Virginia Tech ranks among the top for humanities majors, according to new survey
BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech was ranked in the top ten by PayScale as a Best Value College for Humanities Majors. Each year, PayScale releases a College ROI Report that expresses which schools offer the highest return on investment for tuition. PayScale calculates this ranking based on the 20-year earnings of alumni who earned humanities degrees from each school.
Virginia Tech’s consistently high graduation rate as well as its affordable tuition has proven to be a cost-effective choice for students, said Elizabeth Spiller, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.
“This top-10 national ranking of our humanities degree programs confirms that Virginia Tech is a great place to study the humanities, as our students acquire the critical skills and experience to thrive over a lifetime,” the dean said.
Robert Stephens, the college's associate dean, said what sets this particular ranking apart is the return of investment value for students graduating in humanities majors and launching successful careers.
“The Payscale ranking shows that there is real value in studying the humanities at Virginia’s largest comprehensive university,” he said. “Our students receive an excellent and affordable education and go on to great jobs in a variety of fields.’
PayScale calculated a $295,000 return on investment for Virginia Tech humanities students. This sum is the difference between 20-year median pay for a bachelor’s graduate and 24 year-median pay for a high school graduate minus total four-year cost.
"For humanities majors, return on investments really matters because resulting career paths are often less defined than they are for science, technology, engineering and math students," according to PayScale.
More information on methodology can be found on PayScale’s website.
