Humanities and industry: new thinking about the humanities in academia. From the article:

Proponents of the liberal arts continue to claim that nothing is as relevant to long-term career success as a basic grounding in the humanities. And they can point to recent evidence showing that while the income of graduates of liberal arts college -where typically the humanities are still emphasized – may start out lower, in the long run it catches up and often exceeds the economic dividends of other degrees….

Colleges are now redoubling their efforts to demonstrate the relevance of the humanities for students in other fields and also help their humanities majors become more ready for productive careers. In addition to the basic skills honed by the humanities – critical thinking, clear written and oral communication, and cross-cultural competence – institutions have introduced new integrative and immersive experiences and programs to ensure their graduates don’t have to wait years for the liberal arts/humanities advantage to be realized….

Students want their education to prepare them for meaningful lives and good careers. Colleges that integrate their curricula to accomplish both goals are serving their students – particularly those majoring in the humanities – and themselves well.

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