Based on the multiples of 1.1%, I expect sample size is approximately 1/ (1.1% * 64% employed) = 142 students, which would be ~73% knowledge rate.
I don’t consider the 3% difference in employed/seeking at UF a notable decline, particularly when it is accompanied by an increase in earnings. However, UConn does indeed show a notable decline in 2025 employment outcomes for CS, with a significant increase in % seeking.
This increase in % seeking seems to occur more severely in CS than other majors. For example, among non-CS related engineering the trend from 2024 to 2025 was:
2024 – 71% employed, 6% seeking, $75k median salary
2025 – 74% employed 6% seeking, $77k median salary
Among humanities majors, the trend was:
2024 – 46% employed, 13% seeking, 0% not seeking, $42k median salary
2025 – 45% employed, 9% seeking, 5% not seeking, $45k median salary
UConn is the only college I’ve seen with such a trend in CS majors. One contributing factor to why UConn CS may show different trends from other colleges is that >70% of CS grads are listed as working in Connecticut, in both 2024 and 2025. This makes the grads more dependent on the hiring of local CT employers than grads from other colleges. For example, Travelers (largest office is in Hartford) is the top employer of UConn CS grads every year. If Travelers Hartford changes new grad CS hiring, it impacts UConn more than other colleges.
AND integrate some STEM courses into humanities majors. It goes both ways. I was able to be considered for a technical role with my English degree because I had also done well in a programming course in undergrad and scored high in logic and math courses. The manager who took a chance on me as a technical writer out of undergrad said, “I can teach you the tech, I can’t teach you to write.” I never forgot that (or her). I learned the particular technology first by writing about it, then using it, then teaching it, then managing it, pivoting among these roles at various companies.
The AI world will always require technical elites especially as it begins to rest on quantum devices, but the easily machine-replaceable
technical expertise needed to write and maintain code is expected to fall sharply.
AI is going to increase the need for those with other than primarily technical backgrounds as Daniela Amodei is quoted as saying in the article:
“I actually think studying the humanities is going to be more important than ever,” she explained. “A lot of these models are actually very good at STEM. But I think this idea that there are things that make us uniquely human—understanding ourselves, understanding history, understanding what makes us tick—I think that will always be really, really important. And I think the ability to have critical thinking skills and learn how to interact with other people will be more important in the future, rather than less.”
Directed studies focuses on the “canon,” according to the article. In 2025 what exactly is the canon? In recent decades, one thing that has happened in English, for instance, is that the “canon” has broken down in favor or more diverse authors and works. So what literature is taught in the DS program?
Thanks @bludbulldog. Smattering of women, writers of color, balanced with very traditional (male) works. The curricula seem to me to strike a pretty good balance, though yes quite traditional with no contemporary works, except Atherton’s book (1994). Definitely a “Great Books” approach, which going back 60 years might be the definition of being an educated person, along with those (a little more than token?) additions for diversity. The curriculum almost seems quaint in many ways, considering that few even read whole books these days.
I think Washington & Lee, Yale, and similar that have been discussed in this thread are more the exception than the rule. The national trend is more of decreased interest and decreased enrollment in most humanities majors. I previously mentioned a decreased interest in CS, including a sharp drop at CS enrollment in Stanford since 2023 and similar trends at other colleges. While CS enrollment has decreased and may continue to decrease, students haven’t been flocking to humanities instead of CS, with the possible exception of history*. Example stats are below.
*Several other universities also show a recent increase in history, which may relate to being perceived to be a key historical time.
High endowment per student private colleges like Stanford can largely afford to let major sizes change as student interest changes, and they seem to be doing so. For example, only 1 student at Stanford across all years is currently enrolled in the Spanish major, and Stanford seems to be able to maintain the Spanish major in spite of the low enrollment. Students are still enrolling in Spanish classes enough to support offering the same classes 3 quarters per year, even though they aren’t majoring in Spanish. A far larger number of students are pursuing a Spanish minor than Spanish major.
However, less wealthy colleges may need to restructure or eliminate low enrollment humanities majors like this. Some public colleges also have state rules about low enrollment majors that may limit options. Some of the many examples of changes during the 2025 calendar year include:
Syracuse: Eliminated 20 majors in Arts & Humanities School
Indiana Publics: Eliminating 100+ programs, 68 of which have 0 enrollment
Wisconsin: Eliminated 82 programs with low enrollment
Chicago: Restructuring/consolidating humanities amid their budget challenges (Chicago has abnormally high debt, combined with reduced federal funding)
As I touched on in an earlier post, I don’t think Washington & Lee’s apparent approach of providing misleading information about employment outcomes for humanities majors is desirable. I also don’t think the college can do much about notably different average employment outcomes for different majors and career paths, as that is largely beyond the college’s control. Instead I’d favor adapting with changing times and interests. If students don’t want to major in humanities, let them major in something else. This doesn’t mean that the humanities departments have to end. This also doesn’t mean students don’t want to take any humanities courses. Many (most?) students prefer taking humanities courses to courses graded on numbers/math/calculations and will gladly take humanities courses as electives, if given the opportunity. Some students would favor a humanities minor paired with their STEM major and associated career path. Most of the colleges emphasized on this website can and do require humanities courses as part of their graduation requirements, regardless of the student’s major. This can continue or could be changed/expanded, if colleges/employers/students believe specific courses are important for the student.
For the first time since the dot-com bust in the early 2000s, undergraduate computer science enrollment across the UC systemdeclined in 2025, data show.
Only one UC has defied the downward trend: UC San Diego, the sole campus to have launched an AI major.
…Across the UC system, 12,652 students are majoring in computer science this year — about the same as in 2021. That’s a 6% drop from last year, on top of a 3% drop in 2024. Still, that’s almost twice as many students enrolled in computer science than a decade ago.
The article links to a review of national trends including millions of college students across a wide variety of institution types. Nationally, CS enrollment peaked in 2024 and declined for the first time in many years in 2025. A summary of changes from 2024 to 2025 is below. The CS changes had a good variation by state. Idaho and Oregon had a >20% decrease, while MA had a small increase. 48/51 states had a net decrease in CS enrollment.