Ten years have passed since the 2008 financial crisis, and the effects linger. For one thing, the crisis produced a significant shift in American higher education. Scared by a seemingly treacherous labor market, since the downturn college students have turned away from the humanities and towards job-oriented degrees.

It’s not clear if they are making the right decision.

The humanities were humming along prior to 2008, according to an analysis by the Northeastern University historian Benjamin Schmidt. Over the previous decade, disciplines like history, philosophy, English literature and religion were either growing or holding steady as a share of all college majors.

But in the decade after the financial crisis, all of these majors took a nosedive.

The popularity of the history major is an illustrative example. From 1998 to 2007, the share of college students graduating with a degree in history averaged around 2 percent. By 2017, it had fallen closer to 1 percent. (All data in this article are based on reports that colleges submit to the U.S. Department of Education.)

Other humanities majors saw a similar fall. “Declines have hit almost every field in the humanities... and related social sciences,” wrote Schmidt in The Atlantic. “They have not stabilized with the economic recovery, and they appear to reflect a new set of student priorities, which are being formed even before they see the inside of a college classroom.”

What’s replacing the humanities? Mostly, majors with a very clear career path. Of the 20 majors with over 25,000 graduates in 2017, by far the fastest growing was exercise science, followed by nursing, other health and medical degrees, and computer science.

The decision by many students to turn towards a major that gives them clearer professional skills is understandable. A nursing degree is likely to provide a more stable income after graduation, making college loan payments more manageable.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【变化莫测的】biànhuà mòcè de treacherous unstable, unreliable, or dangerous

【优先选项】yōuxiān xuǎnxiàng priority something given special or prior attention

2008年金融危机已经过去了十年，然而影响犹在。就说美国高等教育，在金融危机的冲击下产生了重大改变。金融危机之后，出于对变化莫测的劳动力市场的恐惧，美国大学生纷纷放弃攻读人文学科，转而选择容易就业的专业。

他们所做的选择是否正确，尚未可知。

美国东北大学历史学家本杰明·施密特称，2008年之前人文学科还是挺吃香的。在金融危机前的十年，学习历史、哲学、英语文学和宗教等学科专业的学生比例持续增加或保持稳定。但是在金融危机后的十年，所有这些专业的学生比例都直线下降。

历史专业的受欢迎度就是个很有说服力的例子。从1998年到2007年，获得历史专业学位的大学毕业生平均占2%。到2017年，这一数字降到了约1%。（本文中的所有数据都基于各个大学提交给美国教育部的报告。）

其他的人文学科专业也经历了学生数量的锐减。施密特在《大西洋月刊》中写道：“几乎每一个人文学科和相关的社会科学专业都遭受了重创。这些专业并没有随着经济复苏而重振，似乎反映出了学生心目中优先序列的变化，而这在他们走进大学教室前就已经形成了。”

哪些专业取代了人文学科的位置呢？大多是职业前景明朗的专业。2017年毕业的2.5万多名大学生就读的20个专业中，迄今为止人数增长最快的是运动科学，其次是护理和其他健康医疗专业，还有计算机科学。

许多学生转而选择能赋予自己更明确职业技能的专业，这种决定是可以理解的。一个护理专业学位能在毕业后给自己带来更稳定的收入，有助于偿还助学贷款。

(Chinadaily.com.cn)