Humanities major
Humanities: courses, careers, and where to study
Humanities is a combined-studies degree in languages, literature, art, music, philosophy and religion, defined federally as distinct from the social and physical sciences.
A Humanities major is combined study across the humanistic disciplines: languages and literatures, art, music, philosophy and religion. The federal definition draws the boundary explicitly, distinguishing it from the social and physical sciences, so it is narrower than Liberal Arts, which spans those too.
It suits a student who wants humanistic breadth without committing to a single department. Where an English or Philosophy major goes deep in one tradition and its methods, a Humanities major reads across them and is usually assessed on the ability to connect them. Many programs are built around a thematic core, a great-books sequence, or an interdisciplinary capstone.
The honest caution is the same one that applies to any breadth degree, with one addition: because Humanities is offered at far fewer institutions than Liberal Arts or General Studies, program design varies more than usual. Two Humanities degrees can be very different objects. Read the actual course sequence rather than the title, and check whether the department expects language study, since some programs require it and some do not.
Academic classification (CIP)
In the federal Classification of Instructional Programs, Humanities maps to CIP 24.0103, Humanities/Humanistic Studies, within the LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES, GENERAL STUDIES AND HUMANITIES family. The official definition:
A program that focuses on combined studies and research in the humanities subjects as distinguished from the social and physical sciences, emphasizing languages, literatures, art, music, philosophy and religion.
Source: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020. View on nces.ed.gov
What credential Humanities is awarded as
Of the 21,419 Humanities credentials U.S. colleges reported conferring in 2023-24:
- Certificate<1%111
- Associate90%19,314
- Bachelor's7%1,421
- Graduate3%573
CampusPin does not have enough states reporting this field to say whether the mix changes from state to state. See the full study.
Credentials conferred in 2023-24, U.S. Department of Education IPEDS completions. A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one, and this counts what was awarded rather than what a college currently offers.
What you'll study
- Close reading and interpretation of literary, philosophical and religious texts
- Art and music history alongside written traditions
- Argument and written analysis, usually the core assessed skill
- How humanistic disciplines differ in method from the sciences
- Frequently a language requirement, though this varies sharply by program
- Interdisciplinary synthesis, often through a thematic core or capstone
Typical careers
- Writing, editing and publishing
- Museums, libraries, archives and cultural organizations
- Communications, marketing and content roles
- Teaching, after a required licensure program
- Graduate study in the humanities, law, or divinity
Related occupations
Occupations the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk associates with Humanities, with what each one pays and how many openings it is projected to average each year. Ordered by projected annual openings, largest first. Linked titles open the full CampusPin career page.
| Occupation | Median pay | Openings / yr | Projected change | Most entrants hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postsecondary Teachers, All Other | $78,490 | 13,500 | +1.8% | Doctoral or professional degree |
Crosswalk: U.S. Department of Education (NCES), CIP 2020 to SOC 2018. Pay, openings and projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024 wages, Employment Projections). 1 of these 1 occupations report a median wage.
“Most entrants hold” is what BLS observes about people already working in the occupation. It is not a legal requirement, not an admission rule, and not a guarantee of entry. Studying Humanities does not guarantee any specific occupation, and many of these roles are entered from several different fields. Projected openings are a projection, not jobs promised.
The federal crosswalk associates only one occupation with Humanities. That is a statement about the field, not about its graduates: a breadth degree is not tied to a particular job, so the crosswalk has little to map. Graduates of this field work across many occupations, and what follows the degree depends far more on the skills and experience built alongside it.
Before you commit to a Humanities major
CampusPin does not rank programs. Use these prompts to pressure-test whether a specific Humanities program fits your goals, they are decision questions, not claims about any school.
Ask the Humanities department
- Which concentrations or specializations are offered, and which faculty lead them?
- What does the typical course sequence look like, and how much is required vs. elective?
- What labs, studios, clinical placements, or research opportunities are available to undergraduates?
- Is there a capstone, thesis, internship, or co-op requirement?
Ask current students & check the curriculum
- How heavy is the workload, and how accessible is the faculty?
- What internships or co-ops did you do, and where do recent graduates end up?
- Does the required curriculum actually match the careers listed above?
- How easy is it to add a minor, double major, or switch tracks later?
Find a Humanities program
CampusPin lists U.S. universities and community colleges by state, tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting, no account required.
Colleges that awarded the most Humanities credentials
Largest by credentials conferred in 2023-24. This measures the size of the graduating class, not quality, and it is not a ranking.
- Santa Monica CollegeCA · 2,535
- Shasta CollegeCA · 1,459
- San Joaquin Delta CollegeCA · 1,191
- Pasadena City CollegeCA · 908
- Riverside City CollegeCA · 791
- Nassau Community CollegeNY · 713
- Norco CollegeCA · 631
- Santa Ana CollegeCA · 623
- Moreno Valley CollegeCA · 543
- Santiago Canyon CollegeCA · 456
- Ventura CollegeCA · 349
- Golden West CollegeCA · 338
Based on credentials this institution reported conferring in the federal IPEDS completions collection for 2023-24. It confirms the field was awarded that year, not that the program currently accepts students, and it covers only the fields CampusPin tracks. Confirm current offerings with the institution.
Where Humanities credentials were awarded
10 states have a distinct enough set of Humanities colleges to be worth its own page.
Related majors
Liberal Arts
Liberal Arts is a structured breadth degree spanning the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities. It is the single most-awarded field in U.S. higher education.
English & Literature
English develops critical reading, analytical writing, and rhetorical skill, a flexible major that feeds into law, publishing, education, marketing, and any field that values communication.
Philosophy
Philosophy develops rigorous reasoning, argument, and ethical analysis through the study of logic, knowledge, mind, and morality, building transferable skills used across law, policy, and writing.
History
History trains graduates in research, evidence, and argument, feeding into law, education, museums, government, and any field that values long-form analytical writing.
Religious Studies
Religious Studies examines the world's religious traditions, texts, and practices through history, philosophy, and social science, suiting students drawn to belief, culture, and ethics.
Art History
Art History studies how art was made, used, and understood across cultures and eras, suiting students who pair close visual analysis with research and writing.
Put this major in context
The salary above is an occupation-wide median from federal data, not a starting wage or a guarantee. These CampusPin guides and reports help you read it well, see where a Humanities degree can lead, and weigh it against cost and program quality.
Explore Education & Library careers
Median pay, job outlook, and the occupations this field covers.
How one major leads to many careers
Why a single Humanities degree can open more than one path, and how to read the occupations above.
Why a median wage is not a starting salary
How to read a BLS median, and why early-career pay usually sits below it.
When accreditation and licensure matter
How program accreditation and state licensure can shape a Humanities path before you enroll.
Does a pricier college pay off?
How college cost lines up with graduation and earnings, an association, not a ranking.
Does picking a major narrow your college list?
Across the federal completions data, most fields barely change which colleges are on the table. Which ones genuinely do.
Certificate or degree?
What credential a field is usually awarded as is mostly set by the field itself, not by the state, with a short list of exceptions.
How this guide is sourced
This is an editorial guide from the CampusPin Editorial Team. Career and wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages, and link to each career page. Program availability comes from CampusPin's free institution search; CampusPin does not assert that any specific school offers this exact major until that program data is verified. Last reviewed 2026-06-15. How CampusPin sources data · Report a correction.