The number of students applying to law school has been on the decline, with October’s law entry exam administrations down nearly 11 percent from last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. The decline marks the lowest number of potential applicants taking the LSAT since 1998 and corresponds with an approximately 18 percent drop in applications since last year. The LSATs saw 45 percent fewer takers this October compared with the 2009, when the exam’s popularity peaked.
Administrators at a number of higher education institutions have expressed concern for the future of the humanities, as the recession has increased public perception that college education should be pre-professional and students increasingly turn to STEM fields, The New York Times reported. Approximately 45 percent of Stanford University’s undergraduate faculty teach in the humanities, while just 15 percent of its students major in those departments. Some public universities have cut humanities programs as they experience funding problems and decreased student interest. Princeton University and Stanford now offer programs for high school students interested in the humanities to recruit future majors. Humanities majors account for 7 percent of undergraduates, compared with 14 percent in the 1970s, though the decline occurred between 1975 and 1980.
While interdisciplinary work by scholars, especially those currently pursuing postdoctoral degrees, has gained popularity, the trend is not reflected in their pay, Inside Higher Ed reported. Based on scholars who earned postdoctoral degrees in 2010, those who completed interdisciplinary dissertations went on to earn an average of $1,700 less than those who focused on a single area of study, according to a new study by the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute. The study found that while scholars earned less, interdisciplinary expertise is still often beneficial for employment outside of academic life. The researchers said interdisciplinary work still produces benefits for academics, and that “cluster hiring” for broad issues over disciplines at colleges may benefit interdisciplinary expertise. Interdisciplinary scholars may struggle to get hired in the beginning of their careers, when they would be expected to teach introductory courses.
