The British Academy publishes list of the UK’s favourite subjects

The humanities and social sciences are the UK’s first choice out of all university subjects, finds a poll published today by the British Academy on the launch of its annual Summer Showcase, a free public festival for curious minds.

Given the opportunity to start a university degree tomorrow, UK adults were most likely to choose a subject in the humanities and social sciences; 28% would opt for either the humanities (14%) or social sciences (14%), with engineering and technology (10%), mathematics and computing (10%) and medicine (9%) also popular choices.

English and history/classics topped a list of the nation’s favourite school subjects, chosen by 17% and 15% of respondents respectively, suggesting that people become interested in understanding elements of humanity, society and culture early on.

Findings from analysis of new data demonstrates that arts, humanities and social sciences (AHSS) graduates look forward to strong employment prospects:

• Employability: AHSS graduates are as likely to have a job as STEM graduates
• Job security: AHSS graduates are just as resilient to economic downturns as STEM graduates and just as likely to avoid redundancy.
• AHSS graduates are more flexible: they are more likely than STEM graduates to voluntarily change job or sector.  

Previous British Academy research has found that the skills in demand from employers were the same as those developed by studying the arts, humanities and social sciences: communication and collaboration; research and analysis; and independence and adaptability.

The British Academy’s second ever Summer Showcase aims to cater for this national interest. For two days (21-22 June), the UK’s academy for the humanities and social sciences opens its doors to the public for a free festival of ideas for curious minds. As well as 15 interactive exhibits, pop-up talks, workshops and performance, this year’s showcase features a Schools Day, curated by the historian and broadcaster Dan Snow, with over 300 school children and college students booked to attend.

Professor Sir David Cannadine, President of the British Academy, said:

“The humanities and social sciences help us to make sense of the world in which we live so it is little wonder that the desire to study these subjects at school and university is so great.

“We not only love the humanities and social sciences in the UK but we also excel at them. Graduates from these disciplines are highly employable and able to weather the changes of a fluctuating job market, while our researchers are disproportionately successful in international funding competitions, punching well above their weight on the world stage.

“As the national academy for the humanities and social sciences, our job is to proclaim the value of these disciplines and those who work within them – and our Summer Showcase does exactly that. It is a place where the public can meet the finest minds in academia, explore the latest research and discover more about what it means to be human.”

Survey method:

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2084 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd - 3rd May 2019.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+)