Best/Worst College Majors

As I was researching about careers in art history - and if I actually would want to pursue it. I came across several articles about top ten "useless" majors in college. Of course, art history was on there. Of course many other majors that I always enjoyed (literature, art, history, government, music, cinema, psychology, philosophy, etc) were also on there.

According to Princeton's Top 10 College Majors lists some of my favorite subjects in their list:

9. Political Science and Government

Because it often deals with current events and sophisticated statistical analysis, political science is timely, fascinating, and perpetually changing. In a nutshell, it's the study of politics of government, and some of the common concentrations are American government, public policy, foreign affairs, political philosophy, and comparative government. Political science majors develop excellent critical thinking and communication skills, and more broadly, an understanding of history and culture. There will be lots of reading, writing, and math. Possible career paths are diverse–from lawyer to politician to journalist.

6. English Language and Literature

If you find yourself generally immersed in some book–anything from Shakespeare to Hemingway to Jack Kerouac–you will likely find others just like you in the English department studying the trochaic octameter of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," the stunning word choices of narrative nonfiction author Annie Dillard, or the experimental elements of the writings of Walter Abish. English programs focus on literature, language, and writing, and an English major will encounter a wide array of absorbing works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction from around the world and throughout history. Analyzing the works of the greatest minds and imaginations that human civilization has produced will surely sharpen your critical, emotional, creative, and moral faculties. The study of literature also helps to shed some light on the answers to the enduring questions of the human condition. This degree is tremendous preparation for a future in law, journalism, publishing, graduate studies, and just about anything else.

2. Psychology

If you find yourself delving into why certain people react to certain aspects of their environments in a certain way, then studying psychology will help you learn about the biology of our brains. Psychology majors focus on such features of the human mind as learning, cognition, intelligence, motivation, emotion, perception, personality, mental disorders, and the ways in which our individual preferences are inherited from our parents or shaped by our environment. Within the field, psychologists seek to educate, communicate, and resolve many of the problems surrounding human behavior.

After looking at it deeper, Nine Kinds of Pie's article Humanities Majors Learn More state that:

The students who are acquiring the most knowledge from their college educations are those who major in English, Philosophy, Music, Fine Arts, Religion, History, Theatre, and Modern Languages:

Students majoring in liberal arts fields see “significantly higher gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over time than students in other fields of study.” Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the smallest gains. (The authors note that this could be more a reflection of more-demanding reading and writing assignments, on average, in the liberal arts courses than of the substance of the material.)

That’s from Scott Jaschik’s piece in Inside Higher Ed, one of the only articles to even mention this important victory for the humanities.

Having Princeton's observations with some of my favorite subjects tied into Scott Jaschik's piece, I am able to come to the conclusion that art history is a very high critical thinking major - depending on how you take it. A lot of people, I've noticed, just plug and chug what the professors say. I try my best to incorporate philosophy, psychology, etc into all of my papers and ideas. I think that even though I'm majoring in a field that is looked down upon from the general public (art and visual communication) I am able to think in ways that other people are unable to.

Myers-Briggs personality test state that I'm INTJ. Keirsey's Temperament puts me in the 'Rational Mastermind' category. People are so boggled by that because I enjoy and love art history. But I think because of how my brain is wired is how I'm able to be so good at art history. I've got a scientific brain - though science is too complex (though all my professors say that science is too SIMPLE for me...) - I'm able to use this 'scientific' brain and put it into liberal arts. I'm just a weird INTJ Dragon! :)