What does a degree in Humanities entail?

Under different specializations under humanity, one can study art, literature, social science, history, philosophy, etc.

How much does a humanities graduate earn in the USA?

A humanities graduate can earn up to 65,000 USD in the early career stages. The pay increases to 100k-150K in 4-7 years’ time.

Do I need to take an English language test to study humanities?

Countries like the USA, UK, Canada, etc require candidates to take an English language test like IELTS or TOEFL to study humanities.

Best Universities for Humanities in 2022-2023

Top ranked global universities and colleges for humanities

About Humanities

The study of humanities allows the study of the human world and society from a critical perspective. This field includes popular subjects like English, philosophy, and history. In these disciplines, students investigate humanity itself (hence the name), applying critical methods to help them understand literature, art, and the past, as well as human morality, culture, and values.

Top universities for Humanities in the world offer a great opportunity for students to understand literature, art, philosophy, history, or the specialization chosen by the graduate students.

Why study Humanities

More than 66% of Humanities graduates get hired by private sectors.
60% of American CEOs have a Humanities background.
One-third of Fortune 500 CEOs are Humanities graduates
Humanities equips the learners with soft skills needed to succeed in life
Humanities graduates can get one of the most well-paying and stable jobs in the world

Areas of study under Humanities

Humanities in itself is a broad subject area. Most universities break down the humanities into different specializations (majors) and group them together in a humanities division within an Arts and Sciences program.

Some colleges also combine artistic majors with the humanities, meaning visual and performing arts majors like music, painting, and dance would fall under the “arts and humanities” umbrella. There are certain colleges that club humanities and social sciences aspects into one program.

Area/ethnic studies
Art history
Classics
Comparative literature
Drama and music
English
Foreign languages
Gender studies
History
Linguistics
Philosophy
Religious studies

Popular degrees under Humanities

Humanities is a broad specialization. There are several majors available under humanities that people can pursue as per their interests. There are many popular programs available in writing, history, philosophy, art, museums, etc. For bachelor’s as well as for masters, a number of options are available for candidates to pursue.

For Bachelor Level

BA in Religious Studies
BA in Humanities and Social Sciences
Bachelor in Liberal Arts
BA in Creative Writing
Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies
Bachelor in History
BA/BSc in Liberal Arts and Sciences
BA in English Literature
BA in Philosophy
BA in Sociology and Philosophy
BA in English Literature with Creative Writing

For Master Level

Master of Arts in Information Studies
Master in Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Master in History
Master in Liberal Arts
MSc in Digital Linguistics
Master of International Policy and Practice
MA in Classics & Ancient Civilizations
MA in Classical, Medieval and Early Modern Studies (Research)
MA in Literary Studies

Duration of Programs in Humanities

Country	Bachelor’s level	Master’s level
United States	4 years	2 years
United Kingdom	3-4 years	1-2 years
Australia	3 years	2 years
Canada	4 years	1-3 years

Top 50 global universities for Humanities based on popular rankings

QS rank	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelors	Masters
1	4	University of Oxford	Uk	Click Here	Click Here
2	3	University of Cambridge	USA	Click Here	Click Here
3	6	Harvard University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
4	9	University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
5	1	Stanford University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
6	12	Yale University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
7	11	Columbia University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
8	17	New York University (NYU)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
9	10	The University of Edinburgh	UK	Click Here	Click Here
9	13	University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Click Here	Click Here
11	5	UCL	UK	Click Here	Click Here
12	34	National University of Singapore (NUS)	Singapore	Click Here	Click Here
13	2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
14	8	University of Chicago	USA	Click Here	Click Here
15	7	Princeton University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
16	39	The University of Melbourne	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
16	26	University of Toronto	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
18	28	The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)	UK	Click Here	Click Here
18	21	Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin	Berlin	Click Here	Click Here
20	32	The University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Click Here	Click Here
21	36	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
22	46	The University of Sydney	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
23	NA	Sorbonne University	France	Click Here	Click Here
23	53	The University of Tokyo	Japan	Click Here	Click Here
25	29	The Australian National University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
26	47	Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne	France	Click Here	Click Here
27	30	King’s College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
28	26	Freie Universitaet Berlin	Germany	Click Here	Click Here
29	16	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here
30	59	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
31	24	Leiden University	Netherlands	Click Here	Click Here
31	14	University of Pennsylvania	USA	Click Here	Click Here
33	NA	Universidad Nacional Autónoma de	Mexico	Click Here	Click Here
34	85	The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)	Hong Kong	Click Here	Click Here
35	101-125	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU)	Singapore	Click Here	Click Here
36	21	Cornell University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
37	35	McGill University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
37	101-125	Seoul National University	Korea	Click Here	Click Here
39	80	Sapienza University of Rome	Italy	Click Here	Click Here
40	18	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	Germany	Click Here	Click Here
41	26	Durham University	UK	Click Here	Click Here
42	83	Monash University	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
43	21	Peking University	China	Click Here	Click Here
43	38	University of Vienna	Austria	Click Here	Click Here
45	44	The University of Manchester	UK	Click Here	Click Here
46	25	KU Leuven	Belgium	Click Here	Click Here
46	NA	The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)	Australia	Click Here	Click Here
46	NA	Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin	Ireland	Click Here	Click Here
49	36	University of St Andrews	UK	Click Here	Click Here
50	50	University of Texas at Austin	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities for Humanities in the USA

The USA has one of the oldest and best ranking universities for those who wish to pursue humanities studies. These universities have been conducting research and have books and scripts that are thousands of years old in their libraries. Therefore, Humanities is one of the best courses to study in the USA.

Bachelor degrees in Humanities in the USA are offered in different specializations. Students can choose their specializations and degrees based on their interests. Upon completion of a master degree in Humanities, the career possibilities in the USA are endless.

QS rank	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelors	Masters
2	3	University of Cambridge	USA	Click Here	Click Here
3	6	Harvard University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
4	9	University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
5	1	Stanford University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
6	12	Yale University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
7	11	Columbia University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
8	17	New York University (NYU)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
9	13	University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Click Here	Click Here
13	2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	USA	Click Here	Click Here
14	8	University of Chicago	USA	Click Here	Click Here
15	7	Princeton University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
29	16	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	USA	Click Here	Click Here
31	14	University of Pennsylvania	USA	Click Here	Click Here
36	21	Cornell University	USA	Click Here	Click Here
50	50	University of Texas at Austin	USA	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities for Humanities in the UK

The United Kingdom is one of the countries with high cultural diversity because of its high international population. Humanities is a great choice to study in the UK because of the presence of the oldest universities like the University of Oxford and the University of Edinburgh.

Bachelor degrees in the UK cover a broad range of options in humanities, art, and social sciences. For students who wish to pursue a master degree in the UK, 8 out of 50 top universities according to the QS ranking are in the UK. It is one of the best choices to go for.

QS rank	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelors	Masters
1	4	University of Oxford	Uk	Click Here	Click Here
9	10	The University of Edinburgh	UK	Click Here	Click Here
11	5	UCL	UK	Click Here	Click Here
18	28	The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)	UK	Click Here	Click Here
27	30	King’s College London	UK	Click Here	Click Here
41	26	Durham University	UK	Click Here	Click Here
45	44	The University of Manchester	UK	Click Here	Click Here
49	36	University of St Andrews	UK	Click Here	Click Here

Top Universities for Humanities in the Canada

Bachelor in Humanities in Canada is one of the most popular study choices for international students from all over the world. To study in Canada, one has to take an English language proficiency test, have previous education in a related field, and fulfill the university-wise requirement of admission. Master degrees in Humanities in Canada are available in a huge range of specializations.

QS rank	THE Ranking	University	Country	Bachelors	Masters
16	26	University of Toronto	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
22	46	The University of Sydney	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
30	59	University of British Columbia	Canada	Click Here	Click Here
37	35	McGill University	Canada	Click Here	Click Here

Academic requirements for studying Humanities

As there are many different specializations under humanities, the admission requirements for each program would be different. The following mentioned requirements are to give the candidates a general idea of requirements for studying Humanities.

For Bachelor Level

IELTS 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in any one component,
Previous qualification should be in a related field(varies from program to program
Essays or Writing test conducted by universities for specific courses

For Master Level

Undergraduate in a related field
A minimum grade point of 3.0
Two letters of recommendation
CV
IELTS 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in any one component,

Career Scope in Humanities

Depending upon the specialization chosen by graduates, the career path can be navigated. There are countless doors open for you as a humanities graduate based on your interests and major. The jobs available for humanities graduates range from writers to historians, archeologists to anthropologists. English majors, for instance, often establish careers in writing or editing, and history majors usually make a career in research and education. Some main jobs are listed below:

Technical Writers
Historians
Writers and Authors
Anthropologist
Human Resources Specialists
High School Teachers
Editors
Educators
Public Relations Specialists
Interpreters and Translators
Archivists, Curators, and Museum Worker

Average salary of Humanities Graduates

Country	Average Annual Salary in USD*
United States	65,000
United Kingdom	44,726
Canada	69,479
Australia	50,044