business leaders, and engineers can all be more successful in their careers by studying a balanced curriculum.

Full Answer

Should I major in humanities or stem?

This could not be further from the truth. There are strengths and advantages that a degree in fields such as History, Linguistics, and Political Science hold that STEM degrees do not. Humanities majors encourage analysis, critical-thinking, and a vast knowledge of various topics.

Why take humanities courses?

When you take courses in any humanities discipline, you are using different methods to learn about individuals, including yourself, and groups of peoples. You examine relationships and feelings, the feelings of others, as well as your own feelings.

Are Arts and humanities students being turned off from pursuing degrees?

Eric Darr, president of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, said he doesn’t think arts and humanities students are being turned off from pursuing those particular degrees, although some of the recent press may help sway some of their decisions – in particular articles about salary comparisons.

Is the steam approach best for Arts and humanities students?

Even if the STEAM approach is best, funding cuts to arts and humanities programs remain an inescapable reality. In the face of such cuts, arts and humanities students will have less career counseling and professional guidance in school than their STEM peers.

Why do STEM students need humanities courses?

Science has told us a lot about ourselves, and we're learning more every day. But the humanities remind us that we have an enormous capacity for deluding ourselves. They also tell us that every single human is unique, different than every other human, and each of us keeps changing in unpredictable ways.

Why is humanities important in STEM?

Humanities courses help teach STEM students how to think creatively, reason, and analyze situations. These skills aren't limited to teachers and philosophers—doctors, lawyers, business leaders, and engineers can all be more successful in their careers by studying a balanced curriculum.

Why are humanities courses required?

The humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and cultures. They foster social justice and equality. And they reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world. The humanities teach empathy.

Why liberal arts and the humanities are important?

Through the work of humanities scholars, we learn about the values of different cultures, about what goes into making a work of art, about how history is made. Their efforts preserve the great accomplishments of the past, help us understand the world we live in, and give us tools to imagine the future.

Why are humanities majors important?

The disciplines and expertise of the humanities can train you to frame new questions, interpret texts and images more subtly and more deeply, understand nuances of human motivation and communication, bring together different cultural perspectives productively, and make ethical choices about the values that motivate ...

What is the value of studying humanities as a student?

A humanistic education will help you understand, appreciate, and produce art, music, theatre, and literature. Humanities disciplines focus on understanding beauty and the good, and give students the opportunity to practice making good and beautiful things themselves.

What is humanities course all about?

Humanities studies the history and development of human thought and culture. By focusing on literature, history, philosophy, art and film, humanities courses seek a broad and interconnected understanding of the human experience.

What is humanities in liberal arts?

Part of the liberal arts, the humanities promote critical thinking, analysis, and creativity. Unlike the social sciences, the humanities focus more on qualitative analysis. Popular humanities majors include English, foreign languages, and history.

Why is liberal arts education important?

A liberal arts education builds students into freethinkers, open communicators, knowledgeable citizens, and respectable individuals. Many liberal arts colleges are focused on creating critical, creative thinkers that transform into citizens devoted to service, education, and acceptance of others.

What is liberal studies in humanities?

A liberal arts degree includes the study of history, literature, writing, philosophy, sociology, psychology, creative arts and more. Liberal arts programs are designed to help you formulate compelling arguments, communicate well and solve problems.

What can we learn from the humanities?

Within the humanities, one can learn another language, which can open the window into a new culture, a new worldview.

What is liberal arts education?

A liberal education is a cohesive collection of experiences, each providing its own unique contribution to the enlightenment of its practitioners. Typically, a liberal arts education involves the study of the natural sciences (including mathematics), the social sciences, and the humanities.

The Benefits of an Evolved Curriculum

Humanities courses help teach STEM students how to think creatively, reason, and analyze situations. These skills aren't limited to teachers and philosophers—doctors, lawyers, business leaders, and engineers can all be more successful in their careers by studying a balanced curriculum.

What Can You Do With a Liberal Arts Education Anyway?

A standalone education in the humanities and social sciences can prepare students to be successful in a variety of work settings. Humanities graduates may pursue careers in consulting, journalism, publishing, marketing, sales, advertising, education, non-profit management, public service, research, and much more.

Earn a Degree From a Nationally Recognized Institution

Tulane School of Professional Advancement boasts a renowned legacy of excellence in the humanities and liberal arts. Our dedicated faculty is committed to supporting students throughout their journeys and helping them succeed beyond the classroom.

What is a humanities major?

Humanities majors encourage analysis, critical-thinking, and a vast knowledge of various topics. These majors look deeper into varied texts that affect media, culture, society, literature, and politics. It is not the major specification that is applied in the workforce, but it is the work ethic and skills that are gained in earning the degree.

What can an English major do?

English majors work well with close readings and analysis, as well as grammar and writing, which can be applied to media professions, law, business, creative professions, and politics . If our country focuses only on the drive to be a technologically advanced nation, our culture and society will follow in suit.

Is a liberal arts degree a waste of paper?

Humanities majors are at the butt of the career jokes. To most, a degree in Liberal Arts or Humanities is a wasted piece of paper and a job at a fast-food chain. This could not be further from the truth.

How can humanities help students?

How Humanities Students Can Help Themselves. Humanities students need to educate themselves on how to communicate their abilities and ideas. Also, having a firm business foundation along with understanding the importance of their own craft is essential to impressing an employer and landing a job.

Why shouldn't STEM take precedence over the arts?

Why STEM shouldn't take Precedence over the Arts. As much trouble as the education industry is in , every state continues to witness the dissolving of the very funds intended to help it. Major cuts in education have been directed toward the arts and humanities where millions of students are being deprived of these subjects and outlets.

What are the components of STEM?

One of the major components of STEM is rote memorization which can hinder a student’s ability to think freely on subjects. When social sciences and arts are provided, students are able to understand problems rather than simply accepting solutions.

What is the government push for STEM?

While the Department of Education (DoE) attempts to find a one-size-fits-all solution for more than 14,000 public school districts through its Common Core Standards, the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) have been placed as the focal point for education, well ahead of arts and humanities.

How many times more likely are kids to be involved in the arts?

But according to the Americans for the Arts organization, their studies show that children involved in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair.

Why is it important to put a social science degree on your resume?

Even a short history of understanding how to conduct social science research or working in an arts industry is steps ahead of someone who only has a degree.

How many elementary students are without music?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), nearly 1.5 million elementary students are without music, nearly 4 million are without the visual arts, and almost 100% of them, more than 23 million, are educated without dance and theatre. Government Push for STEM. While the Department of Education (DoE) attempts ...

What are the skills that are important to a liberal arts major?

Skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence and other soft skills are invaluable to many employers. There’s also the myth that liberal arts majors will make close to nothing once they graduate, while every STEM major will be rolling in the dough.

What percentage of people with a bachelor's degree in STEM are not employed?

However, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2014, 74 percent of individuals who have a bachelor’s degree in a STEM major weren’t employed in the STEM field.

What are the pros and cons of liberal arts?

Pros and cons of liberal arts majors. According to a report by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), 80 percent of employees agree that all students, regardless of their major, should acquire knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences. Skills like critical thinking, emotional intelligence and other soft skills are invaluable ...

How much do STEM majors make?

A report by the Department of Education said that STEM majors on average earn $65,000 after graduation. They were also more likely to have just one full-time job, instead of a part-time job, or even multiple jobs.

Is STEM a fall back job?

Though many colleges haven’t seen the kind of art and music budget cuts that plague the public school system, liberal arts majors are often encouraged to choose a minor or a fall-back job in a STEM field, in case their career as a writer or an artist doesn’t work out.