Humanities Bachelor’s Degrees Earned as “Second Majors,” 2001–2013

For most of the early 2000s, the trend for second majors in the humanities was similar to the trend among first majors: steady, modest growth in the numbers of degrees granted. As a share of all second majors, however, the trend for the humanities reflected stasis and then decline, similar although less pronounced than the trend for first degrees.

The humanities’ share of bachelor’s degrees earned as second majors was more than twice as large as that for first majors. In 2013, approximately 25% of second majors were in the humanities (23,715 in all), compared to 10% of first majors.