Understanding the ‘Value’ of Humanities Degrees
The Project
Debates over tuition fees, university finances, and the evaluation of teaching excellence have led to recent increased scrutiny on the potential value of Humanities degrees. Longitudinal Education Outcomes data shows that five years after completion, graduates from Humanities degrees earn significantly less than peers in the sciences or some individuals without degrees. This raises a number of critical questions about the perceived value of Humanities degrees both in terms of individuals’ careers and in relation to wider impact in society.
Focusing on Humanities graduates from Oxford University, this project will examine alumni data to understand graduate labour market outcomes and career trajectories over the last decade. This will be triangulated with in depth interviews with graduates, employers, and current students focused on employability and transferable skills, aspirations linked with degree courses, and the perceived wider value of humanities degrees. Analysis will therefore examine the value of humanities both in terms of individual returns and wider societal, political, and economic impacts.
Are you an Oxford Humanities graduate?
Find out how you can participate in this research.We are currently recruiting Oxford Humanities graduates (from undergraduate and postgraduate courses) to participate in short telephone interviews. If you graduated from a Humanities degree from Oxford in 2007 or later and can spare 30 minutes to talk to us, please register your interest using this short form.
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Project Details
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More Projects
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Widening access to international student mobilityJune 2025 - December 2026The fellowship seeks to learn from national contexts outside the UK to help widen participation to short-term international student mobility
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NetZeroEDJuly 2025 - June 2026In collaboration with the DfE, school partners and a Youth Advisory Board, this project addresses the question: How can curriculum designers provide better Net Zero education for the next generation?
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Intergenerational Mobility and Higher Education Internationally: a comparative perspectiveMarch 2025 - November 2025This research aims to further our knowledge of how higher education can, more effectively, operate as an engine for social mobility by learning from the successes and failures of social mobility policies in different higher education systems across the world.
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Research Collaboration in EducationApril 2024 - April 2026The Research Collaboration in Education project aims to explore how success is conceptualised in academic research collaborations in education and how high performing education departments support positive research collaborations.
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System-Thinking Approaches to Tertiary Education Policymaking in England2024 - 2025This project aims to explore and develop system-thinking approaches in policy-making, to foster coherence, collaboration, and synergies within the tertiary education system in England.
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Diverse Contributions to Educational ResearchMarch 2024 - March 2025Research activities often involve diverse input from various stakeholders, but it can be challenging to understand, recognise, credit, and support such diverse contributions ethically and properly, particularly in the field of educational research.
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NewsNew report calls for shift from competition to coordination in post-16 education and training across the UKApril 15, 2025
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