Students sometimes assume that the Humanities Division majors do not have marketable skills. However, when you consider what Humanities majors are asked to do, you will realize that they develop a number of extremely important and desirable skills. Here are some examples:

Critical Thinking: Employers want people who will not simply say yes but who will see and stop mistakes before they happen. By teaching students to question, courses in the Humanities Division give students practice in finding and solving problems.

Original Thinking: Employers also want people who can create new ideas. Humanities majors are required to develop original ideas to solve difficult problems. This practice is essential in preparing students for the work force.

Interpersonal Communication: Humanities majors learn how to accept and learn from criticism, listen openly to the ideas of others, constructively critique arguments, and work with others to develop ideas and strategies. Employers want people who can present good ideas but in ways that allow them to work as a team.

Writing: No matter what career you choose, being a good and careful writer will always be valuable. Employers recognize this. Good writing can be developed only through practice. Courses in the Humanities Division give you the opportunity for that practice.

Reading: Employers also realize the value of people who can read carefully and critically. The quantity, quality and difficulty of the texts assigned in courses in the humanities division gives you practice developing this skill.

Research: Most careers require some sort of research. Knowing how to research is not so much a matter of knowing where information is, but knowing what kind of questions to ask while investigating a problem. The research papers assigned in the Humanities Division give you the opportunity to learn how to ask the right questions so that you can do research in any field.

Flexibility: All the Humanities Division majors teach a variety of approaches to the discipline. Each major teaches students to be flexible when learning new subject matter. Employers know that conditions change, and they want people who can change with them.

Work Ethic: One of the most important skills a student learns in college is a work ethic: staying motivated, keeping organized, managing your time, and getting tasks done efficiently. It is easier for a student to learn these skills while studying something he or she naturally finds interesting.

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