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Liberal arts/general studies majors are projected to be the top-paid Class of 2017 humanities graduates at the bachelor’s-degree level this year, according to employers responding to NACE’s Winter 2017 Salary Survey.

Employers expect to pay Class of 2017 liberal arts/general studies majors earning bachelor’s degrees starting salaries that average $51,100. (See Figure 1.) Following are English language and literature ($50,125) and visual and performing arts ($48,714) majors.

At this early point in the salary-reporting cycle, there were not enough salaries reported for humanities majors at the master’s-degree level to highlight projections.

Data contained in NACE’s Winter 2017 Salary Survey report are annual salary projections for Class of 2017 college graduates and were obtained by surveying NACE employer members from August 5, 2016, through November 30, 2016. The figures reported are for base salaries only and do not include bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits, or overtime rates. Final starting salary data for the Class of 2016 will be available in the Spring 2017 Salary Survey. The Winter 2017 Salary Survey is available to members in MyNACE. An executive summary of the Winter 2017 Salary Survey report is also available.

Figure 1: Projected Highest Paid Humanities Majors, Bachelor’s Degree Level