Heavy on STEM, light on humanities: the changes at the University of Washington near Cyber-Seattle. From the article:

You won’t find a single expert on the history of the American Revolution or the Civil War at the University of Washington anymore. Since last year, the state’s oldest and largest university no longer employs a professor who specializes in American history before the year 1900…. The gaps in the school’s faculty might sound jarring, but it’s the outcome of a decadelong trend. Ever since the recession, parents and educators have encouraged students to major in subjects that lead to high-paying jobs, where employment opportunities are seemingly endless.

But that swing to STEM is having unexpected consequences. With fewer students studying the humanities — history, philosophy, foreign languages and English — those departments are shrinking. Retiring professors aren’t replaced…. Since 2008, on the UW’s Seattle campus, the number of students studying in STEM programs (science, technology, engineering and math) has increased 37 percent. Among all three campuses, it’s up 50 percent. On the main campus, non-STEM programs have declined by 13 percent. At UW Seattle, there are now almost as many students studying in STEM programs as in non-STEM programs. That’s a dramatic flip: Just 10 years ago, there were twice as many students in non-STEM majors as there were in STEM majors….

It’s easy to read about the migration to tech fields and shrug. After all, doesn’t it simply reflect reality — that graduates have better job prospects if they study tech or business? Humanities professors disagree. They say it’s a myth that humanities majors can’t find jobs, and it’s disappointing that so many people are discouraged from pursuing their passions. “What’s sad for the younger generation is that so many students here have been literally pushed away from the social sciences and humanities to STEM, and are not happy,” said UW history professor James Gregory. “There’s so much messaging in general about STEM, STEM, STEM,” he said….

[Robert] Stacey, the Arts & Sciences dean, worries that the UW, which just last year landed toward the top of Reuters’ list of the world’s most “innovative” universities, will become seen as a school for science, and not a place where students go to study the humanities…. “This is a really good place to come to study the humanities, arts and sciences,” Stacey said. “What people think they know about the economic consequences of choosing one major over another is simply not true.”

For related posts on humanities majors, see here

h/t Robert Townsend (@rbthisted)