The perceived usefulness of a degree as a function of discipline

Adrian Furnham; George Horne

doi:10.1080/03069885.2023.2174951

The perceived usefulness of a degree as a function of discipline

Adrian Furnham, George Horne

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Over 500 British respondents rated the extent to which a degree in 35 different subjects/disciplines (Anthropology to Zoology) would lead to useful skills acquisition and thence a well-paid job. These ratings factored into five groups: Social/Applied Natural Sciences and Humanities; Professional and Applied STEM; Languages; People and Information Management; and Pure Science. These ratings were then related to eight individual difference variables (demography, ideology, self-evaluations) through correlational and regression analysis. Applied STEM and Pure Science factors were considered the most useful (with minimal disagreement), whereas there were a number of demographic correlates on the factors considered to be less useful. Speculations are made about the origin and validity of these beliefs. Implications of these results, and limitations are acknowledged.

Original language	English
Journal	British Journal of Guidance and Counselling
Early online date	8 May 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2023.2174951
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 8 May 2023
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Data availability
An SPSS file of the data is available on request from the first author.

Keywords

degree
Discipline
employability
job
subject
vocational guidance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Applied Psychology

Access to Document

10.1080/03069885.2023.2174951Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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The perceived usefulness of a degree as a function of discipline

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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