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Liberal Arts & Humanities

Students study a broad curriculum spanning the humanities, sciences, social sciences, and arts, developing versatile critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills. Graduates typically pursue careers across diverse fields including business, government, nonprofit management, education, and communications, often based on internship experience and individual strengths. This degree provides maximum flexibility and is commonly used as a foundation for professional graduate programs in law, business, or public administration.

Schools
424
Programs analyzed
Earnings
$37,173
Avg 1-yr grad earnings
Range $18,621–$103,135
AI Risk
Low
16% task exposure
Field Overview

What Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates do

Your degree develops strong analytical and communication skills that are applied across many professions. A common path is into academia as a postsecondary teacher, where you’ll spend your days designing syllabi, leading class discussions, grading student research papers, and conducting your own original research for publication. This is a highly competitive field with slow job growth, and advancing from a lecturer to a tenured professor typically requires a Ph.D. and a significant publishing record.

Many graduates leverage these same skills in communications or the non-profit sector. You might find yourself as a marketing specialist writing website copy and analyzing campaign results, or as a grant writer for a foundation, researching funding opportunities and crafting persuasive proposals. These roles often begin at a coordinator level before progressing to manager or director positions.

A key advantage of these career paths is their low exposure to AI. Automation has little impact on the core tasks of mentoring students, developing creative strategies, or building interpersonal relationships. This focus on uniquely human skills provides a durable career advantage in an increasingly automated world.

You may also want to evaluate Liberal Arts & Humanities against Religious Studies, Agricultural Public Services, and Medical Informatics on salary and long-run job outlook.

Career Trajectories

Where Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates work

Common career paths for Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 13,500 combined openings per year across these roles.

Role Median Pay Annual Openings 10-yr Growth AI Exposure
Postsecondary teachers, all other
$78,490
$56K–$123K
13,500 +1.8% Low · 0%
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Top Institutions

Best schools for Liberal Arts & Humanities

Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 424.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 55
Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN · Public
$49,083 1-yr earnings
16.9x ROI multiple
Low AI risk
# School DW Score 1-yr Earnings ROI
5 DePaul University
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit
52 $84,066 3.8x
6 Bentley University
Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit
52 $72,333 3.4x
7 University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL · Public
52 $48,391 20.6x
8 American Public University System
Charles Town, WV · Private for-profit
51 $62,059 17.5x
9 Charter Oak State College
New Britain, CT · Public
51 $44,615 16.8x
10 Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
50 $49,147 12.0x
11 The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public
50 $45,243 13.0x
12 University of South Florida
Tampa, FL · Public
50 $45,230 19.6x
13 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Green Bay, WI · Public
49 $54,436 13.8x
14 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI · Public
49 $42,673 14.6x
15 Weber State University
Ogden, UT · Public
49 $39,864 22.0x
16 Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit
48 $55,339 8.4x
17 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK · Public
48 $45,726 13.5x
18 Fort Hays State University
Hays, KS · Public
48 $42,795 21.8x
19 University of Nevada-Reno
Reno, NV · Public
47 $43,520 14.6x
20 CUNY City College
New York, NY · Public
47 $43,059 16.9x
View the complete Liberal Arts & Humanities school rankings — 424 programs analyzed →

Highest Earnings Top 5

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MA
$103,135
DePaul University
IL
$84,066
Molloy College
NY
$74,868
Bentley University
MA
$72,333
Champlain College
VT
$71,207

Related majors

Similar fields of study often offered alongside Liberal Arts & Humanities.

Consider the trade route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Liberal Arts & Humanities offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Compare Liberal Arts & Humanities trade programs on TradeSchoolOutlook →
FAQ

Frequently asked about Liberal Arts & Humanities

What's the typical salary after a Liberal Arts & Humanities degree?

Across 424 schools, Liberal Arts & Humanities graduates earn an average of $37,173 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $18,621 to $103,135 depending on the school.

Will AI affect Liberal Arts & Humanities careers?

Liberal Arts & Humanities is rated "Low" for AI automation risk, with 16% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means relatively few career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

What's the top-ranked school for Liberal Arts & Humanities?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Metropolitan State University ranks #1 for Liberal Arts & Humanities with a score of 55/100 and graduate earnings of $49,083/yr.

What's the outlook for a Liberal Arts & Humanities degree?

Typical graduates earn 9.0 times what they paid in tuition within a decade. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly. Look at per-school ROI in the table above — averages can mask significant variation.