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University Degrees - Arts and Humanities
What exactly are the arts and humanities? In this age of megabytes and wireless technology, it’s easy to forget that the building blocks of what we see around us tend to be our histories, our art, our cultures and our literatures.
These subjects that form the basis of the arts and humanities are just as relevant today as they were before the techno age.
Undergraduate university degrees in the arts and humanities offer an unprecedented breadth of subject choice, where there is literally something for everyone. From fine arts and art history, through classical and modern languages, to history, geography and literature, the arts and humanities cover an absolutely enormous range of academic interests. But what kind of student chooses one of these subjects and why might one choose to study the arts and humanities?
Why study the arts and humanities?
The second question is certainly easier to answer than the first. Gaining an appreciation of the arts and humanities, whether it is in general terms or through the study of one individual academic area, helps us understand our present circumstances. Subjects such as history and literature are essential in understanding our modern situations and challenges and help us approach problems and find solutions built on solid and well thought-out principles. More than any other subject area, the arts and humanities are about life – past life, present life and the development of future lives. Examining, interpreting and presenting the individual aspects of our cultural lives is both personally rewarding and directly relevant to how you learn and grow as an individual.
Who studies the arts and humanities?
Who studies the arts and humanities is a more complex question. Whether you have a well-developed interest in a specific subject, such as French literature or continental philosophy, with a clear ambition as to what you want to do for the rest of your life, or simply have a passion for eighteenth century English poetry or the Impressionist painters of the nineteenth century that you would like to be developed in-depth, the arts and humanities offer you something challenging for your undergraduate degree study. Arts and humanities students tend to be those that have an interest in the world around them and a desire to understand what makes historic or contemporary events, time periods and movements significant. Such students tend to be interested in the more creative approaches to solutions and not confined by a single viewpoint, and are often adventurous and deeply interested in broadening their fields of experience.
Undergraduate university degrees in the arts and humanities vary considerably, from institution to institution and country to country. Entry to many of these degree programs is competitive, with such areas as classics, history and literature being as difficult to gain entry into as other academic areas, particularly in one of the world’s top 200 universities. Depending on the education system you are studying in, such degrees are between three and four years in length and can either offer a more general, liberal arts education or a specialist concentration on only one subject area.
The career path
Are there jobs for those students that graduate in the arts and humanities? The common and modern perception is that many of these subject areas do not qualify students for jobs, irrespective of the state of the economy or the labour market. The reality, however, is very different. Graduates in the arts and humanities, particularly those from top universities or those with experience studying abroad, are still sought after by many employers around the world. Graduates in these areas tend to have extremely well developed transferable skills that serve them well in a variety of careers: skills such as analysis, verbal reasoning, a qualitative approach to issues and problems, language skills specific to their degree program and the ability to work unsupervised individually or in small groups. Specifically, an undergraduate degree in the arts and humanities can lead to graduate study, graduate research and a life of academia and teaching; more generally, with the exception of some particularly technical careers, the arts and humanities qualify you for most career paths.
Do you have limits as an arts or humanities graduate? Absolutely not - only your ambitions and vision provide a ceiling for what you can achieve. And don’t forget, above all else, arts and humanities graduates tend to be creative, a quality much sought after by employers of all kinds.
