What is a Humanities degree?

Whether you want to study the thoughts, actions and values of human beings or pursue graduate studies in history, philosophy, writing or law, you can get there with a humanities degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in the liberal arts and get hands-on experience in scholarly research and writing.

Our humanities degree program is dynamic and focused. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Composition and Rhetoric and Writing About Literature as a freshman. Guided by highly qualified faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin specializing as early as sophomore year.

Before you know it, you'll be completing your humanities degree with a senior capstone project: crafting a substantial written work based on original research on a significant issue in the humanities, and presenting it. Through this experience, you'll get practical experience, an enhanced job search portfolio, and a stronger sense of yourself as a scholar---the perfect preparation for graduate or professional school and employment.

Getting your humanities degree at Florida Tech is how students with good brains become leaders with great minds.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech:

• Small classes ensure personal attention from faculty and lively discussion with your classmates
• Quality faculty with diverse professional experiences dedicated to helping students succeed
• Unique benefit of learning within a vibrant, technology-centered campus (and being inspired by it)
• Opportunity to work with faculty or independently on research and book projects related to your future career
• Participate in special programs including the Creative Writing Institute, Center for the Study of Critical Languages, Florida Tech Music Program, and the Oxford Program (study abroad).
• Get to know all your professors and fellow humanities majors; it's a close-knit department!

Facilities: Humanities department offices and classrooms are located in the Crawford Building in the center of campus. Crawford is home to numerous Mac and PC computer labs available for student use. Also of interest to humanities majors is the high-tech Evans Library, which provides access to over 117,000 books, more than 228,000 government documents, and an extensive collection of scholarly journals including over 17,000 full-text print and electronic journals.

Faculty: There are approximately 15 full-time humanities professors. Their research interests are far-reaching and run the gamut from mosquito control to the place of death in American Literature to the history of the Space Age, and beyond. Five humanities faculty have won university awards for teaching and service excellence.

Learning

Clubs and Organizations:

• Kaleidoscope (art and literary magazine)
• College Players (theater)
• Crimson (student newspaper)
• Florida Tech Film Society
• Music Ensembles: Concert Choir, Wind Ensemble, String Ensemble, Jazz Band, Latin Percussion, Schola Cantorum
• Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Anime Club

Research: The culmination of the humanities degree curriculum is a senior capstone project in which students conduct original research resulting in a substantial written work about a significant issue in the humanities. Faculty members engage and guide each senior through this two-semester process. Ultimately, the capstone project defines the student as a scholar and either highlights a student's job search portfolio or opens doors to more advanced academic degrees or law school. Recent capstone project titles have included:

• "Angels in Khaki: The Evolutionary Depiction of War-time Nursing in Film"
• "Ink and Thunder: Transforming Thor through Comic Format"
• "The Women's Army Corps"
• "Society and the Tudor Kitchen"
• "Perceptions of US-Mexican Relations from 1823 to Present"
• "History through the Camera's Lens: Using Oliver Stone's Alexander to Define and Defend the Genre of Historical Film"

Internships and Cooperative Learning: The humanities department maintains partnerships with organizations such as the Brevard Art Museum, Project GO and the French Ministry of Culture, all of which have provided learning opportunities for our majors.

Future Outcomes

Outcomes - Grad School: 40-50% of humanities degree graduates go on to graduate school in some area. They choose areas such as law, English, folklore studies, and education.

Recent alumni have attended graduate programs at universities like:

• Florida Coastal School of Law
• James Madison University
• Montclair State University
• Nova Southeastern University
• University of Central Florida
• University of Oregon
• University of South Florida
• Florida State University
• Stetson University

Outcomes - Career and Salary: In 2009, the average starting salary for liberal arts (humanities) graduates was $36,488 (Source: NACE National Association of Colleges and Employers).