BA in Humanities

Simmons offers you the unique opportunity of studying humanities through perspectives that are:

• Multidisciplinary: With courses in history, philosophy, literature, writing, Spanish, and art, as well as cross-listed courses with administration, communications, politics, and women's and gender studies.
• Multicultural: Offering cultural perspectives as varied as African American fiction, Chinese history, Latin American film, and the philosophy of mind in Buddhism.
• Women-centered and with an LGBT focus: Choose from many of our courses, including Gender and Art, Gender and Power in Literature, Queer Literature and Film, and Latin American Women Writers.
• Linked to the Digital World: Many of our courses have built-in and hands-on digital components, including the required course HUM 100: Introduction to Humanities and the capstone course HUM 370: Humanities Internship, as well as other courses in the humanities, such as ART/COMM 139: Color Photography CSI, HIST 374: Modern U.S. History: Digital Humanities, HIST 366/566 Digital History, and courses in Arts Administration.

What can you do with a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities?

A bachelor's degree in Humanities from Simmons will prepare you for any profession that requires strong critical thinking and communication skills and knowledge of humanity in its multiple forms of expression. Higher education experts emphasize the on-going value of the study of the humanities, particularly to 21st century career readiness. Studies show that increasing numbers of employers seek not just technical skills, but also humanistic and liberal arts-oriented capabilities, that have become essential for the current knowledge-based economy and prepare future generations of visionaries and leaders committed to social justice.

The Humanities major is an excellent foundation for pursuing a variety of careers, including:

• Government
• Law
• Online media, newspapers, and magazines
• Colleges and universities
• K-12 schools
• Community and school libraries
• Museums and arts agencies
• Nonprofit organizations
• Research institutes
• Advertising agencies

Learning Objectives of the Humanities Major

As a Humanities major at Simmons you will be able to develop:

• Knowledge and understanding of the humanistic disciplines in their common aims and themes;
• Critical thinking and argumentation skills applied in the humanities;
• Writing skills as they are applied in the humanities;
• An appreciation of the global scope of the humanities;
• Knowledge and understanding of the aims, themes, and methods that are specific to art, history, literatures and languages, writing, and philosophy;
• Research methods in the humanities and/or working skills based on an education in the humanities.

Humanities Internship Examples

• Career Development Center at Emerson College
• Boston Children's Hospital Trust
• Department of Human Services for the Town of Clinton, CT. - French Library in Boston