A wide range of career options open up for an undergraduate or graduate degree holder in the humanities. Although some people opt for a general degree course in humanities, many others prefer to take up studies in the specific fields of their choice such as the following:
- Language and Literature: encompassing subjects such as comparative literature, languages, classics, writing and rhetoric
- Linguistic Studies: Linguistics, translation and interpretation
- Philosophy and Ethics: Philosophical disciplines spanning from ancient to modern times, analysis and interpretation of arguments
- Religious Studies: History of religion, theology, pastoral ministry and counseling
- Classical Studies: Ancient Greek and Roman visual and performing arts, literature, and culture
- Performing Arts: Theatre arts, music, dramatic and musical theory, and music appreciation
- Visual Arts: Studio art including drawing, printmaking, painting and photography, as well as three dimensional art including sculpture and ceramics
- Art History: With a degree in art history, one can take up teaching or work in an open art gallery
Getting a formal education enables an artist to hone his skills. Higher studies in arts history and theology can broaden and shape up the creative processes and vision.
A wide variety of humanities subjects are included in an undergraduate degree course in liberal arts to help students step into the world of literature, arts and cultural phenomena spanning from ancient to modern times with decent amount of knowledge. Higher studies in humanities course can help a person understand and appreciate the fine works of the human civilization. A degree in humanities can also open up several exciting career options and numerous jobs in diverse fields including entertainment, multimedia and design and art direction. Those with good knowledge of advanced technological tools and applications used in visual arts can also engage in jobs provided in the field of broadcast media, Internet and video games. Being gifted with artistic ability is not enough these days. Employers also look for formal career training with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in specific fields such as art history, visual arts, communications and designs.
Individuals looking to get a strong foundation in the field of business, communications and culture can get an online degree in liberal arts and humanities. These two disciplines teach students the way to review information, carry out good research, support their formed opinions and communicate their ideas. On completion of their studies encompassing a broad range of courses, humanities degree holders can review the world from varied perspectives including social, political, psychological and historical.
The term 'liberal arts' traditionally implied studies that were considered to be suitable for free men, i.e., the citizens of the republics of classic olden days. The free men received general education which was considered to be the most appropriate for social and political elite class. Therefore, the liberal arts course included literature, arts, philosophy and rhetoric. In the contemporary society, the study of liberal arts is promoted as a subject that is designed to broaden the mind, remove prejudices and baseless assumptions. A formal arts education helps in nurturing the natural talents while helping a person in producing more creative work through modern analytical methods and latest technologies. Regardless of the branch of study one has chosen, the knowledge base should expand and gain technical strength. With a formal training, it can become easy to get a artistic portfolio that shows your artistic talents.
There are colleges and universities that provide online degree programs in liberal arts, a bachelor's of science degree program in interdisciplinary studies or a bachelor's course in liberal studies. Online programs offer students the flexibility to mold their learning as per their interests in humanities and their desired learning goals.
Although a degree in liberal arts is distinct from a degree in science, a technical subject or even business, the skills and the coursework can be applied to almost any job field. Emphasis on strong communication skills, the study to understand the manner in which everything fits within the historical and philosophical perspective skill to resolve problems through reasoning, argumentation, debating, logic and deduction makes arts degree course a good learning experience.
A degree in arts also enables a person to engage in a wide variety of careers and also provides the skill and discipline required to take on the professional challenges. Resultantly, graduates can put to use their diverse range of skills and viewpoints to carve a niche in any of the field from numerous career choices.