Each year, the Humanities Center invites a select group of new Miami University students to join its University Academic Scholars Program. Students are selected on the basis of their accomplishments in high school and their interest in exploring the power of history, languages, literature, film, civics, philosophy, religion and the arts. Humanities Scholars are invited into a first-year seminar connected to our signature intellectual program, the John W. Altman Series. Each year, this program fosters inquiry about a different issue of major public consequence. The program involves a campus-wide collaboration of faculty, students, and several internationally distinguished visiting scholars.
The Humanities Scholars program does not require a humanities major, only a conviction that the humanities subjects foster creativity, critical problem-solving, and an appreciation of human commonalities and differences. Democratic society relies fundamentally on the humanities. Good citizens must be historically and culturally literate, and a healthy democracy requires leaders who understand the history, human experience, and potential consequences of our rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world.
The Humanities Scholars program offers students opportunities to move rapidly into individual research projects—a relatively rare undergraduate achievement that is highly prized by both employers and graduate admissions boards. Yet the goal of this experience is not necessarily graduate school; Humanities Scholars train for a broad range of professions. A large body of research now shows that humanities majors enjoy an unusual diversity of careers, are exceptionally happy in their jobs, and outperform most of their peers on graduate admissions (including admission to medical and law schools).
