You can’t go far in discussions about college educations without hearing this refrain: “liberal arts and humanities degrees are just not worth the time and money.” What used to be the prime reason for receiving a higher education, to study the humanities and liberal arts, has fallen out of vogue. Capitalism has rendered the humanities or liberal arts degree obsolete.

But is that true? Is there truly no utility in a liberal arts degree or a humanities degree? While it may be true that other degrees have a more clearly defined path towards a career, the humanities or liberal arts degree still serves a valuable purpose and shouldn’t be ruled out.

The key to making liberal arts or humanities degree worthwhile is to pair it with a minor that does have a clearly defined career path. It’s also essential to map out what exactly you’re planning to do with your liberal arts or humanities degree before you enroll in an online college.

OnlineCollegeWiz is here to help you figure out whether a liberal arts or humanities degree is suitable for you and how to make the most of one.

Liberal Arts and Humanities from an Online College

A liberal arts or a humanities degree tend to be a more generalized degree. A liberal arts or humanities degree aims to give the student more autonomy over what courses to enroll in by providing the student a wider breadth of knowledge. A humanities degree follows a similar model, though they tend to specialize in a particular non-STEM subject. 

This trait is usually highlighted as the primary reason that liberal arts and humanities degrees have fallen out of favor with most. Their generalist approach to education has grown to just not fit with the newer approach to college as career training. With college degrees focusing less on the act of learning and more on what you can use the degree for post-graduation, the liberal arts and humanities degree’s reputation has taken a beating.

But there’s still a place for liberal arts degrees and humanities degrees in this world. For starters, the liberal arts or humanities degree is the best option for students who want to get into teaching. If you’re interested in entering academia and becoming a teacher or professor, a liberal arts or humanities degree is a great option.

If teaching isn’t for you, the humanities and liberal arts degree path still could be a good fit. A great way to make a liberal arts or humanities degree work in today’s job market is by finding one that incorporates some clear career path. 

Topics Covered in Liberal Arts and Humanities from an Online College

Liberal arts majors have an incredible amount of latitude when it comes to what courses they’ll study. Students can learn English, History, Art, Writing, Philosophy, Religion, and so much more. A liberal arts degree can cover an immense amount of academic ground.

Humanities degrees typically drill down into one particular aspect of the humanities. This is where degrees in some of those courses mentioned above would live. Rather than sampling many different liberal arts degrees, the humanities degree is a more focused educational experience. 

In-Demand Liberal Arts and Humanities Majors from Online Colleges

As mentioned above, the best way to ensure that your liberal arts or humanities degree will lead to a fulfilling career is to find a program that incorporates aspects of a particular industry or subject that does have high employment prospects. 

Many prospective employers tend to like the types of soft skills that a humanities or liberal arts degree helps students to develop. So if a student can develop those skills while also learning some hard skills geared towards a particular industry, then you may be in luck when it comes to finding a job post-college.

This looks like finding degree programs like Bachelor of Arts in Technical Writing or a Master of Arts in Marketing Communications. These types of degree programs lean heavily on liberal arts or humanities subject matter but focus their scope on a particular career path.

Studying the Humanities and Liberal Arts at an Online College

One significant upside to the humanities and liberal arts degrees is that they’re almost built for online colleges. Since most of the coursework in these programs lacks hands-on components, these types of degrees translate very quickly into the online education environment. 

While many STEM degrees can be pursued online, those programs tend to incorporate some sort of on-campus component or just skip over some vital hands-on experience that you might otherwise want to participate in.

But liberal arts and humanities degrees tend to focus primarily on lectures and written assignments. This allows these programs to shine in online learning environments. Many of these programs tend to be offered in an asynchronous format, providing students with an even more fantastic deal of control over their education. 

What are some careers for liberal arts and humanities majors from an online college?

Because of the flexibility of liberal arts and humanities degrees, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact list of careers for liberal arts and humanities majors. Instead, we’ll highlight a few liberal arts and humanities degree pairings with their corresponding potential career path.

  • Teacher – One of the leading career paths for humanities or liberal arts students, becoming a teacher can be accomplished through a Bachelor of Arts in English. Liberal arts students can teach at all different grade levels from Pre-K up to Grade 12. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that teachers earn a median annual salary of $62,870.
  • Communications Manager – An oft-joked-about degree path, a Bachelor in Communications can lead to an incredibly lucrative career as a Communications Manager. As a communications major, you will curate and maintain a company or organization’s communications and public image. Communications managers earn an annual salary of $118,430, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
  • Technical Writer – By completing a Bachelor of Arts in English or, more specifically, a Bachelor of Arts in Technical Writing, students will be prepared for a career working as a technical writer. This career is projected to grow 7% by 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Technical writers work to write manuals, guides, and other documentation meant to explain how to operate something or how it works. A median salary of $74,650/per year can be expected. 

Another excellent option for students with a liberal arts or humanities degree is to venture out into something entrepreneurial. The number of soft skills taught through a humanities or liberal arts degree is an excellent background for starting your business venture. 

How to Make the Most of a Liberal Arts or Humanities Degree from an Online College

In the discussion of humanities or liberal arts degrees, it’s important to note that these degrees tend to focus on the undergraduate level. The liberal arts or humanities degree is often the foundation or base of a continued pursuit in higher education. 

That’s one of the best ways to make the most of a humanities or liberal arts degree: to build upon it with a graduate degree program. Pursuing a humanities or liberal arts degree as an undergraduate and then enrolling in a Master’s program geared towards a particular career path or industry allows students to engage in the world of humanities while also utilizing higher education as career prep.

Liberal Arts or Humanities Degree from an Online College: Is it worth it?

This is the central question on many potential liberal arts or humanities major’s minds: is this degree worth the time and money? Deciding to invest in a college degree is a big decision, and many students want to ensure that their investment will result in enhanced career opportunities. And recently, humanities and liberal arts degrees have garnered the reputation of just not being worth the time.

But that might not be true. Like any college degree, students must think beyond their graduation to what career path interests them. And then they need to consider whether or not the degrees they’re feeling the support that goal. That’s just as true for any degree as it is for liberal arts and humanities degrees.

Sure it’s not as easy to draw a line from humanities or liberal arts degrees to a career as it is to draw a line from a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering to a job in electrical engineering, but that doesn’t mean humanities or liberal arts degrees don’t have utility. 

Humanities and liberal arts degrees teach students how to learn about the world around them. They teach them how to appreciate our history, our culture, and the things humanity has achieved. But they also teach you tangible skills like how to think critically, problem-solve, communicate, and much more. 

Choosing a college degree is an incredibly personal thing, and it needs to be something that excites you. If you want to pursue a degree in the humanities or liberal arts then do it! As we’ve outlined above, there are ways to springboard into a great career from these types of degrees.

So don’t let the noise confuse you. If a Liberal Arts or Humanities degree is something you want, make a plan, and go for it!

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