You don't have to be a painter to major in the arts for your
undergraduate degree.
The arts covers more than just painting and photography—it
is a vast heading that includes communication, fine arts, humanities, and
languages. In the 2003–2004 academic year, 20 percent of the more than 570,000
international students attending colleges and universities in the United States majored in arts fields, according
to the Open Doors report of the Institute
of International Education.
Here are some of the majors you can pursue in “the arts” and the jobs you can expect to work in with a bachelor's degree in these areas:
Communication
As a communication major you can specialize in advertising,
journalism, public relations, publishing, or professional writing. With a
communication degree (which can be either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of
Science, depending on a university's structure), you can write for a newspaper
or magazine, work in a public relations firm preparing press releases, edit and
publish books, write technical manuals, or even work in television news.
Fine Arts
Within the realm of fine arts you can major in drama,
drawing, painting, performing arts, or sculpture. As a fine arts graduate you
can display and sell your work in galleries, design products for a variety of
industries, create cartoons and other animated entertainment, or perform on
stage or on the screen. Jobs in these fields are popular, and thus they are highly
competitive. In 2003–2004, 31,817 international students pursued fine arts
degrees at U.S.
colleges and universities, up from 30,018 students in 2002–2003.
Humanities
As a humanities major you can choose to study anthropology,
archaeology, political science, psychology, or sociology, as well as numerous
other social sciences. With an undergraduate humanities degree you can be an
anthropologist, archaeologist, economist, political scientist, or psychologist.
Humanities majors drew 70,676 international students to U.S. colleges
and universities in the 2003–2004 academic year.
Languages majors generally focus on a specific language; they may also study the history of the country the language originated in to help them better understand the language. Studying a language can lead to a career as a translator. In combination with a business degree, a languages major can help you enter the international marketplace.
