The University of Connecticut Humanities Institute created an audio project to spread awareness and provide student insight on the value of humanities degrees.
The 15 minute audio project features three students from the Humanities House Learning Community who talk about their experiences, and director of the Office for Undergraduate Research, Dr. Micah Heumann, who provides data and addresses myths about humanities degrees.
Stephen Dyson, professor of political science, associate director of the Humanities Institute and director of the Humanities House Learning Community, narrated and produced the project to summarize a talk given by Heumann at the Humanities Institute, as a part of the Student Success Initiative.
“I thought that it would be useful for undergraduates to hear this, but it is also an hour long talk, and I thought about a way to condense these insights and also to combine them with responses from some of these students who were at the event, who were the three students that are on the audio project,” Dyson said.
Samantha Hass, a sophomore English major and studio art minor, was one of the students that contributed to the audio project. She said she is always asked what she is going to do with her degree.
“It’s difficult to try to explain to people that I love what I’m studying and the skills I’m learning when people don’t see how a degree in the Humanities is financially beneficial,” Hass said.
It’s difficult to try to explain to people that I love what I’m studying and the skills I’m learning when people don’t see how a degree in the Humanities is financially beneficial,
Samantha Hass, a sophomore English major and studio art minor
Hass said the audio project was a perfect way for her to talk about this question and speak out about the stigmas of it.
“My peers and I got to talk about hopes and concerns within our fields of study, and it was overall very enjoyable to have this type of conversation with like-minded individuals,” Hass said.
The audio project provides perspectives of the stereotypes that are often associated with humanities degrees and how it deters students from pursuing their interests.
“But I think not choosing to get that humanities degree because you feel like you’re concerned it’s going to be a bad decision is the wrong way to choose a major. I think that so many students feel that pressure to choose a degree based on myths that exist in the world,” Heumann said in the audio project.
Dyson said it is wrong to assume there is a direct one to one relationship between the major you pick and the job that you’ll be doing for the rest of your life.
“There’s a danger in assuming that the only value of a major is like how immediately can it be translated into a job and a salary… even if your only goal is to land a job with a big salary, it is simply wrong to assume that humanities jobs don’t let you do that,” Dyson said.
Heumann said in the project that a lot of companies look at extracurricular involvement more closely rather than the degree. He also added that students with humanities degrees have statistically scored better on the MCAT, the most important test you can take to get into medical school.
If you look at the MCAT… they are showing that humanities students are scoring higher than biological sciences, which is the most common major going on to medical school,
Dr. Micah Heumann, Director of the Office for Undergraduate Research
“If you look at the MCAT… they are showing that humanities students are scoring higher than biological sciences, which is the most common major going on to medical school,” Heumann said in the project.
Dyson emphasized how companies in all fields are looking for individuals who have strong critical thinking skills, can work collaboratively and can communicate effectively to tell a story, all of which humanities degrees provide.
“If you are someone who has an attraction to the humanities and you feel it suits your kind of intellectual way of thinking and your goals for life, you should not be put off by someone saying ‘what are you going to do with that’ because what job you are going to do with that is literally any job that’s ever been invented. They are all open to you,” Dyson said.
Dyson said the role of the Humanities Institute has expanded this year under the direction of Anna Mae Duane and communications and outreach coordinator Elizabeth Della Zazzera. In addition to hosting talks and pursuing grants, there has been an increased effort to make the institute speak to the whole campus, as opposed to faculty segments of it.
Dyson encourages students to attend events through the Humanities Institute, located on the fourth floor of Homer Babbidge Library.
Overall, Dyson tells his students to explore their interests and guide their own lives, regardless of what others say.
“College is about becoming your own person and part of that is involving or immersing yourself in something that speaks to you fundamentally,” Dyson said.
The audio project can be found on YouTube.