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Humanities

Types of Degrees Humanities Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Humanities have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	23
Associate’s Degree	20,186
Bachelor’s Degree	1,437
Master’s Degree	568
Doctor’s Degree	93

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Humanities graduates include:

• Associate Professor
• Labor Relations Teacher
• Foreign Student Adviser Teacher
• Science Teacher
• Assistant Professor
• Instructor
• Military Science Instructor
• Flight Simulation Instructor
• Flight Teacher
• Braille Teacher
• Metal Crafts Teacher
• Industrial Arts Teacher
• Survey Research Teacher
• Packaging Professor
• University Teacher

Who Is Earning a Degree in Humanities?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 63.2% of Humanities degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	14,098	63.2%
Men	8,209	36.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Humanities graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	7,594	34.0%
Asian	2,069	9.3%
Hispanic or Latino	8,841	39.6%
Black or African American	1,443	6.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	113	0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	64	0.3%
Two or More Races	1,154	5.2%
Race Unknown	600	2.7%
International Students	429	1.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Humanities Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Humanities graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$32,164
4 years	$37,934
5 years	$44,008

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $44,008 — roughly 37% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Humanities Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Humanities. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	33	29
Bachelor’s	13	16
Master’s	9	6
Doctoral (Research)	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Humanities Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Humanities graduates earn a median of $37,934 four years after completion — essentially in line with the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	24.01
General Studies	24.0102
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Other	24.0199
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies	24.0101

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.