The Humanities and Exploring Academic Interests

The Humanities and Exploring Academic Interests

When discussing the subjects they found most interesting and those they excelled in, both the high school and college students noted similar factors. Subject preferences largely remained consistent between high school and college, and the subjects that students enjoyed most consistently overlapped with the subjects they considered to be their best.

STEM-related subjects were by far the most popular among the high school students, with three-quarters naming one as their favorite subject and most students citing both a natural aptitude in the subject and an interest in the forms of problem-solving it prioritized. One student cited a preference for science subjects “because I don’t have to memorize as much. I can intuitively figure out what’s going on,” while another student indicated an interest “because of the different branches that there are and the different ways of science that you can learn.”14 However, no clear alignment could be found between their best subject and the subject they planned to pursue in college, suggesting that other factors contributed to decisions about what area to study.

Conversely, when identifying their least favorite subjects, the students were more evenly split between STEM and the humanities. Their reasons varied from general difficulty with the content to finding the material uninteresting. A high school student who expressed a dislike for geometry said, “math hasn’t really been my strong suit, but I think the class itself is fun, but just the struggling part is really one thing.”15

Reading and writing, however, were at the center of high school students’ thoughts and feelings about the humanities. Those high school students who reported English or history as their least favorite subject spoke often of not liking or struggling with aspects of reading and writing. Others mentioned a discomfort with the subjectivity of English and history, preferring the perceived clarity of STEM courses where answers are unambiguously right or wrong. On the other hand, those who enjoyed humanities subjects expressed an affinity for the storytelling aspect of those subjects and an appreciation for writing. One high school student remarked that “the past affects the future, so knowing the patterns is always really interesting.”16 For another student, English was a favorite because they not only enjoyed writing but also appreciated the essay composition skills their teacher was able to develop in them.17

Regardless of their favorite or least favorite subject, multiple high school students specifically called out the importance of reading, writing, and language skills, noting their utility not just for college but also for the “real world.” However, most high school students indicated that they did not intend to declare a humanities major in college, as they associated humanities degrees only with direct job applications; for example, a history degree implied a future career working as a historian.

Moving from high school to college did not appear to substantially affect which subjects students felt were their favorite or least favorite. Similar to the high school students, those in college reported disliking subjects because of the complexity of the material, memorization requirements, or even a perceived lack of practical use for the subject matter. Nearly every college student who called history their least favorite subject said they struggled with memorization, echoing what some of their peers cited as a reason for disliking science and underscoring the fact that some students have an affinity for one field over another. However, while high school students often spoke about the perceived benefits of humanistic skills, the college students often emphasized the perceived lack of usefulness of humanities subjects. One college student expressed a distaste for English and history because, as they said, “A lot of the things in those classes, I didn’t see how I will ever use in my life.”18

While most students shared that their favorite and least favorite subjects remained consistent from high school into college, when developing new interests or changing their opinions about previously disliked subjects, the students overwhelmingly credited teachers and professors as the reason for the change.