Eight MDs. 16 JDs. 14 PhDs. 23 MAs. These degrees have been obtained by 129 alumni in the span of 20 years through Queens College’s Honors in the Humanities (HTH) minor, an interdisciplinary program in which students study works of literature, art, philosophy, history and religion. What’s more, this prestigious program yields a higher percentage of elite degrees than any other honors program on campus, leading by 45%.
The program’s director Professor Clare Carroll spoke about the minor’s requirements, its benefits, and upcoming events to learn more about HTH. “The ability to reason, to think on their feet, to write well, to speak well—no matter what you do in your life—these are valuable, portable skills. You don’t learn those in the sciences; you learn those in the humanities,” Professor Carroll emphasized.
The program has a few requirements: students must have a 3.3 GPA or higher and take six of the eight courses to earn 18 credits. If they wish, they may write a senior thesis for this program.
Professor Carroll also explained the range of media that HTH courses can examine:
“In Honors in Humanities, we’re going across disciplines, you know from literature to history to art, we’re looking at visual culture as well as philosophical and historical.”
Professor Carroll took the time to dispel a few common myths about the program.
“Some think humanities equals low salary—not true!” she said. In fact, within 10 years after graduation, humanities majors can go on to earn salaries similar to those of a STEM major, according to the CUNY Wage Dashboard.
She also clarified that anyone can enroll in this minor regardless of their major or whether or not they’re in an honors program such as Macaulay Honors College.
Current students also discussed their experiences with the HTH minor. For instance, take Aliyah Ali, a recent graduate who majored in both Chemistry and Comparative Literature:
“This minor was my choice because it opened my understanding of culture and community, all of which helped me to engage with the sciences better,” Ali continued, saying, “My hope is to constantly define the bridge between STEM and the humanities.”
Ali completed her senior thesis through this minor, focusing on the identity crisis that women of the South Asian diaspora go through when coming to Western nations. This minor’s HTH350: Senior Thesis course also helped Ali in writing her chemistry senior thesis.
It is through these various courses that Professor Carroll hopes students can learn about themselves, how the world relates to them, and enjoy reading as a process of self-discovery.
David Davydov, a graduate student majoring in Philosophy, did just that.
“The program has contributed in large part to reawakening my love for reading and writing,” Davydov said. “I was forced to grapple with large, difficult texts of varying backgrounds and writing styles.”
“Journey to the West,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and various works of Chinese and Indian folklore are just a few of the texts Davydov read in his HTH courses.
Students wanting to learn more about HTH can visit their homepage on the QC website at: www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/hh/.
Whether you’re in law, STEM, medicine, or the humanities, the HTH minor is for everyone. As Professor Carroll states, “You don’t have to be a person who wants to be a professor to go into the humanities. You just have to be curious about culture!”
