Humanities & Social Sciences

What is Humanities & Social Sciences?

Humanities & Social Sciences is one of the major academic disciplines. The field of study teaches students how history, art, music, religion and culture have shaped the modern world. While on one hand, Humanities centres on art, music and literature, on the other hand, Social Sciences focuses on anthropology, archaeology and politics. That is why even though the two streams are different they are often studied together as both complement each other.   

A career in Humanities & Social Sciences is not traditionally considered a great career builder. This is because there is a common perception that only students who are academically weak opt for this stream. However, this is far from the truth as there are a lot of career opportunities available for Humanities & Social Sciences students right after graduation.  

Candidates can take up many courses in the field of Humanities & Social Sciences. Some of the popular courses include:

Other than pure Humanities & Social Sciences courses mentioned above candidates can also take up professional courses in the fields of travel & tourism, journalism, advertising, performing arts, animation, management, and so on.

Read: Courses after 12th in Arts and Humanities

Required Skills

Candidates looking to pursue a career in the stream of Humanities & Social Sciences should possess the below-mentioned traits and skillset:

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates can pursue a course in Humanities & Social Sciences at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels:

UG Level: Candidates should clear Class 12 in any stream with minimum 50% - 60% marks from a recognised board.

PG Level: Candidates should clear graduation preferably in the subject in which they wish to pursue masters with minimum 50% - 60% aggregate marks.

It may be noted that Humanities & Social Sciences eligibility criteria mentioned above might vary depending on the policy of the university or college in which a candidate is applying for admission.

Course Curriculum

As stated above, there are a wide variety of courses that candidates can pursue in the stream of Humanities & Social Sciences. Subjects taught in Humanities & Social Sciences depend on the course a candidate is pursuing. However, given below is curriculum for some popular Humanities courses including BA English, BA Political Science, MA English, and MA Political Science.

BA English (3 Years Duration)

MA English (2 Years Duration)

BA Political Science (3 Years Duration)      

MA Political Science (2 Years Duration)     

Job Profiles & Career Options

The field of Humanities & Social Sciences offers a wide range of career options for students. On one hand, while professions such as civil services, teaching and journalism are dominated by Humanities graduates, on other hand, Social Science students often find working in the field of social work.   

Given below are some popular job profiles that candidates can take up after completing a course in Humanities & Social Sciences:

• Archaeologist: An archaeologist is a professional who studies the origin, development, and behaviour of human beings. The professional examines artefacts ranging from prehistoric tools to tiny organisms.  
• Teacher/ Professor: Candidates interested in the field of academics can choose to be a teacher in a school or a professor in college/ university after attaining required qualification.  
• Cultural Anthropologist: Also known as sociocultural anthropologist, a cultural anthropologist studies the art, traditions, customs, and languages of societies to learn how humanity has developed over a period of time.
• Editor: An editor is a professional responsible for the overall style and content of a publication. The job role of an editor is mostly managerial in which s/he reviews story ideas, determines what content is most likely to please readers, and offers suggestions to improve the content.
• Geologist: A geologist is responsible for studying earth processes such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, and volcanic eruptions to survey the land and draw up safe building plans. A geologist also uses his/ her geological knowledge along with physics and maths for exploration of minerals, oil, gas or underground water.
• Historian: A historian researches, analyses as well as interprets the past as recorded in various sources such as newspapers, government records, photographs, films, interviews, letters, unpublished manuscripts, etc.
• Linguistic Anthropologist: A linguistic anthropologist studies the nature of different languages and how people use them in their daily life. The anthropologist studies the history of languages, the way languages change over time, and how languages shape human behavior.
• Museum Curator: A curator is a professional who assembles, catalogues, manages and presents cultural as well as artistic collections in museums and galleries.
• Park Interpreter: A park interpreter is responsible for researching, developing as well as conducting education programmes for people who visit national, provincial and municipal parks and conservation areas. The interpreter uses a variety of ways to educate people such as conducting theatre presentations and nature walks.
• Oceanographer: The main job of an oceanographer is to study ocean. Job responsibilities of an oceanographer, however, varies as per his/ her specialisation. For instance, a biological oceanographer studies plants, animals and microbes. On the other hand, a physical oceanographer examines attributes of the ocean like temperature, waves and tides.
• Statistician: A statistician is a professional who gathers numerical data and then displays it, thereby helping companies to make sense of the data, spot trends and make predictions.

Humanities and Social Science FAQs

Q. What is the difference between Humanities and Social Sciences?

A. Humanities caters to subjects such as Law, Linguistics, Languages, Economics, while Social Sciences has a scientific approach which requires research work which includes subjects such as History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Political Science and more.

Q. Are Humanities subjects more theoretical or practical?

A. In Humanities and Social Science subjects, there is more theoretical aspects which need to be learnt and analysed. Simply the reason why there are higher studies and students can do research work through programmes such as MPhil and PhD.

Q. What are the areas of Humanities?

A. Humanities focuses on five areas - Arts, Literature, Religion, Philosophy and History.

Q. What is the duration of an MPhil course?

A. Depending on the research work, a Master in Philosophy (MPhil) programme duration is generally between two to three years.

Q. I have done Science in Class 12, but want to learn Political Science, am I eligible for the course?

A. Every university has set eligibility criterias, however, the standard criteria is that the candidate has to have done their Class 12 from a recognised board and should have secured a minimum of 55% aggregate to apply for BA in Political Science.

Q. Can I get a job after BA History?

A. Students can apply for jobs, however, it is advisable to continue with your further studies as History is mostly based on theoretical aspect. Through higher studies, one can narrow down on what course they would like to specialise in and then make a career in.

Q. What is the difference between BA and BA (Honours) course?

A. On doing a BA (Hons) course, one can specialise in a subject in the three-year duration, while in a BA programme, there is no specialisation.

Q. What is the eligibility criteria for MA in Sociology?

A. The candidate should have done their graduation in BA Sociology/BA (Hons) Sociology or should have done their BA in a similar field from a recognised university and should have secured a minimum of 55% aggregate.

Q. What can I do with a Philosophy degree?

A. On doing your MA in Philosophy, candidates can get jobs in areas such as Public Relations, Human Resources, Communications, Advertising, Politics and various other areas.

Q. I have not studied Economics in Class 12, can I take up BA Economics?

A. The student has to meet the eligibility criteria in order to be eligible for the programme. It is wise to opt for a course which you have studied as that will be counted in the best of four for the merit list. While some universities offer admission on the basis of merit, some universities offer admission on the basis of entrance exams. If you are able to clear the entrance exam, you are eligible for the course.