Top 10 universities in the US for arts and humanities degrees
Scroll down for the full list of best universities for arts and humanities in the US
US arts and humanities rank 2024 | Arts and humanities rank 2024 | University | State |
1 | 1 | Stanford University | California |
2 | 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts |
3 | 5 | Harvard University | Massachusetts |
4 | 7 | University of California, Berkeley | California |
5 | 8 | Princeton University | New Jersey |
6 | 9 | Yale University | Connecticut |
=7 | =10 | The University of Chicago | Illinois |
=7 | =10 | Columbia University | New York |
9 | 14 | University of California, Los Angeles | California |
10 | 16 | New York University | New York |
Arts and humanities subjects include history, English literature, philosophy, languages and architecture (scroll down for a full list of subjects and what you can do with them).
As home to four of the top six universities in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, the US is a top destination for many students looking to study arts and humanities subjects.
Universities in the US allow students flexibility when it comes to their studies, in the form of majors and minors. Students might choose to major in a specialist subject, but minor in another discipline, or take a range of elective courses across the arts and humanities in order to graduate with a liberal arts degree.
Below are the top US universities for arts and humanities degrees.
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5. Princeton University
Princeton University offers a liberal arts education to all undergraduate students, encouraging students to take courses across the arts, humanities, natural sciences engineering and social sciences.
At Princeton University all arts and humanities courses sit within the faculty of humanities. There is a wide range of courses that students can choose from including comparative literature, history, linguistics, musicology and visual arts among many others.
The university offers the Humanities Sequence, which is a year-long introduction to Western history, philosophy, and literature from antiquity to the 20th century. This course is taught through a range of lectures and seminars as well as trips to museums, plays and art galleries.
4. University of California, Berkeley
The school of arts and humanities at University of California, Berkeley is split into 19 departments and 14 research units, including art history, languages, classics, comparative literature, music and philosophy.
The university offers programmes for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, maintaining smaller class sizes than average in the arts and humanities department.
Notable alumni graduating from the University of California, Berkeley school of arts and humanities includes author and 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner, Viet Thanh Nguyen and actor Chris Pine.
3. Harvard University
The Division of Arts and Humanities at Harvard University is organised into 15 departments, which include classics, comparative literature, folklore and mythology, history of art and architecture and history and literature.
Each department offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programmes. There are also four interdisciplinary undergraduate degree programmes for students looking to combine the arts and humanities with another discipline.
There are a number of world-class research centres and museums within the division. These include the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, the Mahindra Humanities Center, and the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. There is also the Semitic Museum, which is home to rare manuscripts, artefacts and documents that are available to arts and humanities students.
Arts and humanities students are offered various international experiences. Those studying classics or history of art and architecture are given the opportunity to travel abroad with their professors. Other departments such as romance languages and literatures offer faculty-led summer programmes that enable students to study overseas for an extended period of time.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is one of five schools at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
There are 16 disciplines within the school including global languages, economics, history, literature, music, philosophy and theatre arts. Each discipline offers a range of both undergraduate and graduate courses, and students can combine modules across disciplines to build a broad academic foundation across arts and humanities subjects.
Areas of research include improving health policy, understanding human language, alleviating poverty, safeguarding elections, planning space policy and assessing the impact of new technology.
1. Stanford University
The School of Humanities and Sciences is the largest school at Stanford University and has become a centre of liberal arts teaching and research.
There are 23 departments within the school including art and art history, biology, economics, English, history and mathematics.
The school offers a range of undergraduate majors and minors, joint majors, and honours programmes. There are also 44 masters and 33 doctoral degree programmes available as well as 25 interdisciplinary programmes.
The Humanities and Sciences Summer Research Programmes are fully funded by the school and designed to encourage students from underrepresented groups in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to consider studying for a doctoral programme. The school is home to a number of centres, institutes and affiliates that facilitate research projects throughout the year. These include the Archaeology Centre, the Centre for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and the Patrick Suppes Centre for History and Philosophy of Science.
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Top universities in the US for arts and humanities degrees 2024
Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2024 profile
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