Indicator

Occupations of Humanities Ph.D.'s

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Over the past decade or more, the National Endowment for the Humanities, other funders, disciplinary societies, and universities have undertaken projects to promote career diversity for doctoral degree recipients in the field.1 While humanities Ph.D.’s can be found in virtually every occupational sector, the data indicate that they are much more likely than recipients in other fields to be employed as postsecondary teachers.

Endnotes

  • 1See, for instance, the American Historical Association (https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/career-diversity-for-historians/about-career-diversity) and the Modern Languages Association (https://connect.mla.hcommons.org/). For earlier discussions of career diversity initiatives, see Council of Graduate Schools, “Promising Practices in Humanities Ph.D. Professional Development,” https://www.utep.edu/graduate/_Files/docs/NEH_NextGen_LessonsLearned.pdf, accessed 9/20/2022; Rosemary Feal, “Expanding Career Horizons: Possibilities, Pitfalls,” MLA Commons, April 16, 2014, https://execdirector.mla.hcommons.org/2014/04/16/expanding-career-horizons-possibilities-pitfalls/, accessed 9/20/2022; and Emily Swafford, “Career Diversity for Historians Year in Review,” Perspectives on History, November 2015, https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/november-2015/career-diversity-for-historians-2015-year-in-review, accessed 9/20/2022.
Findings and Trends
Findings and Trends
  • In 2019, 61% of recently employed humanities Ph.D.’s (employed full- or part-time at any point in the previous five years) taught at the postsecondary level as their principal job, which was more than double the share for doctoral degree recipients generally (27%; Indicator III-22a). Only health and medical sciences Ph.D.’s were concentrated to the same degree in one occupation, with 59% of their recently employed Ph.D.’s in healthcare jobs (Indicator III-22b).
  • The occupational distribution of recently employed Ph.D. holders did not differ substantially by gender in 2019 (findings not visualized). The most marked difference in occupation between the genders was in library and museum occupations, with women more likely than men to hold such positions (12% of women as compared to 5% of men).
  • Disaggregation by race/ethnicity is not possible because of the small number of humanities Ph.D.’s in the National Survey of College Graduates sample and the fact that traditionally minoritized racial ethnic/groups are underrepresented among humanities Ph.D.’s.
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Data Source and Other Information

* Employed at any time (full- or part-time) in the previous five years.
**See the provided crosswalk for information regarding the occupations included in this category.
† Excludes holders of the D.D.S., D.V.M., M.D., and other nonresearch degrees.

Source: National Science Foundation, 2019 National Survey of College Graduates. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

About the Data

Since the humanities were dropped from the biennial Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) in 1995, the National Science Foundation’s National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) is the only source of nationally representative data on the occupations and earnings of humanities Ph.D.’s. Conducted every two years, the NSCG gathers detailed education, occupation, and earnings information from a sample of individuals drawn from the larger pool of all those people identified via the American Community Survey (ACS) as holders of a baccalaureate degree. The foundation makes NSCG data available to researchers and the general public via downloadable data files and its online data analysis tool, SESTAT. Given the size of the NSCG sample, reliable estimates are available only for broad academic fields.

For the NSCG disciplinary categories included in each of the field-of-degree categories employed by the Humanities Indicators, see the provided crosswalk, which also indicates the types of jobs that are included in each of the broad occupational categories used for this analysis.

These occupation-related indicators are based on NSCG data, but similar items included in the Humanities Indicators rely on data from the ACS. Due to marked differences in how NSCG and ACS classify academic fields and occupations, the contents of the field-of-degree and occupational categories used for this indicator are not identical to those used for the ACS-based Indicators III-03a, 03b, and 05b. (For more information on the contents of the categories used for the ACS analysis, see the pertinent crosswalk.)

Another key difference between these indicators and the ACS-based occupation-related indicators is that the Ph.D. holders considered here are those whose doctoral degree was in the humanities, irrespective of the field of their undergraduate and any master’s degree. The ACS does not collect data about the fields in which advanced degrees were earned. The ACS-based indicators thus describe the occupational distribution of undergraduate humanities majors who went on to pursue an advanced degree, regardless of the field of that degree.

Related Indicators

See “Earnings of Humanities Ph.D.’s,” which also draws on the National Survey of College Graduates. The Humanities Indicators also provides information on the “Job Status of Humanities Ph.D.’s at Time of Graduation” and “Number of Faculty Members in Humanities and Other Fields.”

For trends concerning the number and type of humanities Ph.D.’s conferred over the past several decades, see “Advanced Degrees in the Humanities” and “Disciplinary Distribution of Advanced Degrees in the Humanities.”

Occupation and earnings information for terminal bachelor’s degree recipients can be found under the topics “Occupations of Humanities Majors with a Terminal Bachelor’s Degree” and “Earnings of Humanities Majors with a Terminal Bachelor's Degree.” (The estimates for terminal bachelor’s degree holders are based on data from a different source, the American Community Survey, and are thus not strictly comparable to the estimates provided here for Ph.D.’s. Please see “About the Data” for further explanation.)

For information about the occupational outcomes of terminal master’s degree recipients, see “Occupations of Master’s Degree Recipients in the Humanities” and “Earnings of Humanities Master’s Degree Recipients.”

For a comparison of the humanities with other major academic fields with respect to unemployment among majors, see “The Employment Status of Humanities Majors.”

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Data Source and Other Information

* Employed at any time (full- or part-time) in the previous five years. Excludes holders of the D.D.S., D.V.M., M.D., and other nonresearch degrees.
** See the provided crosswalk for information regarding the occupations included in this category.

Source: National Science Foundation, 2019 National Survey of College Graduates. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

 

About the Data

Since the humanities were dropped from the biennial Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) in 1995, the National Science Foundation’s National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) is the only source of nationally representative data on the occupations and earnings of humanities Ph.D.’s. Conducted every two years, the NSCG gathers detailed education, occupation, and earnings information from a sample of individuals drawn from the larger pool of all those people identified via the American Community Survey (ACS) as holders of a baccalaureate degree. The foundation makes NSCG data available to researchers and the general public via downloadable data files and its online data analysis tool, SESTAT. Given the size of the NSCG sample, reliable estimates are available only for broad academic fields.

For the NSCG disciplinary categories included in each of the field-of-degree categories employed by the Humanities Indicators, see the provided crosswalk, which also indicates the types of jobs that are included in each of the broad occupational categories used for this analysis.

These occupation-related indicators are based on NSCG data, but similar items included in the Humanities Indicators rely on data from the ACS. Due to marked differences in how NSCG and ACS classify academic fields and occupations, the contents of the field-of-degree and occupational categories used for this indicator are not identical to those used for the ACS-based Indicators III-03a, 03b, and 05b. (For more information on the contents of the categories used for the ACS analysis, see the pertinent crosswalk.)

Another key difference between these indicators and the ACS-based occupation-related indicators is that the Ph.D. holders considered here are those whose doctoral degree was in the humanities, irrespective of the field of their undergraduate and any master’s degree. The ACS does not collect data about the fields in which advanced degrees were earned. The ACS-based indicators thus describe the occupational distribution of undergraduate humanities majors who went on to pursue an advanced degree, regardless of the field of that degree.

Related Indicators

See “Earnings of Humanities Ph.D.’s,” which also draws on the National Survey of College Graduates. The Humanities Indicators also provides information on the “Job Status of Humanities Ph.D.’s at Time of Graduation” and “Number of Faculty Members in Humanities and Other Fields.”

For trends concerning the number and type of humanities Ph.D.’s conferred over the past several decades, see “Advanced Degrees in the Humanities” and “Disciplinary Distribution of Advanced Degrees in the Humanities.”

Occupation and earnings information for terminal bachelor’s degree recipients can be found under the topics “Occupations of Humanities Majors with a Terminal Bachelor’s Degree” and “Earnings of Humanities Majors with a Terminal Bachelor's Degree.” (The estimates for terminal bachelor’s degree holders are based on data from a different source, the American Community Survey, and are thus not strictly comparable to the estimates provided here for Ph.D.’s. Please see “About the Data” for further explanation.)

For information about the occupational outcomes of terminal master’s degree recipients, see “Occupations of Master’s Degree Recipients in the Humanities” and “Earnings of Humanities Master’s Degree Recipients.”

For a comparison of the humanities with other major academic fields with respect to unemployment among majors, see “The Employment Status of Humanities Majors.”

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The Humanities Indicators and Departmental Survey have been made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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