Summary: Today the whole education fraternity has come to agreement that Humanities stream has a far-fetched career too. Unlike earlier times when student’s good score card undoubtedly lead them to select Science stream as a career option. Now Indian mindset has also gradually accepted the fact that humanities stream leads to some of the very bright career options.
Today extremely talented students with great numeric ability also have been choosing psychology and management streams. Students are more confident than before to take up humanities stream and take up courses in India as well as abroad. The following career choices have been chosen even beyond many science subjects:
- Political Science and International Relations:
Studying international relations is a great way to gain understanding of global issues in depth. It’s an intriguing subject which places great importance on economics, culture, education, and political science and examines the impact they have on society. Students learn about different political systems and governing policies around the world, understanding how they connect with a broad range of international issues, such as human rights, global poverty, climate change, global ethics, etc.
Unlike the students of 10 years back today students are more and more interested in geopolitics and global issues. It has very good opportunities in India as well as abroad. Students can also pursue Management courses with specialization in International Relations. Individuals who are interested in traveling across the globe for work, can look into this stream as an advantageous prospect.
Some of the job prospects in this area are Policy Analyst, Public Affairs Specialist, Intelligence Analyst, Immigration Specialist, International Marketing Manager, Political Risk Analyst, Diplomat etc.
Few of the most popular countries where students can study Bachelor’s degree in International Relations are International Relations Bachelors in the United States, International Relations Bachelors in the United Kingdom, International Relations Bachelors in Canada, International Relations Bachelors in Australia, International Relations Bachelors in Turkey.
- Psychology:
A career in psychology has risen beyond prediction due to many reasons. The pandemic led to many mental health related issues, giving rise to a great demand of jobs for psychologists and counsellors. The new age technology and innovation has also nurtured the growth of many specific and creative job roles in this domain like Genetics counselors, Market research analyst, engineering psychologists, personalized drug development and so on. Other specialized careers like sports psychologist, Gero-psychologist, substance abuse counselor, forensic psychologist etc have also emerged widely as interdisciplinary domains. Along with the theory and practical work, a student needs to have an overall understanding of human functioning. This general awareness can be enhanced by participating in relevant workshops, attending webinars or seminars, participating in summer camps related to the subject development, internships in related field. The student can also watch subject specific movies and documentaries to enhance the subject knowledge and understanding of real-life issues and how to solve them by applying psychological principles.
For a degree in Psychology, there are many good Universities in India like:
- Ambedkar University
- SNDT University, Mumbai
- Fergusson college-Pune
- Delhi University
- Christ University-Bangalore
- Mumbai University
- Sri Sri University-Cuttack
- MS University-Baroda
- Christ University-Bangalore
- Mount Carmel- Bangalore
- Management:
- Liberal Arts:
Liberal arts is a multidisciplinary system of education that intends to give students knowledge in various fields rather than developing knowledge in a specific domain. This helps students in getting exposure in diverse fields, formulate effective arguments, communicate well, problem solving aptitude and the greatest advantage being able to study a great number of options and then choose a specialization as per their interest. It includes subjects like History, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, International relations, Political science, Sociology, Economics, Business management, Communication management, Finance, Journalism, Advertising and Public relations. Some popular universities that offer Liberal Arts Courses in India are:
- Ashoka University, Sonipat
- Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts, Pune
- Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities
- OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat;
- Flame University, Pune
- Christ University, Bangalore
- Shiv Nadar University, Noida
- Krea University, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.
- Mass Communication and Journalism:
Mass Communication is a medium of dispersing information to a large number of people. The term is not limited to only journalism but spreads its branches to various other media fields including newsgathering and reporting, film direction and production, event management, public relations, advertising, corporate communication etc.
For Graduation degree, a student should clear Class 12th in any stream from a recognised board with the minimum required percentage (50% – 60%) as stipulated by a university/ college. So any student from Humanities field can easily apply for these courses. Candidates can pursue mass communication and media course at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. Some of the popular courses that candidates pursue at undergraduate and postgraduate levels are: Bachelor of Journalism & Mass Communication (BJMC), Bachelor of Journalism, Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication, Master of Journalism, or Master of Mass Communication and PG Diploma in Mass Communication.
Some of the good universities in India for these courses are:
- Delhi University ( 5 Year Integrated course)
- Delhi University ( BJMC)
- Delhi University ( BMMMC)
- IP College of Girls – Delhi
- St. Xavier’s College, Bombay
- Xavier’s University ,Bhubhneshwar
- Mumbai University
- Jai Hind College – Mumbai
- Design:
Design as a career is always about innovation and creativity. Following your dreams to create something unique in any field requires some kind of design. Design is nowadays not restricted to fashion or graphics only. A degree in design is provided by the leading universities and the job opportunities are available in almost all domains of industry. From creation of a product to designing marketing strategies, requires some knowledge of design.
Schools offer a variety of subjects which students can opt as academic subjects or skill subjects. The students willing to take up design as a career are suggested to take up a subject related to design, so that one gets a basic knowledge about the subject and also appropriate experience through field works, internships or workshops. The subjects that are available at the high school level are Graphic design, Engineering graphics, Painting, Sculpture, Applied/commercial art, Textile designing, Design, Fashion studies etc.
A student is eligible for Design related courses even if the student did not pursue any design related curriculum in high school. There are some Universities with specific courses in design which require Maths as a subject in 11th and 12th classes, but most of the courses do not require Maths in 11th and 12th for appearing for entrance exams. The good options in India for Design related courses are:
- IIT-Mumbai/Guwahati/DTU/IIT-Hyderabad
- IIIT-Delhi ( B.Tech-CSE + Design) (UCEED)
- NID
- Shrishti Bangalore
- Symbiosis-Pune
- MIT-Pune
- DTU
- NMIMS-MUMBAI
- Amity University-Noida
- UID
- Anant National University
- Raffles Millennium International Design
- Pearl Academy
- Economics:
A career in economics can lead you working with Banking Firms, Research Firms, Financial Consultancies, Government Ministries or Insurance and Accountancy Firms, as a Risk Advisory Associate, Analyst, Research Assistant, Policy Maker, etc. Although a student can take up economics as a career from humanities but having Maths as a subject in class 11 and 12 is recommended. As getting admission in colleges for Economics honours may not be possible without Maths.
B.A. Economics is an amalgamation of Macro-economics, Micro-economics and Statistics.
Macro-economics is the study of the national and global economy as a whole, and covers broad concepts of income and employment, government budget and balance of payments. Whereas, Micro economics study’s economics concepts at the individual level, such as the study of price determination, types of markets, demand and supply etc.
The course sows the seeds of ideation, curiosity and interest in the young minds of students, further leading them to make successful careers in banking, finance, statistics, actuary, auditing, marketing etc. Economics is directly related to many other fields like Agricultural Economics, Financial Economics, Labor Economics, Industrial Economics , International Economics, Business Economics, Banking Economics, Environmental Economics, Developmental Economics and Econometrics.
Some of the good options for Universities in India are:
- University of Delhi
- Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics-Pune
- NMIMS-Mumbai (Liberal)
- Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani (Science)
- IIT-Kanpur (Science)
- IIT-Madras (Development Studies)
- Ambedkar University (Delhi)
- Christ University-Bangalore
- Azim Premji University
- Delhi Technology University-East Delhi Campus
- Shiv Nadar University –Gautam Budh Nagar
- Dr B.R Ambedkar School of Economics- Bangaluru
- Symbiosis School of Economics-Pune
- Civil Services:
Many students from Humanities background makes a very early decision in life to study and appear for Civil service examinations. Through this they can target for various Government positions like Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, and Indian Forest Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Posts and Telegraphs Accounts and Finance Service; Indian Audit and Accounts Service; Indian Customs and Central Excise Service; Indian Revenue Service; Indian Ordinance Factories Service; Indian Postal Service; Indian Civil Accounts Service; Indian Railway Traffic Service ; Indian Railway Personnel Service; Indian Railway Accounts Service ,Posts of Assistants Security Officer in Railway Protection Service; Indian Defence Estates Service; Indian Information Service; Central Trade Service and Posts of Assistant Commandant in the Central Industrial Security Force, etc.
The examinations include a preliminary examination, Main Examination and Interview. Civil servants have good sense of power and authority and can have a stable career in their life.
- Law:
A career in law involves advising and providing solutions on various legal issues ranging from disputes regarding marriage, child, property, criminal offences to the rights of the individual. With the changing social and economic scenario and the expanding regulatory role by the government there has been a rise in the demand for lawyers. As a lawyer one would be required to advise clients/ organisation /government about their legal rights, help in the preparation of legal documents, wills and contracts, hold negotiations on various matters, and represent them in court proceedings.
Leading Universities for pursuing Law in India:
- NLSIU Bangalore – National Law School of India University
- National Law University, Delhi
- NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
- National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur
- National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal
- The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences(NUJS)
- Faculty of Law (Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi)
- Symbiosis Law School-(SLS), Pune
- Christ University, Bangalore
- School of Law, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun
Recommended books and online resources:
- In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria
- Paideia Proposal Paperback by Mortimer J. Adler
- The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, Book by Sharon Lebel
- Rhetoric reclaimed, Book by Janet Atwill
- Shakespeare’s Use of the Arts of Language, Book by Sister Miriam Joseph
- Aristotle for Everybody, Book by Mortimer J. Adler
- https://liberalartsedu.org/faq/is-psychology-liberal-arts/#:~:text=Psychology%20is%20one%20of%20the,of%20human%20emotion%20and%20experience.
- https://bridge-u.com/blog/liberal-arts-degrees/
Recommended courses:
- Modern and Temporary Arts & Design by Coursera
- Writing Academic Arguments- The Arts of Essay-Stanford University
- Music Business by Coursera
- 4 months Public Policy course from Indian School for Public Policy
- Music Business Management by SACAC (Sri Aurobindo Center for Arts & Communication)
- Modern Arts & Ideas (by MoMA) by Coursera
