As inflation persists and the cost of living continues to soar, enrollment in humanities and social science majors has steadily declined.
This decline reflects a troubling shift in priorities driven more by economic survival than intellectual curiosity.
The pressure to achieve financial stability after graduation has led students to prioritize their bank accounts over their passions. For many students, success is measured not by personal fulfillment or character but by the amount of money in their bank accounts.
A survey by Yale Daily News showed that in the past few decades, “the percentage of seniors with humanities degrees fell by about 50 percent in the last 20 years.”
It’s not students’ fault for choosing majors they feel will ensure their economic safety—the job market is to blame for undervaluing humanities careers, when all post-grad jobs should guarantee a livable wage.
The average salary for an elementary school teacher in Florida is $38,935. The average cost of living in Florida is $50,689. Becoming an elementary school teacher is a profession that requires higher education, which for most entails debt.
Students are increasingly compelled to choose academic fields perceived as “practical,” often at the expense of disciplines that enrich their emotional intelligence, empathy and understanding of one another.
There is an inherent correlation between the decline of our communication skills and academic excellence in the humanities.
According to Matt Zajechowski, marketing specialist, “Each generation feels less effective at communicating than the previous one.” As fewer students have enrolled in the humanities, more students have felt that their ability to communicate effectively is declining.
Rather than pursuing a humanities education, a JCal article says, “the younger generation is being steered on a STEM-based path in the face of market changes, A.I., legislative support, and data from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. There is a pattern of low or decreasing proficiency in the subject categories that ties back to the humanities.”
If we desire a generation capable of deep thought, ethical reasoning, civic understanding and cross-cultural communication, we must push to revalue the humanities, including funding and cultural attitude. Schools and universities should offer robust humanities programs, and employers should recognize and reward the unique skill sets these disciplines cultivate.
What many fail to realize is that communication is essential to every discipline, including STEM. Engineers must clearly explain their designs to clients, researchers must present their findings to diverse audiences, healthcare workers must connect meaningfully with patients and tech innovators must collaborate across teams.
Regardless of whether you are writing code, conducting experiments or designing sustainable infrastructure, the ability to listen, articulate, write and persuade is vital.
All academic institutions should follow the University of Miami’s lead in ensuring that all students, regardless of major, engage meaningfully with the humanities. UM’s Cognates program requires that students of all disciplines take classes in the arts and humanities.
By embedding the humanities into the core of every student’s education, UM recognizes that expertise in any field is only possible if students can successfully use interpersonal skills.
In an era marked by polarization, the humanities provide tools for reflection, dialogue and understanding. To neglect these skills is to impoverish our economy, democracy, communities and shared humanity.
Think of the humanities as a field that stretches wide, with open arms, inviting us into a collective embrace that can unite us in these divided times.