Did you know that Rice students who pursue humanistic and artistic inquiry fare quite well in securing jobs after graduation?
According to the Mellon Foundation, while students, their families and academic advisors sometimes suggest that humanities majors are ill-prepared for post-college employment, data compiled by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences tells a different story. In its latest report, it found that 96 percent of humanities graduates between the ages of 23 and 32 were employed. Further, their earnings are comparable to those of their peers in the sciences. Rice humanities graduates earn admission to top law and medical schools and highly competitive PhD and master’s programs; others go on to exceptional careers in law, medicine, business, consulting, the tech industry, government and the public sector.
“The rapidly changing nature of work, especially with increasing use of artificial intelligence, demands adaptability, creativity and the ability to think critically,” says Phillip Brian Harper, a program officer at the Mellon Foundation. “These are precisely the qualities and skills the humanities instill in students, which will serve them well not just in their first job out of college, but for the rest of their professional and personal lives.”
- Areas of continued study for School of Humanities graduates
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Medicine Law Graduate School
- Fine Arts
- Creative Writing
- Film Directing & Production
- History
- International Studies
- Philosophy
- Playwriting
- Religion
- Spanish Literature
- Employers for School of Humanities graduates
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- Boston Consulting Group
- Christie’s
- Deloitte
- Goldman Sachs
- Harlem Arts Foundation
- Oliver Wyman
- Rice University
- Teach for America
- Texas Children’s Hospital
Hear from our students
“Receiving the Pulitzer Prize is an incredible honor … For a long time, I wasn’t sure if I could build a career at the intersection of art and science let alone in journalism. But this award feels like an affirmation that visual storytelling is essential to investigative reporting.” Daisy Chung |
Juliana Hunter’s philosophy studies taught her how to dissect complex ideas, craft logical arguments and write persuasively — skills she applies today in her legal work. “Learning how to read something dense quickly and get to the point and be able to discuss it is, other than writing, the number one thing that helps me out day to day.” Philosophy | 2007 | Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom |
At Rice, Miles Kruppa learned to move between close reading and broad analysis, something he now does daily as a journalist covering artificial intelligence. “The English major exposed me to a whole world of texts and a whole new way of thinking about what we read, what we see and what we hear. I see in a very visceral way how our information environment is changing rapidly. Being an English major prepares you for that kind of world.” English | 2016 | Reporter & Writer, The Information |
“Distilling large amounts of information, conducting research across different sources and defending my ideas in discussion — those are all skills I use constantly in consulting … there’s really no limit to what you can do with a history degree. It teaches you to think deeply, revise your arguments and engage meaningfully with people from all backgrounds.” Emma Randt |