As the world grapples with the climate crisis, poverty alleviation, displaced people, social justice and health, the importance of humanistic studies can’t be denied. 

Recently, Google surveyed its employees to pinpoint the crucial skills for success and found that the top seven are all driven by humanities studies. Skills like critical thinking, communication and empathy are essential at the workplace.  

MIT ’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology )mission is to serve humankind; therefore, both arts and humanities are essential resources for knowledge and understanding of the human condition. Consequently, 100% of MIT undergraduates study both the humanistic and arts fields. 

Nearly a quarter of undergraduate required classes are in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Furthermore, MIT’s community has increasingly embraced problem-solving approaches. 

Alumni majoring in multiple disciples spoke about the benefits of graduating from MIT. For example, a theatre major mentioned that acting helped him develop his communication skills and empathise with others more, which he then applied to every aspect of his career and life. 

Another alumni who studied architecture and visual arts described his work life as a mix of startups and big agencies, where he has often used the skills he learned from his courses at MIT.