subjects-offered-humanities

One of the challenging decisions each student and parent faces is Which stream to choose after Class 10th? This is the most frequently asked question to students of that age. It is justified to give this issue such importance because your entire career depends on the answer to this question. Although the most common streams are Science and Commerce, Humanities is gaining importance since the last few years. Yes, Humanities is becoming a sought after stream, just like other streams. There are wide ranging & excellent career options available to students like Civil Services, Law, Journalism, Literature Scholars, Geology and such like. Then why not Humanities if someone is interested. We also have examples like Tina Dabi, who topped the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Exam. She was very clear right from the beginning and chose subjects of her interest. This proved to be extremely beneficial for her. Now, if you have decided to opt for Humanities, the next step is which subjects you should choose from a list of wide ranging subjects. Following factors should be kept in mind: 1: Your interest. (Most important) 2: Availability of the subject in your school. 3: Future prospects of that subject.

4: Availability of good content and support for that subject so that you end up scoring good marks in Boards. For your assistance, you can check out the list of subjects here along with their future prospects: 1: GEOGRAPHY: Geography is a very interesting and scoring option. Geography is the study of the relationship of humans with their nature and surroundings. Geography is divided into two broad categories: a) Physical Geography (You will study in Class 11) and b) Human Geography (You will study in Class 12). It is a conceptual subject which makes it more interesting. Career Prospects: You can specialize in History at your Graduation, Post Graduation and at Doctorate (PHD) level. Apart from it, you can find a career in Cartography (Map Making), Surveyor, Drafting, Geologist, Metrologist, Demographer and such like. Suggestion: Those who are confused about which subject to choose, can pick up Geography as a safe option. It does not mean that you will score marks without working hard in it, but with less effort, you can score more marks. Understanding concepts is crucial. 2: POLITICAL SCIENCE: This is one of the most popular subjects among the students. This subject teaches us about the structure of the government and how it runs, the Constitution of India, World Politics and Politics in India post independence.

International Relations/ International Affairs is an integral part of this subject. (since these are linked with politics at international level) Career Prospects: You can specialize in Political Science and International Relations at your Graduation, Post Graduation and at Doctorate (PHD) level. Apart from it, if you want to pursue a career in Politics, Psephology, Political Strategist, Journalism and such like. Suggestion: If you are keen on learning how things work in the political sphere and international arena, this is the go-to subject for you. This is helpful in Civil Services too. So choose if this sounds appealing to you. 3: SOCIOLOGY: Sociology is one of the youngest disciplines which emerged in the 18th century. Sociology is the scientific study of Society. One distinguishing feature about this subject is that it is linked with various other disciplines like Economics, Population studies in Geography, Political Science and History. Class 11 covers general concepts of Sociology and Class 12 specifically deals with Indian society. Career Prospects: You can specialize in Sociology at your Graduation, Post Graduation and at Doctorate (PHD) level. Apart from it, you can get into Demographic Studies, Social Scientist, Social Researcher, Criminology and such like.

Suggestion: If you are genuinely interested in knowing the society in and out, you can go for this subject. You will have to ‘unlearn’ a few concepts which you have learnt as a part of your social conditioning from your childhood. This is because you have been conditioned according to your cultural values and sociology values an academic viewpoint. 4: ECONOMICS: It is an exciting subject which gives an insight about how Economy works. It entails two sections i.e. Micro and Macro Economics. Microeconomics will consist of concepts and numericals to solve whereas Macroeconomics will be dealing with concepts only. A catch here is that some universities demand Economics with Maths. But you can choose Economics without maths. (Numericals in economics demand some concepts also) Career Prospects: You can specialize in Economics at your Graduation, Post Graduation and at Doctorate (PHD) level. Apart from it, you can get opportunities in finance, banking, insurance, consulting, Indian Economic Services, E commerce, and such like. Economics is an evergreen domain. It keeps evolving and is not going to be out of prospects in the future also. Suggestion: Pick only if you have interest in it.

5: PSYCHOLOGY: Psychology may seem an attractive subject to many. It involves study of the dynamics of Human Mind and behavioural patterns. There are various fields in psychology which have emerged ie Child psychology, Sports psychology, Clinical psychology, etc. Career Prospects: You can specialise in Psychology at your Graduation (Psychology Honours), Post Graduate and Doctorate level. You become eligible to open your own clinic and deal with patients suffering from mental health issues after your Post Graduation. Every hospital now-a-days employs a psychology expert to deal with the mental health of patients. Mental Health has become one of the most talked about issues in the modern stressful world. Psychologists help us deal with our mental health. Suggestion: Choose if you have interest and a decent amount of patience to hear the problems of people struggling with stress, anxiety and depression. 6: HISTORY: History is not a new subject for the students. History covers World History in class 11th and in class 12th the focus is on Indian history. (From Indus Valley Civilization to post Independence history of India). It is a fact based subject with few concepts. It is also static in nature, meaning it is not changing with time. Whatever has happened, remains happened, and that is History.

Career Prospects: You can specialize in History at your Graduation, Post Graduation and at Doctorate (PHD) level. You can also become Archaeologists, Heritage Managers, Academic Researchers and such like. Suggestion: Your interest plays a key role. If you do not have any interest, it can turn out to be a nightmare for you. Yes, it is difficult to memorise the content of history. You will have to go through multiple revisions as well. 7: PHILOSOPHY: Philosophy is one subject which has close linkages with History. It contains various thinkers/ philosophers and their philosophies. It is not a very popular subject and neither such a scoring subject. But if you have keen interest in this subject, then you can go for it. Career Prospects: You can specialize in Philosophy at your Graduation, Post Graduation and at Doctorate (PHD) level. Philosophy will be helpful in Journalism and Civil Services also. Suggestion: Take this subject only if you are interested in knowing about ideologies of various kinds and keen to know about new perspectives to view life.

8: INFORMATICS PRACTICES: This subject is the one for ones having interest in Computer Science. However, this is not the only subject related to computers in 12th. One can learn Database Management Systems (DBMS), Programing languages like Oracle, SQL and Java. Career Prospects: Bachelor and Masters of Arts in Computer Application. Apart from this, one can find prospects in the following: Computer Programming; Web Designing; Database Administrator; Multimedia Programer; Software Development; Software Consultant and such like. Suggestion: If you have slightest interest in computers, go for it. You live in a digital age and this age will continue for a long time to come. So no dearth of scope and opportunities if you have this as an option in your hand. 9: FINE ARTS: This subject is completely for the ‘Creative Ones’. It is a must choose option for those who have interests in painting, graphics, Sculpture, and Commercial arts like photography and such like. Career Prospects: One can go for a Diploma Course in Fine Arts, Bachelor and Masters in Fine Arts. Apart from these courses, one has a wide ranging prospects like:

• A career in photography • Interior Design • Painting / Artists • Sculpting • Cinema • Set Designing for movies and TV Serials. Suggestion: You should definitely opt for this subject if there is a ‘Creative Human’ inside you. There are ample universities offering courses in Fine Arts in India. The importance of this stream is also increasing day by day. 10: HOME SCIENCE: This subject is a combination of Science and Arts. This subject teaches us about human development, nutrition, health, food and such like. To sum up, it focuses on Home management. Career Prospects: Diploma in Home Science, B.Sc & M.Sc in Home Science are some of the options available in degree courses. Apart from it, one can pursue career options in: Food Processing industries, Nutritionists or Dieticians, Health and Fitness industry, Apparel designing and such like. Suggestion: Those who wish to join the food and wellness industry, should go for this subject. Apart from it, those who pursue to be a homemaker, should opt this subject.

The list does not end here, but these are the most popular subjects in Humanities Stream. There are some other subjects like Physical Education, Fashion Studies, Entrepreneurship, Media Studies and Law. These subjects are less popular (except Physical Education) and are seldom imparted by schools also. Some common Career Prospects that are common in all the subjects mentioned above are: Civil Services Teaching Journalism Research Scholars To conclude, you must be smart enough to choose your subjects. No subject is good or bad. Every subject is equally important and good, depending upon your interest in it. Just trust your choices. If in the midst of your journey, any of the subjects troubles you, be flexible enough to drop that subject and choose another one. Remember, you are the sailor of your ship and it is your responsibility to cruise well and reach the destination.