New paper shows the value of arts and humanities degrees

A new paper has challenged misconceptions of arts and humanities (A&H) degrees, showing the value they bring to the economy and society.

The paper Changing the Narrative: valuing Arts and Humanities Degrees highlights the importance employers place on the transferrable skills from A&H graduates: creative thinking, analytical thinking, and technological literacy. These skills are highly prized in the workplace with A&H degrees particularly well suited to developing these in-demand skills, as well as equipping students increasingly with technological literacy.

The paper is published for The Open University by the Learned Society of Wales and follows an event earlier this year in Wales, where academics, employers, students and think tanks came together to debate the issues it covers.

Dr Richard Marsden, co-authors the paper with colleague Dr Anna Plassart;. Both are Senior lecturers in History, in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

“Over the last few years, eight of the ten fastest growing sectors in the UK economy have employed more graduates from the arts, humanities and also the social sciences than from any other disciplines,” says Dr Marsden.

Dr Plassart explains that in the long-term, A&H degree qualifications equip graduates with comparable earning power to their counterparts in other subject areas:
“Having transferable skills also means that arts and humanities graduates have more career options and greater flexibility within the workforce than those of many other disciplines,” says Dr Plassart.

Recent UK-wide research, for example by the British Academy (2020) and the Higher Education Policy Institute (2023), suggests that the A&H “employability problem” is largely a myth.The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report (2023) asked employers about the key skills they need their employees to have, as well as which skills they think will increase in importance over the next few years. The top three future-facing skills they listed were creative thinking, analytical thinking, and technological literacy. These are all transferable skills rather than vocational, the paper states.

The paper recommends that universities work with employers to help A&H students articulate the value of their degrees, as well as working with schools to reduce the decline in those choosing degrees in these areas.

Dr Marsden says: “Most people accept that subjects like history, literature, art, philosophy, and music have value on a personal and cultural level. They make people happy; they enrich our society, and they can help us understand the big questions – who we are, how we feel, what is most important to us – the full human experience.

“But by that same token, vocational degrees are not the only thing that help economies. Businesses need the kinds of versatile graduates with transferable skills that Arts and Humanities subjects produce. That’s why, in the long run, these degrees are not at all ‘low value’. They can entertain and enrich our society, whilst at the same time lead graduates to attractive salaries and get them making vital contributions to the economy.”

Read the paper on the Learned Society Wales website

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