Number of Postsecondary Faculty Teaching in Selected Academic Fields, 1999–2012

From 1999 to 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the total number of humanities faculty members teaching in higher education increased by 51% at two- and four-year colleges. This compares to an increase of approximately 40% in overall enrollment in those institutions over the same span.

Although the number of humanities faculty members increased over the 2000s, similar growth occurred across most fields. As a result, the proportion of all college and university faculty members who taught in humanities disciplines changed little, hovering between 11% and 12% from 2004 to 2012.