Benchmarking the Humanities: What We Know, and What We Don’t

Benchmarking the Humanities:

What We Know, and What We Don’t

Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences

49th Annual Meeting

San Antonio, Texas

November 6, 2014

Bachelor’s Degree Completions in the Humanities, 1948–2011

Humanities as a Share of All Degrees at Level, 1987–2013

Bachelor's

Master's and First Professional

Doctoral

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Pe

rce

nt

Humanities Indicators, 2014 · American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Humanities Bachelor’s Degree Completions as a Percentage of All

Bachelor’s Degree Completions, by Control of Institution, 1987 to 2013

Public Institutions

Private Institutions: Nonprofit

Private Institutions: For-Profit

0

5

10

15

20

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Perc

en

t


Humanities Bachelor’s Degrees Earned as “Second Majors,” 2001–2013

Number of Bachelor's Degrees Earned as

"Second Majors"

Percentage of All Second Majors

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

22,000

24,000

26,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

"S

eco

nd

Majo

r" H

um

an

itie

s D

eg

rees E

arn

ed


0

Advanced Placement Exams Taken in Major Fields, 1996–2013

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

Exam

s T

aken

(T

ho

usan

ds)

Humanities Social Sciences Natural Sciences Math & Computer Science


Median College Credits Earned in Selected Subjects, by Student Major

47

1519 18 18

2724 22

11

98

73

60

15 15 15 1718

9

1612

18

60

21 20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Humanities

(including

History)

Engineering Biological &

Physical Sciences

Computer Science Business Social Sciences Education All Majors

No

rma

lize

d C

red

its

Student Major

Humanities

STEM

Behavioral & Social Sciences


Credits earned in all

subjects (median):

127

Estimated Number of Departments in the Discipline, Fall 2007 and Fall 2012

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1,000

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400D

ep

art

men

ts

Fall 2007 Fall 2012

2007 Sample Population* Disciplines Only in 2012 Survey


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Pe

rce

nt

All Institutions

Public

Private


Percentage of Humanities Departments Ceasing to Grant Degrees at Some Level,

Fall 2007–Fall 2012

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

Facu

lty M

em

bers

Discipline

Fall 2007 Fall 2012

2007 Sample Population* Disciplines Only in 2012 Survey


Estimated Total Number of Humanities Faculty Members (Full- and Part-time), by

Discipline, Fall 2007 and 2012

Number of Advertised Job Openings through Disciplinary

Society, 2000–01 to 2013–14

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

English

Lang. Other than

English

History

Philosophy

Religion

Classical Studies

Percentage Humanities Faculty Members Employed Part-time or Off the Tenure

Track, by Discipline, Fall 2012

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Perc

en

t

Discipline

Part-Time

Off the Tenure Track


Engagement with Digital Humanities, Fall 2012

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Offered Seminar Focusing on DigitalMethod

Formal Guidelines for EvaluatingDigital Pub's for Tenure and

Promotion

English Depts

Foreign Language Depts

History Depts

Religion Depts

Philosophy Depts


Percentage of Humanities Departments Offering Online Courses, by Carnegie

Classification, Academic Year 2011–12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fully Online Courses Hybrid Courses

Perc

en

t

Course Type

Primarily Undergraduate

Comprehensive

Primarily Research


Median Annual Earnings of Full-Time Workers with Bachelor’s Degrees in

Designated Fields, by Degree Status, 2012

$50.5

$70.7

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

Education Arts Humanities Behavioral &Social

Sciences

Life Sciences Business Health &Medical

Sciences

PhysicalSciences

Engineering

Th

ou

san

ds o

f D

ollars

Terminal Degree Recipients Advanced Degree Recipients


Occupational Distribution of Holders of Terminal Bachelor's Degrees in the Humanities, 2012

113.5%

2a7.9%

2b1.3%

2c3.4%

39.4%

48.9%

53.0%

62.8%

72.5%

81.6%

91.3%

100.7%

Secretaries & Administrative Assistants

3.1%

Customer Service Representatives

2.1%

Other Office &Admin. Support

9.7%

First Line Supervisors

3.0%

Retail Salespersons…

Other Sales7.1%

Food Service3.3%

Other Service6.2%

6.4%

Management, Professional, &

Related

1 Management

2a Education—Precollegiate

Teaching

2b Education—Postsecondary

Teaching

2c Education—Other

3 Arts, Design, Media, &

Entertainment

4 Business & Financial

Operations

5 Computer

6 Community & Social

Services

7 Healthcare

8 Legal

9 Sciences & Engineering

10 Other Management &

Professional

Office & Administrative Support

Sales

Service

Other**

113.5%

2a7.9%

2b1.3%

2c3.4%

39.4%

48.9%

53.0%

62.8%

72.5%

81.6%

91.3%

100.7%

Secretaries & Administrative Assistants

3.1%

Customer Service Representatives

2.1%

Other Office &Admin. Support

9.7%

First Line Supervisors

3.0%

Retail Salespersons…

Other Sales7.1%

Food Service3.3%

Other Service6.2%

6.4%

Management, Professional, &

Related

1 Management

2a Education—Precollegiate

Teaching

2b Education—Postsecondary

Teaching

2c Education—Other

3 Arts, Design, Media, &

Entertainment

4 Business & Financial

Operations

5 Computer

6 Community & Social

Services

7 Healthcare

8 Legal

9 Sciences & Engineering

10 Other Management &

Professional


Sales

Service

Other**

Occupational Distribution of Advanced Degree Holders

with Undergraduate Degrees in the Humanities, 2012

1a14.4%

1b10.8%

1c5.5%

213.8%

310.4%

46.5%

56.4%

65.7%

75.1%

82.9%

91.8%

102.5% 4.9%

4.3%

3.1%

2.0%

Management, Professional, & Related1a Education—Precollegiate

Teaching 1b Education—Postsecondary

Teaching 1c Education—Other 2 Legal3 Management4 Community & Social Services5 Business & Financial Operations6 Healthcare7 Arts, Design, Media &

Entertainment 8 Sciences & Engineering9 Computer10 Other Management &

Professional


Sales

Service

Other**


1a14.4%

1b10.8%

1c5.5%

213.8%

310.4%

46.5%

56.4%

65.7%

75.1%

82.9%

91.8%

102.5% 4.9%

4.3%

3.1%

2.0%

Management, Professional, & Related1a Education—Precollegiate

Teaching 1b Education—Postsecondary

Teaching 1c Education—Other 2 Legal3 Management4 Community & Social Services5 Business & Financial Operations6 Healthcare7 Arts, Design, Media &

Entertainment 8 Sciences & Engineering9 Computer10 Other Management &

Professional


Sales

Service

Other**


Median Number of Years Spent by Ph.D. Recipients in Their Doctoral Programs, by

Field and Phase of Program, Graduation Years 2004–2012

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Humanities Engineering Life Sciences Physical Sciences Social Sciences All Fields

Years

in

Ph

ase o

f P

rog

ram

Graudation Year/Field of Degree

Courses/Exams Dissertation


'04 '06 '08 '10 '12

All Fields'04 '06 '08 '10 '12

Social Sciences

'04 '06 '08 '10 '12

Physical Sciences

'04 '06 '08 '10 '12

Life Sciences'04 '06 '08 '10 '12

Humanities

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