In August, The Daily Pennsylvanian mapped out the distribution of majors among Penn’s Class of 2026. Among graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences, the three most popular majors were in philosophy, politics, and economics; biology; and economics. While humanities departments offer 46% of majors in the College, only 14% of degrees earned by 2026 College graduates belonged to a humanities field. That puts undergraduate humanities degrees for the Class of 2026 at 7% across the University as a whole.
Researchers have worked to explain the overall decrease in humanities majors across U.S. higher education institutions. Some have cited anxieties related to job prospects and heavy reading loads as the cause of this phenomenon. The national decline in literacy rates sure isn’t helping the humanities attract more students. Funding cuts to educational programs by the Trump administration also seem to have exacerbated this concern, as not enough funding is reaching students who require improvement in their reading levels to meet the standards of humanities workloads. While these explanations make sense, the issue of humanities being overlooked is not only institutional — it seems internal.
On campus, the unenthusiastic reactions I receive from peers when I reveal my plans to major in english or history reveal the humanities’ weak social reputation. These reactions point to a deeper issue: students frame meaning and success by numerical means, undermining the value of qualitative achievement.
We’re relieved to see the word “congratulations!” in the subject line of the email letting us know we got the 20-person internship. Hundreds of applicants were rejected. We overhear that our classmate got a 19/20 on the quiz; meanwhile, we got an 18.5. We promise ourselves to achieve nothing but a 20 on the next one. We have 500+ LinkedIn connections. Seeing that triple-digit number gives us some sense of pre-professional validation.
Sometimes, we don’t even place importance on numbers based on how close they are to a certain goal or threshold, like the maximum test score or the ideal salary. As long as they are big enough, we are closer to being satisfied. And so, we grasp aimlessly for number after number without a clear idea of what “success” we are really trying to achieve.
Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.
There has always been the saying of “quality over quantity,” but the overwhelming prevalence of metric fixation in our contemporary society celebrates the idea that quantity equals quality. The more, the better.
Metric fixation can be closely tied to scientism, a concept that places a great amount of faith in the natural sciences, believing that technical knowledge is inherently objective and can be used to solve all societal problems. This way of thinking, however, can potentially lead one to ignore the nuances of reality — that is, the social dynamics that influence aspects of society that are not easily measured quantitatively.
Quantitative measurements are heavily utilized in STEM fields. In the humanities, however, qualitative techniques are employed to better understand our society. Because the humanities lack the quantitative values that our society perceives as invaluable and necessary, entire fields of study that promote qualitative approaches are gradually diminished in importance and overlooked in value.
While in STEM one solves problems to reach the correct answer, the humanities present a never-ending web of knowledge that spans multiple directions and doesn’t imply a clear end or answer. Knowledge is prone to interpretation, a practice that catalyzes critical thinking. Because of the unstructured nature of the humanities, it’s easy to question whether what someone is studying truly matters as we continue to live in a society with a numbers-based approach to meaning.
The value of humanities studies becomes much more visible only when the threat of neglecting them is revealed. Prominent figures in the tech industry today are labeled as geniuses because they flourish in numbers-based fields. Because of this high status they are granted, they develop a sense of superiority that leads to the belief that they are destined for authority and control. These figures are seen as leaders who exemplify the intelligentsia that “deserves” to govern society — putting immense power dangerously into the hands of people who don’t always harbor the best intentions for the collective.
A well-functioning society is one that promotes complex discourse and engagement of the people, not one that is led by someone seen as superior because of their unique ability to thrive in quantitative environments. The ability to think critically protects us from the dangers of oppressive ideologies and practices by supplying us with knowledge to identify and combat them. Effectively analyzing behaviors, past events, and social patterns through critical thinking exemplifies the very strength of humanities studies. To think more holistically is a central characteristic of any humanities major.
The superiority that Penn students attribute to certain majors and academic disciplines, while the humanities receive little appreciation, reflects our society’s overwhelming conformity to the values of metric fixation and scientism. Penn students must see that meaning is derived from more than just numbers. In doing so, the humanities may finally begin to receive the recognition they deserve.
CARINA THOMAS is a first-year studying history from Berkeley, Calif. Her email is carinath@sas.upenn.edu.