As undergraduate B.S. degrees rise, so do questions about where humanities fits in

When Undergraduate Student Senator Keshav Javvadi received an email announcing UNC’s new economics Bachelor of Science major, he saw an opportunity. Specifically, the sophomore hopes to create a similar B.S. addition for a different UNC program: political science. 

Javvadi, who plans to complete the new economics B.S. major, is also majoring in political science and minoring in computer science. He said being able to incorporate more chances to develop hard technical skills would be invaluable to UNC students. 

“In the world that we live in today, jobs and careers and academics alike, skills like data analysis, statistical analysis, computer science and things of that nature are really relevant, no matter what field you’re in,” Javvadi said. 

While UNC’s current political science major does require a research methods class, Javvadi said he believes the greater focus on data analysis that would come with a B.S. would be especially helpful in making students more employable. 

“I could already think of a few projects where if I wanted to go into poli sci research, I could use my programming skills and get a database of voter data and analyze it using Python, for example,” Javvadi said. 

Javvadi said right now, he is in the very early stages of considering a proposal, as well as reaching out to fellow political science students and professors for advice on next steps. 

Stephen E. Gent, professor and director of undergraduate studies for political science, is one individual from whom Javvadi sought feedback. Gent said that while there haven’t been official departmental discussions about creating a B.S., the program is trying to increase the number of classes and experiences available for students to engage in data analysis. Additionally, he said in order to justify creating a new track, the department needs to conduct preliminary research to gauge demand, with student interest being a particularly important factor.

“We’d have to look at, say, other schools and other universities,” Gent said. “If they have a B.S. in political science, what do they look like? How do we compare to peer universities?” 

A bureaucratic process

Like Javvadi, Gent said the conversations around creating a political science B.S. are in the early stages, and even putting together the justifications and skeleton of the curriculum is a years-long process. 

The course of developing a new major under the UNC System is extensive. At UNC, interested academic programs must undergo two phases with a series of steps, including submitting a proposal that addresses societal and student demand, budget requirements and how the major will align with the University’s Institutional Mission, among other factors. 

Professor of Economics Brian McManus said the economics B.S. degree, which was announced in October, has been in development for about two years. According to the department, the main differences between the B.A. and B.S. are that B.S. students will take econometrics, an additional 500-level course, and three semesters of calculus. They also must complete two out of six quantitative classes in departments outside of economics. Although the program has not yet received final approval from the University, the economics department hopes to launch the 16-course major by the fall semester of 2020.

McManus, who also leads the economics curriculum committee, said looking at how other universities structured similar degrees — many of which he said are fairly new themselves — and examining projected job growth patterns for individuals in quantitative fields were crucial to the process. 

“I think what's happened over the past couple of decades is that data availability has increased really substantially, and it's opening new opportunities for academics in various fields to work with new data, test theories, kind of track important outcomes,” McManus said. 

Nick Siedentop, curriculum director for the Office of Undergraduate Curricula, said in addition to the economics B.S. degree, two Bachelor of Arts majors in medical anthropology and human and organizational leadership development have been approved by the UNC System office. Although faculty are responsible for submitting proposals, Siedentop emphasized the importance of collaboration, especially with students, in the process of creating new majors.  

“Whenever we submit a proposal to the system office, we want to show that this proposal has been fully reviewed and vetted and has received a lot of feedback and review from various constituents on our campus,” Siedentop said.

McManus said the economics department conducted a survey that was sent to ECON 410 and 101 students, as well as declared majors, and found a significant amount of interest in developing a B.S. degree. 

Sophomore Danny Harris, who is planning on completing the economics B.S. degree, said he actually asked department staff last year if a B.S. would eventually be offered at UNC. Harris said he believes in particular that the additional math requirements of the B.S. will better prepare him to enter the job market when he graduates.

“It's just another opportunity. I don’t think it does any harm,” Harris said. “And I don't know to what extent employers will now look down on a B.A., which I guess might be the only downside, is if you want to just get a B.A. and they know there is a B.S. available, it might not be as good.” 

McManus said one way the department hopes to combat fears about a devaluation of the humanities is through continuing to offer the B.A. degree to students.

“We imagine that most of our majors are going to continue to be Bachelor of Arts majors,” McManus said. “We have always seen a lot of value kind of in the way that the economics majors is laid out currently. We think that it offers students the opportunity to think rigorously about social topics. It doesn’t have to be as quantitative as the B.S. degree.”

The market demand

Siedentop also said the Office of Undergraduate Curricula has seen an uptick in the number of UNC students graduating with B.S. degrees. Between the 2013-14 and 2018-19 academic school years, the number of B.S. degrees out of the total number of degrees awarded to UNC undergraduates increased by 5.3 percent, while B.A. degrees decreased by 5.7 percent. 

However, B.A. degrees still make up the majority of degrees awarded to undergraduates. On a national level, undergraduate degrees with a focus on technical data science skills have similarly increased between 2005-06 and 2015-16, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 

Hilary Edwards Lithgow, a professor in the English and comparative literature department, said the conversation around the value of a B.A. degree in a post-graduation job market is a common one. But she thinks there are a good deal of misconceptions involved. Lithgow said that while a STEM degree might allow for a larger salary immediately out of college compared to a humanities degree, there is evidence to suggest that salaries even out after around seven or eight years.

“It's not totally good news because you still have a period of time where you’re making less money,” Lithgow said. “To me, the calculus is always balancing economic security and mental well-being.”

She said part of the general anxiety around the job security and financial well-being of college graduates with humanities degrees might be attributed to mixed messaging regarding the kinds of career opportunities available. She believes humanists play an important role in the ethics and narratives involved in translating information to a broad audience.

“I do think, for better or for worse, everybody needs to communicate, and there's no profession that doesn't have a role for somebody who can write well and communicate well,” Lithgow said. “The trick is planning ahead, figuring out where you want to get to and laying the groundwork to get where you want to go.”

Brett Harris, a sophomore contemporary European studies and English and comparative literature double major, feels similarly.

“With college being the thing that so many of us are pushed to as the gateway to career, it makes sense that it all gets focused on that, ‘Well, are you doing something you enjoy or are doing something that's marketable?’” Harris said. “And I think people kind of lose the distinction or rather lose the idea of the ability to see that sometimes those can overlap in meaningful ways.”

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