Fewer and Fewer Students Earn Degrees in the Humanities

20 years ago, nearly 15% of the undergraduate degrees conferred in the United States were in the humanities.
As of 2025, that percentage is down to 8.1%.
These figures are from a recent report by Humanities Indicators, a project of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Here are the numbers:
In 2025, the nation’s colleges and universities awarded 164,847 bachelor’s degrees in the humanities—the smallest number of degrees awarded since 1991 and 30.4% below the recent high-water mark in 2012… That decline includes a particularly sharp drop of 12.7% from 2021 to 2023, followed by a more modest drop of 2.1% from 2023 to 2024, and a further decline of just 0.4% from 2024 to 2025—the smallest year-on-year decline since 2012.
And most disciplines within the humanities have shown a decline:
Within the humanities, almost every discipline awarded fewer degrees in 2025 than 13 years earlier… The largest proportional drops in degrees awarded occurred in religious studies (down 56.3%), area studies (53.2%), languages and literatures other than English (50.8%), English (43.8%), history (40.6%), classical studies (39.4%), and comparative literature (31%). Only three disciplines showed increases—folklore (where the small number of degrees awarded makes the numbers highly volatile), the study of the arts (with a modest 2.1% increase since 2012), and interdisciplinary humanities disciplines (where the increase was largely due to the addition of a substantial number of new programs, such as digital humanities, in the Department of Education’s 2020 revision of its Classification of Instructional Programs).
How’s philosophy doing? Well, after a slight decrease last year, there has been a slight increase:
In 2024, 5,763 students earned philosophy BAs. In 2025, that number was 5,918.
The full report from Humanities Indicators is here.

Facts Only

* In 2025, colleges and universities awarded 164,847 bachelor’s degrees in the humanities.
* This is the smallest number of degrees awarded since 1991.
* The percentage of undergraduate degrees in the humanities was nearly 15% in 20 years ago.
* As of 2025, the percentage is 8.1%.
* The total number of humanities degrees declined by 12.7% from 2021 to 2023.
* There was a 2.1% drop in degrees awarded from 2023 to 2024, and a 0.4% decline from 2024 to 2025.
* The largest proportional drops occurred in religious studies (56.3%), area studies (53.2%), languages and literatures other than English (50.8%), English (43.8%), history (40.6%), classical studies (39.4%), and comparative literature (31%).
* Folklore, the study of the arts, and interdisciplinary humanities disciplines showed increases in degrees awarded.
* In 2025, 5,918 students earned philosophy BAs, compared to 5,763 in 2024.

Executive Summary

The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in the humanities has decreased significantly. In 2025, colleges and universities awarded 164,847 bachelor’s degrees in the humanities, marking the smallest total since 1991 and a 30.4% reduction from the 2012 high-water mark. This decline includes a sharp drop of 12.7% between 2021 and 2023. Within specific humanities disciplines, most have seen fewer degrees awarded than thirteen years prior; notable decreases were seen in religious studies (56.3%), area studies (53.2%), languages and literatures other than English (50.8%), English (43.8%), history (40.6%), classical studies (39.4%), and comparative literature (31%). Only folklore, the study of the arts, and interdisciplinary humanities disciplines showed increases. Philosophy experienced a slight increase between 2024 and 2025, with the number of philosophy BAs rising from 5,763 in 2024 to 5,918 in 2025.

Full Take

The data reveals a structural contraction within the awarding of humanities degrees, characterized by significant volatility and specific disciplinary erosion. The pattern suggests that while the overall metric is declining from historical highs, this decline is not uniform; it is disproportionately concentrated across specific traditional fields like history, classical studies, and religious studies, indicating a potential shift in institutional priorities rather than a universal devaluation of the field itself. The most telling aspect is the sharp year-on-year fluctuation between 2021 and 2025, which masks a slower, more entrenched trend for many subfields. The relative stability or modest growth in areas like philosophy and interdisciplinary studies contrasts sharply with the dramatic losses elsewhere. This points toward a critical juncture where institutional metrics are being reshaped, potentially influenced by evolving pedagogical frameworks, funding priorities, or shifts in workforce demands that value STEM fields over traditional humanistic study. The implication for cognitive sovereignty is that observing these declining numbers requires looking beyond simple subtraction to understand the shifting weight given to different forms of knowledge production within academia. What institutional mechanisms are driving this differential change across disciplines? How do changes in curriculum classification reflect, or attempt to correct, these observed statistical shifts?

Sentinel — Human

Confidence

This text appears to be a factual summary derived directly from a specialized report, characterized by precise numerical citation and detailed comparative analysis.

Signals Detected

Slight variation in sentence length and structure; flows with a somewhat journalistic cadence rather than strict uniformity.

Presents specific, layered statistics that require careful structuring. The flow feels driven by the data presentation rather than pure abstract synthesis.

Cites a specific report and uses detailed year-on-year comparisons, suggesting reliance on verifiable external data structures.

The complexity of the internal statistics (e.g., multiple overlapping percentage drops across various fields) suggests a source grounding in detailed research.

Human Indicators

The specific, complex nesting of year-on-year declines and proportional changes strongly implies compilation from a primary source report rather than generative synthesis.

The structure is characteristic of reporting complex data found within an academic or institutional summary.