Are Humanities degrees worthless? Britain debates employability concerns of Mickey Mouse courses

Karan Bilimoria, a member of the House of Lords, wears several hats, including that of Chancellor of University of Birmingham. He is usually a soft-spoken man, but perhaps nothing riles him more than ministers and managers of higher education branding subjects such as History of Art, Philosophy or English Literature as ‘low value courses’, to be dropped in favour of subjects that are supposed to provide better job prospects to students (there is a popular term for courses considered of low value: ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees).

“It infuriates me,” he says, “It is wrong to think of a degree in English Literature in a negative way. There is much to be gained by studying Medieval, Victorian, Modern or Comparative literature. Anyone who thinks such subjects are of low value don’t know what they are talking about — absolute nonsense. They provide many transferable skills — analytical, communication, written — that helps students to take on a range of jobs”.

Cambridge-educated Bilimoria is more known as the founder of a global spirits brand but has long pushed for the provision of Arts and Humanities courses in UK universities, which continue to attract many international students. His mother and daughter studied History of Art, while his University of Birmingham nurtures a strong provision in English Literature, through the Birmingham Shakespeare Institute and close links with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

There is a tinge of despair that Sheffield Hallam University in June became the latest to suspend or drop the English Literature course due to lack of demand, but Bilimoria hopes only few universities will axe such courses. He points to the continued availability of highly-regarded provision in the subject at Birmingham and other universities. “There are many reasons why it makes sense to encourage the creative industries. The Arts make self-starters, develop emotional intelligence. The Arts are stretching. Arts students are highly sought after by employers. The Arts reach parts other subjects cannot reach”, Bilimoria, also president of the Confederation of British Industry, said in a debate in parliament.

Sheffield Hallam’s decision, announced a year after University of Cumbria took a similar step, has provoked a debate over the direction of British higher education. ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees are largely axed due to economic reasons following the government’s pledge to cull courses that have poor job return for graduates by withdrawing student loan funding.

For several years, the UK university sector has faced deep funding cuts, threatening academic jobs, course provision and student enrolment, forcing many universities and departments to rely on high fee-paying international students to remain viable. The Covid-19 pandemic added to the woes of universities already weakened by years of marketisation and privatisation. About a quarter of 140 UK universities have been in deficit, several teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, and according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, 13 universities face “a very real prospect” of going bust.

Home students take loans to pay their way through university, typically emerging with a degree and a debt of about £50,000 each, repayable over decades in employment. Increasing university costs in recent years have turned students into customers, who want guaranteed bang for their bucks. When students saddled with debt are unable to repay the loans through low-wage jobs, key stakeholders lose out, forcing ministers and others to openly call for an end to ‘low value’ degrees. The gnawing march of a bottom-line approach to higher education, which privileges employability, is also reflected in the ongoing election of the next Conservative leader and prime minister. Rishi Sunak, educated at Oxford, has vowed to phase out degrees that do not improve students’ “earning potential”, while Liz Truss, his rival, has pitched herself as an ‘education prime minister’, promising a revamp at various levels of education. Michelle Donelan, minister for higher and further education, insists that the government recognises that all subjects, including the Arts and Humanities, can lead to positive student outcomes, but adds: “Courses that do not lead students on to work or further study fail both the students who pour their time and effort in, and the taxpayer, who picks up a substantial portion of the cost”.

There has been a slow but consistent drum-beat in recent years about ‘low value, low quality’ degrees, including in manifesto promises during elections. The Augar Review established by Theresa May’s government in 2018 said in a section on ‘Bearing down on low value HE’: “There is a misalignment at the margin between England’s otherwise outstanding system of higher education and the country’s economic requirements. A twenty-year market in lightly regulated higher education has greatly expanded the number of skilled graduates bringing considerable social and economic benefits and wider participation for students from lower socio-economic groups. However, for a small but significant minority of degree students doing certain courses at certain institutions, the university experience leads to disappointment. We make recommendations intended to encourage universities to bear down on low value degrees and to incentivise them to increase the provision of courses better aligned with the economy’s needs”.

Axing English Literature and other Humanities or Arts courses has irked several writers, former students and others who believe such subjects help evolve better-rounded graduates. Joining vigorous debates in mainstream and social media, they recall that some decades ago students of subjects, such as medicine and law would be required to do an Arts or Humanities subject as part of the course to broaden their minds.

Philip Pullman, the award-winning author, told The Guardian: “The study of literature should not be a luxury for a wealthy minority of spoilt and privileged aesthetes, but a spring of precious truth and life that every one of us is entitled to. Without literature, without music and art and dance and drama, people young and old alike will perish of mental and emotional and imaginative starvation”. Acquiring knowledge and skills in areas beyond the core subject used to be seen an essential part of higher education, since it promotes, creativity, intelligence and ability to think.

Prasun Sonwalkar is a journalist based in London. Twitter: @PrasunSonwalkar