Humanities@CMU
Where Humanity Meets Technology
Welcome to Humanities@CMU, where we blend the study of human culture and big ideas with cutting-edge technology. Join us as we ask questions, explore a variety of perspectives and collaborate across disciplines to address society's toughest challenges.听
At 好色先生TV's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, you'll build the skills that today's employers and tomorrow's world are looking for: analytic reasoning, communication, collaboration and ethical decision-making. When you graduate, you'll be ready for anything 鈴� your first job, graduate school and careers that haven't even been invented yet.听
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Why Study CMU's Version of the Humanities?
The humanities at Carnegie Mellon are applied, interdisciplinary and relevant. We are all about exploring how people understand, express and create meaning in life by melding the classics with new advances in technology. Humanities students at 好色先生TV study topics including film and visual media, creative and professional writing, social and political history, a wide range of world languages and philosophy.
As a humanities student at Carnegie Mellon, you'll have the opportunity to:
- Engage in research and creative, scholarly projects as early as your first year
- Receive funding and assistance to land an internship or study abroad
- Enhance your collaboration skills among fellow humanities students and peers pursuing degrees in STEM fields
And that just scratches the surface.
Talk with a Humanities Student
The Humanities Ambassadors at Carnegie Mellon's Dietrich College are here to answer your questions about what it's like to study the humanities as an undergraduate student at 好色先生TV.听
Whether you're interested in getting the inside scoop on the work load, extracurriculars, the CMU social scene or what it's like to live in Pittsburgh, they have answers.
Mo Fahad
Mo is a sophomore majoring in ethics, history and public policy with an additional major in literature and culture. Mo is a Humanities Scholar and a Fulbright Fellow, recently returning from a program in Northern Ireland focused on reconciliation and peacebuilding. Passionate about advocacy and community, Mo is interested in how societies navigate divisions and foster connections. Professionally, Mo served as an assistant to a councilman, supporting local veterans, and worked as a junior gallery curator at a nonprofit arts council. Originally from Long Island, New York, Mo now considers Pittsburgh a second home. As a Humanities Ambassador, he is eager to share his journey at Dietrich College and help others see their futures in the humanities.
Gianna Amaro
Gianna is a senior double majoring in literature and culture and ethics, history and public policy, with additional minors in sociology and gender studies. She is passionate about exploring the intersections of literature, law and social justice 鈥� with a strong focus on pre-law studies. Gianna has also completed internships at law firms in California and in Pittsburgh, gaining hands-on experience in case research, legal writing and client support. Originally from Camarillo, California, she has loved getting to experience all four seasons for the first time in Pennsylvania. As a Humanities Ambassador, Gianna is excited to connect with prospective students and share how Dietrich College fosters both academic curiosity and community. In her free time, she enjoys reading and exploring Pittsburgh鈥檚 coffee shops.
Sam Mahler
Sam is a senior triple majoring in literature and culture, creative writing and film and visual media studies. She is involved with many clubs and organizations, including , The Writing Academy, literary journal and podcast. This past summer she completed an internship at in New York City and had the privilege of reading scripts in pre-production. She鈥檚 originally from Punta Gorda, Florida, and deeply misses the beach and weather at home, but still loves the snow in Pittsburgh! As a Humanities Ambassador, Sam is looking forward to connecting with prospective and first-year students to help show them all of the wonderful resources throughout Dietrich College. When she鈥檚 not networking or studying, you can find her watching Marvel movies or reading Kristin Hannah novels.
Explore Our Humanities Departments
Can I Get a Job with A Humanities Degree?
Yes!
It's a common myth that students who study the humanities have a difficult time finding jobs that pay well after graduation. The truth is, employers are seeking the skills humanities students bring to the table.听
Develop Skills Employers Want
Employers seek candidates with the skills humanities students possess, like critical thinking, empathy, communication and creative problem-solving.
View our recent graduates' first employers and read about our alumni's long-term career success
Graduate with Experiences You Need
All Dietrich College students complete at least one experiential learning opportunity, such as an internship, undergraduate research, study abroad or community engagement. Most complete 2鈥�3.
Explore experiential learning opportunities at Dietrich College
Build a Successful Career That's True to You
Growth in humanities majors鈥� incomes over the course of their career outpaces graduates from other fields, including degrees commonly assumed to have a higher return on investment (ROI).听
Mentorship: Teaching, Advising & Student Support
Students at Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences have access to world-class faculty mentors and dedicated advisors who will work closely with you from your first day on campus through graduation. Wherever your academic and professional journey takes you, the faculty and staff at Dietrich College are here to provide guidance and support.
When I think about the kinds of skills a high school student might need in the future, they're very traditional in one way: the ability to learn, to think critically and to communicate 鈥� perhaps with other humans, perhaps with artificial agents 鈥� and ultimately the ability to make sound judgments about what's true and what's false.听
The people who study history, philosophy, literature and related fields are people learning how to think. They're learning how to communicate, and they're learning how to adapt.
Christopher Warren, Head of the Department of English
Our humanities students continuously amaze me with how much they contribute 鈴� to their academic fields, to their campus organizations, and to their community. They use their knowledge and expertise to create inspiring projects and innovate solutions to local and global challenges. Not only are they serious about their academics, but they take the task of making the world a better place very seriously.
Beth Jameson, History Advisor & Humanities Coordinator
There's no better time to be studying the humanities and no better place than CMU to do so. As technology advances rapidly and AI touches almost every part of our lives, we need people with deep understanding of what makes us human 鈥� our individual and communal shared values; our passions and fears; how we work and create together and how we relate across differences. This type of knowledge, gained through a humanities education constantly engaging with technical innovation, will give CMU humanities graduates an advantage in their careers 鈥� and the knowledge and skills to live meaningful lives.
Anne Lambright, Head of the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Instead of asking what can you do with a humanities degree, we should be asking what 肠补苍鈥檛 you do with a humanities degree! Employers highly value the skills which our humanities graduates have honed: research, writing and communication, particularly narrative and storytelling; critical and strategic thinking; ability to synthesize and present complex information; empathy; data analytics; ethics; and creative problem-solving. These skills have become increasingly vital to today鈥檚 knowledge-based economy.
Edda Fields-Black, Director of The Humanities Center and winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History
In recent decades, the humanities have been regrettably and unfairly maligned as impractical fields; students who want to meaningfully change the world have been steered to study technical domains. But historically, the sciences at their heart are about the world as it is; the humanities, about the world as it might be. At CMU we see rigorous humanistic study of the past and present as essential for imagining a better world and for gaining the analytical skills and contextual understanding necessary to effect that change.
Christopher Phillips, Head of the Department of History
Our humanities students are driven by a passion. Perhaps they discovered this passion through a novel that lit their imagination, learning about a transformative time in history, a philosophical reflection that changed how they understand life, or learning a new language that opened their eyes to new parts of the world. At CMU, we deepen that passion, and we put it to work (literally). We guide you to careers that give you a chance to be your truest and best self. We are not a typical humanities school, but we might be the best humanities school for you.
Andreea Ritivoi, William S. Dietrich Professor of English
More Humanities Resources
The Humanities Scholars Program (HSP) brings together intellectually curious, talented students eager to delve into the humanities and make their own contributions. As a Humanities Scholar, you鈥檒l join a small group of undergraduate students who share intellectual curiosity by:
- Living in the same residence hall your first year 听 听
- Taking a seminar class together each semester for your first two years 听 听
- Participating in a research seminar during your final semester 听 听
- Building community by attending events and outings beyond the classroom 听听
- Accessing additional support for experiential learning, research and study abroad opportunities 听 听
Directed by Edda Fields-Black, professor in the Department of History and Pulitzer Prize winner, The Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon brings together faculty and graduate students in humanities departments, and from the arts, social sciences and sciences who engage in studying the human experience, human condition and human-centered responses to real-world challenges.听
An essential component of the humanities ecosystem at 好色先生TV, The Humanities Center is an incubator for original, innovative, cutting-edge and interdisciplinary humanistic research, publicizing our humanities research and its value in our global and increasingly technologically driven society to the university and the world.
Our faculty and students make a difference in society by combining the power of human inquiry with emerging technologies created at Carnegie Mellon and throughout the world.听
Work alongside scholars who are among pioneers in fields like computational humanities, causation and more.
Explore the intersection of humanity and technology:
- Joining Shakespeare on Stage with VR
- Solving a Mystery: Finding the Printers of Foundational Freedom of Speech Documents
- Identifying New Methods of Genealogical Research (and Winning a Pulitzer Prize)
- Developing Immersive Technology for Languages and Cultures
- Writers are Human Beings: Reflection on the Impacts of Generative AI
Humanities faculty at Carnegie Mellon are engaged in groundbreaking research and creative projects. Whether they're exploring the role of art in society, the evolution of human rights or gaining a deeper understanding of complicated social dynamics, faculty at 好色先生TV are tackling complex questions through the humanities.
Humanities in the News
Request Information About the Humanities@CMU
Are you a prospective student interested in studying the humanities at Carnegie Mellon's Dietrich College?