The Humanities Program

National Humanities Alliance podcast "What Are You Going to Do with That?"

(Now in its second season, the podcast explores the lives and perspectives of everyday people who studied the humanities and are finding fulfillment in a range of careers.)

11 Reasons to Major in the Humanities (from Business Insider)

Compelling Articles on the Value of Studying the Humanities (from National Humanities Alliance)

CU President Bruce D. Benson on the value of a liberal arts degree

Humanities is the comparative study of human expression across disciplines.

Welcome to The Humanities Program at CU-Boulder. The Humanities Major offers students an integrated interdisciplinary program of study within a community of diverse-minded and energetic students and faculty.

The Humanities Major offers the rare opportunity to develop a course of study that combines coursework within the department with two other fields in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students may choose from such areas as literature, the arts, history, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, literary and cultural theory, sociology, politics, women’s studies, and more. In addition, Humanities students explore Western and non-Western literature and the arts to discover the critical relations between them and to analyze the evolution of ideas and values in a range of cultures and time periods.

Our faculty’s commitment to this critical approach can be seen in the variety of courses offered by the Program:

  • The Postmodern
  • Fiction and Reality
  • The Question of Romanticism
  • Art and Psychoanalysis
  • The Art of Travel
  • Modern Media and the Parisian Avant-Garde
  • Harlem Renaissance
  • Hitchcock and Freud
  • Dramatic Deceptions
  • Literature and Social Violence
  • The Criminal as Hero
  • The Craft of Mystery
  • Narrative
  • Mediterranean Studies

Over the course of their studies, Humanities majors acquire a thorough knowledge of arts and culture while developing rigorous critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills that will prepare them for a wide variety of careers. The innovative adaptability and independence of thought our students develop make them valuable employees, conscientious citizens, and life-long arts enthusiasts.

Click below to watch a video of Humanities students talking about the major!

Humanities students talking about the major

Click below to watch a longer video that explains the Humanities major!

Welcome to the Humanities Program