Fate of humanities grad programs in question

This September, Pitt officials will decide whether certain graduate programs within the humanities will be cost effective enough to remain available.

If Pitt’s administration elects to pass current proposals, admission to graduate programs in German and the classics will be “indefinitely suspended” until further notice. Additionally, the religious studies graduate department would be entirely terminated by 2022, under the current plan, which was proposed last month and is currently under consideration. 

The University’s plan reflects a nationwide pattern of universities cutting or terminating humanities programs at higher rates than the sciences in order to meet financial constraints.

According to the same statement, Pitt’s state funding had been reduced so significantly that the budget, when adjusted for inflation, would be equal to what it was in the mid 1980s, when Pennsylvania’s budget was about one-third of what it is at present. When left with such a relatively small budget, the University has a few choices to make —  it must either spend sparingly or raise student tuition to make up the difference.

“I appreciate the fiscal restraints that Pitt and other institutions of higher education are under in this economy,” Department of Religious Studies Chairwoman Linda Penkower said. “[But] rather than hold an honest and open discussion with the Dietrich School faculty about the future of education and how to define what constitutes value in higher education, this administration has chosen, in my opinion, a short-sighted and reductive approach in dealing with the humanities.”

Penkower, as well as the rest of the department, is upset by the proposal to close down the graduate program.

She said that admissions to graduate programs in classics, German and religious studies were all suspended in April 2012. Since then, none of these departments have been allowed to admit new graduate students for the academic year 2013 cycle nor subsequent years.

Fedele declined to comment with a response to Penkower’s feelings, stating again that the proposals will be discussed with the public in September.

In President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address, he placed high importance on encouraging the nation’s children to study fields in math and science.

According to data the National Science Foundation collected last year, the federal government paid for just 20 percent of humanities programs in 2011 at public institutions that receive federal funding, while paying for more than 70 percent of mathematical and physical sciences at those same institutions.

Publicly funded institutions of higher learning across the country are dealing with not only state, but also federal budget cuts. Such measures are causing Pitt, as well as some other schools that receive public funding, to re-evaluate certain courses that have low enrollments and do not bring in as much funding from student tuition.

According to the University’s list of graduate students, fewer than 20 students are currently enrolled in the religious studies graduate program. Similarly, only 11 students are currently enrolled in Pitt’s graduate German program and eight students are enrolled in the graduate classics program. 

In contrast, graduate programs in technology and science-oriented areas, such as computer science, have upwards of 90 students enrolled. 

Amy Slagle, who earned her Ph.D. in religious studies and is now a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, said she is saddened by the possible closure of the religious studies graduate program.

“Not only did I receive a solid foundation in the diverse theories and methods available for the study of religion across cultural contexts, but the program afforded doctoral students an opportunity to tailor their course of study according to their own interests and dissertation projects,” Slagle said of the program.

While the federal government might view education in the humanities as less desirable than those in disciplines more focused on science and technology, many employers would agree with Slagle that a liberal arts education can still be an asset.

In a study conducted by the National Humanities Commission, 51 percent of American employers said they would endorse the concept of a liberal arts education to possible employees. In that same study, three out of four employers said they would recommend a “liberal education” to their own child.

Although closing the program will save money and undergraduates will still be able to major in religious studies, classics and German, Slagle insisted that closing the religious studies graduate program “would be a true loss to the University community and beyond.”

“The ability of persons to reflect deeply on matters relating to world religions and cultures is ever more pertinent and acute in today’s world. The fact that an important institution of higher learning like [Pitt] is signaling a possible disinterest in this pursuit in eliminating the religious studies graduate program is disappointing and disheartening.”