Earnings of Humanities Majors with an Advanced Degree
- In 2015, 41% of humanities majors possessed at least one advanced degree (see Supplemental Table III-4). Median annual full-time earnings for humanities majors holding an advanced degree in any field were $72,000 (Indicator III-07a).1
- Male humanities advanced degree holders (ADHs) reported annual median earnings of $83,000, as compared to $65,000 among their female counterparts.
- The median earnings for male ADHs who had majored in the humanities were most similar to those of behavioral and social science majors who obtained an advanced degree, though these workers’ median earnings were still $13,000 higher. The median earnings of male humanities ADHs were 75% of those of male engineering and life sciences ADHs, the highest-earning groups, and 86% of the median earnings of all male ADHs.
- Female humanities ADHs made approximately 72% of what female engineering ADHs did (engineering majors were the top earners among women), but virtually the same as all female ADHs considered together. As was true for men, the median earnings of female ADHs with humanities degrees were most similar—equal, in fact—to those of female behavioral and social science majors who later earned advanced degrees.
- The gender earnings gap for humanities ADHs, 22%, was considerably smaller than the 31% gap found among ADHs generally (Indicator III-07b). The gap was smaller than in the sciences and business but higher than in engineering, education, and the arts. (In keeping with the practice of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the gap was calculated by dividing the difference between men’s and women’s median earnings by men’s median earnings.)
- Looking at both genders together, the boost in median earnings for humanities majors who obtained an advanced degree was 38.5% (Indicator III-07c). (The “boost” is calculated as a proportion of terminal bachelor degree holders’ earnings. For the dollar amounts into which these proportions translate, see the supporting table associated with this indicator.) The boost for humanities majors was somewhat greater for men (38%) than for women (35%). For both male and female humanities ADHs, the boost was close in magnitude to that for all fields combined, though that masks wide variation among the fields. The earnings boost experienced by women was most comparable to ADHs in education and the health and medical sciences. For male humanities ADHs, the fields with the most comparable boost were business and education. For each of the genders the humanities’ boost was considerably lower than that for life sciences majors, the group of ADHs that realized the greatest monetary boost, in percentage terms, from their advanced degrees (83% for men; 60% for women).
- Among humanities majors who pursued an advanced degree, those who earned their undergraduate degrees in history had the highest median wages, $80,000 (Indicator III-07d). Those ADHs who had majored in art history as undergraduates earned the least, with median wages of $65,000.
- Among humanities majors, those with undergraduate degrees in undergraduate area, ethnic, and civilization studies enjoyed the greatest boost in median earnings (56%) from the attainment of an advanced degree (Indicator III-07e). Majors in communication who pursued advanced training experienced the smallest earnings boost, though these workers’ median earnings were still 27% higher than those who held terminal bachelor’s degrees in the discipline. (For the dollar amounts into which these percentages translate, see the supporting table associated with this indicator.)
Endnotes
- 1All earnings estimates are for the 12 months preceding response to the ACS. Indicator III-07a also presents separate earnings estimates for men and women. To present only the median for all workers for each field would be misleading, because gender is a key determinant of wages, and academic fields differ with respect to the gender composition of their degree-holder populations. While Indicator III-07a supplies the median earnings level of majors in different academic fields, the supporting table associated with the indicator provides additional information intended to capture the range of these workers’ earnings. The range of “typical” or “usual” values exhibited by a population of persons or objects is described through the use of a statistic referred to as the interquartile range, which ignores the most extreme values of a sample distribution. Quartiles are statistics that divide the observations of a numeric sample into several groups, each of which contains 25% of the data. The lower, middle, and upper quartiles are computed by ordering the values for a particular variable (earnings, in this case) from smallest to largest and then finding the values below which fall 25%, 50%, and 75% of the data. The middle quartile is also known as the median. The lower quartile and the upper quartile define the interquartile range.
* Full-time workers are those who worked 35 or more hours per week for 50 or more weeks in the previous 12 months. Advanced degree may be in any field. Fields are arranged in descending order of earnings for both genders.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
For the purposes of the American Community Survey (ACS), the source of these data, the U.S. Census Bureau defines earnings as “the sum of wage or salary income and net income from self-employment. ‘Earnings’ represent the amount of income received regularly for people 16 years old and over before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. An individual with earnings is one who has either wage/salary income or self-employment income, or both. Respondents who ‘break even’ in self-employment income and therefore have zero self-employment earnings also are considered ‘individuals with earnings’” (from ACS documentation provided at http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2014_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf, p. 81). This indicator focuses on the median earnings of humanities majors. For data regarding the range of typical earnings of humanities majors, see the supporting table for this indicator. This table provides estimates of the 25th and 75th percentile earnings for humanities majors and majors in other major academic fields. The 25th and 75th percentiles are known as the lower and upper quartiles. Quartiles are statistics that divide the observations of a numeric sample into four groups, each of which contains 25% of the data. The lower, middle, and upper quartiles are computed by ordering the values for a particular variable from smallest to largest and then finding the values below which fall 25%, 50%, and 75% of the data. The lower quartile and the upper quartile are the two values that define the interquartile range (the middle quartile is also known as the median). The interquartile range, which excludes the most extreme values of a data distribution, is used to describe the range of “typical” or “usual” values exhibited by a set of persons or objects. The ACS permits respondents to specify up to two fields of bachelor’s degree. For the purposes of this analysis, an individual was counted as having a bachelor’s degree in the humanities if the field of either reported degree was within the scope of the humanities as specified by the HI. For an inventory of the specific fields included under the broad field groupings used here, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
* The earnings gap is the difference between male and female median annual earnings expressed as a percentage of male median earnings. Full-time workers are those who worked 35 or more hours per week for 50 or more weeks in the previous 12 months. Advanced degree may be in any field.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
For the purposes of the American Community Survey (ACS), the source of these data, the U.S. Census Bureau defines earnings as “the sum of wage or salary income and net income from self-employment. ‘Earnings’ represent the amount of income received regularly for people 16 years old and over before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. An individual with earnings is one who has either wage/salary income or self-employment income, or both. Respondents who ‘break even’ in self-employment income and therefore have zero self-employment earnings also are considered ‘individuals with earnings’” (from ACS documentation provided at http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2014_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf, p. 81). This indicator focuses on the median earnings of humanities majors. For data regarding the range of typical earnings of humanities majors, see the supporting table for this indicator. This table provides estimates of the 25th and 75th percentile earnings for humanities majors and majors in other major academic fields. The 25th and 75th percentiles are known as the lower and upper quartiles. Quartiles are statistics that divide the observations of a numeric sample into four groups, each of which contains 25% of the data. The lower, middle, and upper quartiles are computed by ordering the values for a particular variable from smallest to largest and then finding the values below which fall 25%, 50%, and 75% of the data. The lower quartile and the upper quartile are the two values that define the interquartile range (the middle quartile is also known as the median). The interquartile range, which excludes the most extreme values of a data distribution, is used to describe the range of “typical” or “usual” values exhibited by a set of persons or objects. The ACS permits respondents to specify up to two fields of bachelor’s degree. For the purposes of this analysis, an individual was counted as having a bachelor’s degree in the humanities if the field of either reported degree was within the scope of the humanities as specified by the HI. For an inventory of the specific fields included under the broad field groupings used here, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
* For full-time workers; that is, those who worked 35 or more hours per week for 50 or more weeks in the previous 12 months. Advanced degree may be in any field. Fields are arranged in descending order of boost for both genders. The “boost” is calculated as a proportion of terminal bachelor degree holders’ earnings. For the dollar amounts into which these proportions translate, see the supporting table associated with this indicator.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
For the purposes of the American Community Survey (ACS), the source of these data, the U.S. Census Bureau defines earnings as “the sum of wage or salary income and net income from self-employment. ‘Earnings’ represent the amount of income received regularly for people 16 years old and over before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. An individual with earnings is one who has either wage/salary income or self-employment income, or both. Respondents who ‘break even’ in self-employment income and therefore have zero self-employment earnings also are considered ‘individuals with earnings’” (from ACS documentation provided at http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2014_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf, p. 81). This indicator focuses on the median earnings of humanities majors. For data regarding the range of typical earnings of humanities majors, see the supporting table for this indicator. This table provides estimates of the 25th and 75th percentile earnings for humanities majors and majors in other major academic fields. The 25th and 75th percentiles are known as the lower and upper quartiles. Quartiles are statistics that divide the observations of a numeric sample into four groups, each of which contains 25% of the data. The lower, middle, and upper quartiles are computed by ordering the values for a particular variable from smallest to largest and then finding the values below which fall 25%, 50%, and 75% of the data. The lower quartile and the upper quartile are the two values that define the interquartile range (the middle quartile is also known as the median). The interquartile range, which excludes the most extreme values of a data distribution, is used to describe the range of “typical” or “usual” values exhibited by a set of persons or objects. The ACS permits respondents to specify up to two fields of bachelor’s degree. For the purposes of this analysis, an individual was counted as having a bachelor’s degree in the humanities if the field of either reported degree was within the scope of the humanities as specified by the HI. For an inventory of the specific fields included under the broad field groupings used here, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk.
* Full-time workers are those who worked 35 or more hours per week for 50 or more weeks in the previous 12 months. Advanced degree may be in any field. The size of the survey sample was insufficient to yield an estimate of adequate precision for each gender.
** Languages other than English.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
For the purposes of the American Community Survey (ACS), the source of these data, the U.S. Census Bureau defines earnings as “the sum of wage or salary income and net income from self-employment. ‘Earnings’ represent the amount of income received regularly for people 16 years old and over before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. An individual with earnings is one who has either wage/salary income or self-employment income, or both. Respondents who ‘break even’ in self-employment income and therefore have zero self-employment earnings also are considered ‘individuals with earnings’” (from ACS documentation provided at http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2014_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf, p. 81). This indicator focuses on the median earnings of humanities majors. For data regarding the range of typical earnings of humanities majors, see the supporting table for this indicator. This table provides estimates of the 25th and 75th percentile earnings for humanities majors and majors in other major academic fields. The 25th and 75th percentiles are known as the lower and upper quartiles. Quartiles are statistics that divide the observations of a numeric sample into four groups, each of which contains 25% of the data. The lower, middle, and upper quartiles are computed by ordering the values for a particular variable from smallest to largest and then finding the values below which fall 25%, 50%, and 75% of the data. The lower quartile and the upper quartile are the two values that define the interquartile range (the middle quartile is also known as the median). The interquartile range, which excludes the most extreme values of a data distribution, is used to describe the range of “typical” or “usual” values exhibited by a set of persons or objects. The ACS permits respondents to specify up to two fields of bachelor’s degree. For the purposes of this analysis, an individual was counted as having a bachelor’s degree in the humanities if the field of either reported degree was within the scope of the humanities as specified by the HI. For an inventory of the specific fields included under the broad field groupings used here, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk. The 2015 ACS questionnaire asks respondents to describe the discipline of their undergraduate degree in their own words. Degrees are then classified by the Census Bureau into disciplinary subcategories. These subcategories are then combined by the bureau to create the more general disciplinary categories used in this analysis. “History includes those degrees identified by the bureau as being in:
- “History, General”;
- “European History”;
- “Public/Applied History and Archival Administration”;
- “Asian History”;
- “U.S. History”
- “Canadian History”; and
- “History, Other.”
- “Studies in French, German, Latin, and Other Common LOTE” degrees (referred to as degrees in “French, German, Latin, and Other Common Foreign Language Studies” by Census) include those in:
- “German Language and Literature”;
- “Modern Greek Language and Literature”;
- “Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics”;
- “French Language and Literature”;
- “Italian Language and Literature”;
- “Spanish Language and Literature”;
- “Ancient Classical Greek Language and Literature”;
- “Latin Language and Literature”;
- “American Sign Language (ASL)”;
- “Linguistics of ASL and Other Sign Languages”; and
- “Sign Language Interpretation and Translation.”
* For full-time workers; that is, those who worked 35 or more hours per week for 50 or more weeks in the previous 12 months. Advanced degree may be in any field. The “boost” is calculated as a proportion of terminal bachelor degree holders’ earnings. For the dollar amounts into which these proportions translate, see the supporting table associated with this indicator. The size of the survey sample was insufficient to yield an estimate of adequate precision for each gender.
** Languages other than English.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey Public-Use Microdata Sample. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
For the purposes of the American Community Survey (ACS), the source of these data, the U.S. Census Bureau defines earnings as “the sum of wage or salary income and net income from self-employment. ‘Earnings’ represent the amount of income received regularly for people 16 years old and over before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. An individual with earnings is one who has either wage/salary income or self-employment income, or both. Respondents who ‘break even’ in self-employment income and therefore have zero self-employment earnings also are considered ‘individuals with earnings’” (from ACS documentation provided at http://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/tech_docs/subject_definitions/2014_ACSSubjectDefinitions.pdf, p. 81). This indicator focuses on the median earnings of humanities majors. For data regarding the range of typical earnings of humanities majors, see the supporting table for this indicator. This table provides estimates of the 25th and 75th percentile earnings for humanities majors and majors in other major academic fields. The 25th and 75th percentiles are known as the lower and upper quartiles. Quartiles are statistics that divide the observations of a numeric sample into four groups, each of which contains 25% of the data. The lower, middle, and upper quartiles are computed by ordering the values for a particular variable from smallest to largest and then finding the values below which fall 25%, 50%, and 75% of the data. The lower quartile and the upper quartile are the two values that define the interquartile range (the middle quartile is also known as the median). The interquartile range, which excludes the most extreme values of a data distribution, is used to describe the range of “typical” or “usual” values exhibited by a set of persons or objects. The ACS permits respondents to specify up to two fields of bachelor’s degree. For the purposes of this analysis, an individual was counted as having a bachelor’s degree in the humanities if the field of either reported degree was within the scope of the humanities as specified by the HI. For an inventory of the specific fields included under the broad field groupings used here, see the ACS-HI Crosswalk. The 2015 ACS questionnaire asks respondents to describe the discipline of their undergraduate degree in their own words. Degrees are then classified by the Census Bureau into disciplinary subcategories. These subcategories are then combined by the bureau to create the more general disciplinary categories used in this analysis. “History includes those degrees identified by the bureau as being in:
- “History, General”;
- “European History”;
- “Public/Applied History and Archival Administration”;
- “Asian History”;
- “U.S. History”
- “Canadian History”; and
- “History, Other.”
- “Studies in French, German, Latin, and Other Common LOTE” degrees (referred to as degrees in “French, German, Latin, and Other Common Foreign Language Studies” by Census) include those in:
- “German Language and Literature”;
- “Modern Greek Language and Literature”;
- “Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics”;
- “French Language and Literature”;
- “Italian Language and Literature”;
- “Spanish Language and Literature”;
- “Ancient Classical Greek Language and Literature”;
- “Latin Language and Literature”;
- “American Sign Language (ASL)”;
- “Linguistics of ASL and Other Sign Languages”; and
- “Sign Language Interpretation and Translation.”
