Why Humanities?

Humans create objects. The Humanities is the study of those objects and the ways they express the human experience. From prehistory to the present, from the wall paintings of Lascaux to the laptops of Silicon Valley, the human species has demonstrated a persistent itch to make and create. Artworks, machines, textiles, songs, books, buildings, theatrical productions, furniture, films, and digital media are products of human ingenuity; so too are ideas, whether philosophical, religious, political, cultural, or aesthetic in form. The Humanities Program at UVU investigates these objects – instances of the human imagination both material and phenomenal – as artifacts of given times and places, reflecting upon the specific historical circumstances surrounding their creation. Humanities faculty and students perceive these objects as articulations of the enduring questions of human life, offering insight into the psychological factors that drive humans to create in the first place and to pursue beauty and originality as no other species appears to do.

The interdisciplinary design of the Humanities degree provides a professional skillset for its majors that responds powerfully to the shifting nature of the twenty-first-century job market:

1. Teaches students how to collaborate, as interdisciplinarity is itself a model of intellectual collaboration;
2. Teaches students how to pivot intellectually, approaching a given problem from multiple frameworks at once;
3. Provides a broad-content curriculum that has been shown to increase employability for graduates.

Our faculty are committed, first and foremost, to the success of our students in all of the classes that we teach, and to helping to mentor and prepare our majors for graduate school, professional school, the career of their choice, and, of course, for life. 

Advanced students in our program have the opportunity to gain valuable experience, and monetary stipends, working as research assistants, and teaching assistants and graders for introductory courses. So please come visit us soon, and consider joining our department and working with some of the very best teachers, scholars, and students at this great University!

Additional Resources

• Major & Minor Requirements
• Course Descriptions
• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Alumni
• Faculty