Australia: Students Choose Arts & Humanities Degrees Despite Disincentives, Higher Fees
'Students choose arts degrees in droves despite huge rise in fees under Morrison government,' The Guardian, April 13, 2024. - Edited. 📚
- The scheme to incentivise students into other disciplines has failed to stem the ‘massive swell’ of demand for humanities -
Owen Magee knew how high his student loan would be if he enrolled in an arts degree – he saw the headlines in 2020, when he was still in early adolescence. But measures introduced by the former Morrison government that doubled the price of some degrees to incentivise students into other courses didn’t dissuade him, nor did recent cost-of-living increases. “I decided I’d prefer doing something I’m interested in,” the 18-year-old says of his decision to study a media and arts degree at the Univ. of New South Wales (UNSW). 🖌
A lot of young people are moving away from conventional ideas of education and the workforce to pursuing things we genuinely enjoy in life.
“We know what’s best for us – we’re willing to stand up and say ‘this is our future, we’re not going to allow our lives to be dictated’.” Data provided to Guardian Australia shows Magee is not alone. Students are flocking to arts degrees in record numbers despite a 113% rise in student contributions for communications, humanities and society and culture degrees, implemented as part of the widely condemned Job-ready Graduates (JRG) scheme. It’s equivalent to $16,323 a year, or about $50,000 for a 3-year degree.
Despite the spike, Australia’s largest universities including UNSW, the Univ. of Melbourne, the Univ. of Sydney & Monash have all experienced a jump in applications for arts degrees, leading to higher enrolments. At the Univ. of Melbourne, demand for its Bachelor of Arts degree is higher in 2024 than any time in the past 5 years. It’s had a 14% surge in the number of first preferences for the bachelor program since 2022, while enrolments have also jumped since 2021. Prof Claire Annesley, dean of arts, design and architecture at UNSW, says there has been a “massive swell” of students choosing degrees in her faculty.
.. “I think they can see the future better than we can,” she says. “This generation of young people will be creating jobs you and I can’t imagine – and industry knows that as well.”.. In the unknown future of AI, she says humanities offer skillsets that can’t be replaced by emerging technology. Complex societal problems- from the climate emergency to the pandemic- need effective communicators and policymakers. “AI can reproduce what we already know, but creativity is an innately human skill.” “Right now we’re penalising people we need to be part of the business of innovation and core solutions. There’s an urgency here.”...
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/14/students-choose-arts-degrees-in-droves-despite-huge-rise-in-fees-under-morrison-government