College Graduates’ Perception of the Value of Their Undergraduate Education, 2018/2019

College Graduates’ Perception of the Value of Their Undergraduate Education, 2018/201930

A substantial share of humanities graduates also expressed ambivalence about their degrees. Approximately 40% indicated that they would not choose the same major again, and a similar share reported they did not believe that their undergraduate institution prepared them for life. In these respects, humanities majors were similar to college students in general and also to business and behavioral/social sciences majors. Engineering and health/medical sciences graduates were considerably more likely to say that they would choose the same major again.

Because graduates were not asked to identify a major they would have preferred, we cannot conclude that they would have chosen a major in a different field. Some humanities graduates, for example, might have chosen to major in a different discipline within the humanities. Nevertheless, this finding and the lack of a perceived relationship between job and degree point to a challenge for the field.

Endnotes

• 30Gallup Alumni Survey, 2018 (for item about college major); and Gallup Alumni Survey, 2019 (for item about preparation for life).