What is a Humanities Degree?

Florida Tech's humanities programs provide a solid foundation in history, literature, philosophy, the arts and law. Students earning an interdisciplinary humanities degree learn critical thinking, problem-solving, complex analysis and cultural awareness–skills in demand in a global economy. Students pursuing a BA in Humanities select a concentration to provide depth within one of the subdisciplines of humanities: history, literature or philosophy. 

Whether you want to study the thoughts, actions and values of human beings, use new technologies to make great works of art, or pursue a graduate degree in history, philosophy or law, a humanities degree from Florida Tech develops a strong background in the liberal arts with experience in writing and technology.

Gain Practical Experience

The unique environment of a technological university fosters interdisciplinary study in humanities degree students who work alongside engineers, scientists and aviators. Professors welcome undergraduate students to participate in research studies and book projects, offering dynamic opportunities for building a portfolio of scholarly inquiry before graduation.

As a senior, students complete a capstone project where they craft and present a substantial written work based on original research on a significant issue in humanities.

The humanities degree program has broad applicability. As a result of the ample allotment of electives, students may adapt the program to individual needs and interests. These diverse activities give students practical experience and the perfect preparation for graduate school and employment.

Build Professional Relationships

Beyond the classroom, humanities majors build leadership experience through internships and participation in organizations like the student newspaper, Crimson, FITV Video Productions, the College Players (performing arts), student government and over 100 other campus-wide student organizations.

Get Recruited Upon Graduation

Employers that have recruited Florida Tech humanities degree students for internships and careers include the American Museum of Natural Science, EPCOT, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Clear Channel Communications.

Earn an Advanced Degree

After receiving their humanities degree, many Florida Tech students go to master's and doctoral programs at Florida Tech or other prestigious universities, including Stanford, Johns Hopkins and Yale.

Florida Tech offers students a breadth of knowledge and skills essential for today's global professionals. The workplace rapidly changes due to technological advances, the evolution of a more social environment and new business methodologies. Choosing a humanities college like Florida Tech, which offers an interdisciplinary humanities degree, prepares you to enter the global job market with a diverse range of skills with broad applicability to many career options.

Small Class Sizes - Individualized Attention

Florida Tech's small class sizes allow humanities students to get to know their professors and fellow students well, forming close-knit relationships that enhance learning. Not every humanities college provides this type of mentorship and the individualized attention proves to be supportive for students determining the path their humanities degree will take them.

The School of Arts and Communications provides students an opportunity to work on Kaleidoscope, the university art and literary magazine, and Crimson, the student newspaper. Students who qualify are also often asked to join faculty-led research teams.

Strong Faculty Involvement

The Humanities and Communication Department has the highest number of Teaching Excellence Awards for outstanding classroom work at Florida Tech. The program's professors, most of whom hold Ph.D.s in their fields, are internationally recognized for their humanitarian work and provide a robust humanities college experience. This dedicated group of professors are interested in student success and readily available for student advising.

Facilities and Resources Aimed at Student Success

Every department at Florida Tech is dedicated to giving students what they need to succeed. This also means regularly updating course materials, class offerings, resources, technology, laboratories and more. Humanities college students have full access to learning facilities on campus, including the Evans Library, which houses the Applied Computing Center, boasting the latest communication and computer technology. It also provides students access to more than 117,000 books, 228,000 government documents and 17,000 full-text print and electronic journals. In addition, students benefit from free tutoring offered by the Academic Support Center.

Great Florida Location

Many other humanities colleges find it hard to compete with Florida Tech's location. The Florida Tech campus is situated on the Space Coast, an area within the fifth largest high-tech workforce in the country, more than 5,000 high-tech corporations, government and military organizations. This workforce provides a variety of humanities internship and employment opportunities.

Atlantic Ocean beaches are only a short drive away, as well as Central Florida attractions, such as the NASA Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral and Walt Disney World. Florida Tech offers a rich campus life that includes intramural and collegiate sports, clubs and social activities. As far as a top humanities college goes, Florida Tech is the perfect choice.

While in the humanities program, students have opportunities to study the world not only in the classroom but also through humanities internships on campus, in the local community and around the world. Literature, history, philosophy, fine art, social science and languages – these are the many areas that you can choose for humanities internships and research.

The Florida Tech Study Abroad Program makes it possible for students to conduct humanities internships in locations such as:

• Oxford, England

• Rome, Florence and Venice, Italy

• Holland, The Netherlands

• Taichung, Taiwan

In Oxford, students can study within the same 16th century college walls where literary greats such as Tolkien and C.S. Lewis learned their craft. Choosing Italy means students can travel the country and visit iconic sites like the Coliseum, the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and Venice. Strolling through picturesque Dutch towns, students can earn Florida Tech credits in The Netherlands. They can even study Chinese at Tunghai University in Taiwan.

How Will Florida Tech Prepare Me for a Future in the Humanities?

In addition to humanities internships, students culminate their studies with a capstone project in their senior year. This project provides an opportunity for original research on a topic of their choosing as they work alongside a tight-knit committee of faculty members. Faculty members guide each student through this two-semester process. This project highlights a student's job search portfolio or opens doors to more advanced academic degrees or law school. Projects have included such topics as:

• The history of women in Florida's legal system

• The portrayal of history in movies

• The changing perception of the U.S. and Mexican border

Join Clubs to Enhance Your Degree

Other activities outside of research and humanities internships offer students a way to express their creative side. The student-run literary magazine called Kaleidoscope offers a chance to see their poetry and prose published. The Communicator is the humanities and communication department newsletter that regularly publishes student work.

The Florida Tech College Players allows students to take part in plays and musicals as actors, set designers, directors and more.

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest and most selective honor society for all academic disciplines. Humanities majors who qualify may join the Florida Tech chapter.

Whether the choice is humanities internships, research or clubs, students have many ways to network and develop opportunities for post-graduate employment.

Graduates of the humanities program are prepared for a wide variety of careers, including jobs in law, government service, history, literature, writing and editing, international studies and philosophy. Your degree prepares you to create your own career around the areas that interest you the most, or that you develop once you choose a job.

Career Outlook

Careers in humanities are rooted in every market industry in our culture from writers and filmmakers, artists and anthropologists, to social service workers, non-profit organization executives, government, military, clergy and sales. The analytical, writing and research, computer and foreign language skills that humanities majors develop sets them up for any number of humanities careers.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), provides detailed information about specific jobs including median annual pay, working conditions and job outlook, among other things. Check the handbook about careers you may be interested in to learn more.

Career Options

Careers in humanities that you might consider include:

• Writer or Editor

• Artist

• Sales, Customer Service Specialist

• Real Estate Broker

• Human Resources Specialist or Manager

• Librarian

• Counselor/Therapist

• Museum Curator

• Clergy

• Counselor

• Psychologist

• Diplomat

• Historian

The list we provided is certainly not exclusive but provides a good illustration of some of the careers in humanities available to Florida Tech graduates.

Careers in humanities: For the well-rounded individual who perhaps desires the freedom to choose above all else when it comes to deciding on a career path.