Major Decisions: College, Career, and the Case for the Humanities

A practical how-to guide for students and a powerful reminder of the value of a humanities education

In recent decades, the humanities have struggled to justify themselves in the American university. The costs of attending a four-year college have exploded, resulting in intense pressure on students to major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), business, and other pre-professional or "practical" majors that supposedly transmit more marketable skills than can be acquired from the humanities.

But, as Laurie Grobman and E. Michele Ramsey argue, this vision of humanities majors idly pondering the meaning of life for four years is inaccurate. Major Decisions demonstrates how choosing a major in the humanities is a worthwhile investment in a global economy that is shifting in the direction of college graduates who think broadly, critically, and ethically. Indeed, the core skills and knowledge imparted by an education in the humanities—including facility with written and verbal communication, collaboration, problem-solving, technological literacy, ethics, leadership, and an understanding of the human impacts of globalization—are immensely useful to employers across a variety of sectors.

Major Decisions serves as a deeply informative guide to students and parents—and provides a powerful reminder to employers and university administrators of the true value of an education in the humanities.