This coming spring, a new group of students will think about choosing university majors when they apply to campuses across North America. In all likelihood, fewer of those students will choose humanities subjects — traditionally understood to include history, literature, philosophy, languages and the arts — as their major, than in past years. This is because of an […] … learn more→

As a former vice-chancellor, I understand the need to balance a university’s books and to refocus provision from time to time. And I realise that those who lead institutions now do so amid a pandemic they could not have predicted, an associated loss of international student income that they can do little to stem and […] … learn more→

This time four years ago, I was interviewing applicants for a joint undergraduate degree in history and literature. This was a job I’d come to treasure over the years; new thinkers are always interesting, and joint honours students often particularly so. But something was different. The interviews took place about a week after Donald Trump’s […] … learn more→

The government’s university funding reform package passed the lower house in early September and will pass the Senate if the Coalition succeeds in garnering enough crossbench support. The plan would see fees for some humanities degrees rise by as much as 113%, while fees for courses in fields such as teaching, nursing and STEM (science, technology, engineering […] … learn more→

The federal government’s announcement they will more than double the cost of humanities and communications degrees for university students has taken the sector by surprise – not least because it goes against increasing evidence that these programs are the key to our nation’s future success. If the government wants to support university courses that lead to jobs, […] … learn more→

Education minister Dan Tehan has announced changes to funding rates for university courses as part of a plan to create “job ready graduates”. He said: Projections prepared before the COVID-19 pandemic showed that over the five years to 2024 it is expected that the overwhelming majority of new jobs will require tertiary qualifications – and almost half […] … learn more→

Large wildfires in the Arctic and intense heat waves in Europe are just the latest evidence that climate change is becoming the defining event of our time. Unlike other periods that came and went, such as the 1960s or the dot-com boom, an era of unchecked climate change will lead to complex and irreversible changes in Earth’s life support systems. Many […] … learn more→

It is increasingly common in this society or, at least, in this country, to divide the intellectuals – and their students – into two great branches of knowledge: letters and sciences, as if the former were not scientific and the latter not they would have a certain domain of humanistic knowledge that has led us […] … learn more→