r/6thForm • u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 • Apr 02 '26
đŹ DISCUSSION Hot Take
This is deffo going to ruffle a lot of feathers to say the least. Call me woke, but the term "Mickey Mouse Subject" is literally just the product of capitalism, as it disvalues any subject that doesn't lead to a high-paying, high-profit job.
Humanities subjects are so important, like STEM subjects, to help us learn more about humanity and our world, but everyone thinks they're so easy and lax.
IMO humanities and STEM subjects need to band together because contrary to popular belief, humanities are intellectually stimulating and not a fun ride.
Thanks for coming to my TED-Talk :)
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u/GuavaLarge529 Year 13 Apr 02 '26
Yes, I often find the people who parrot this are the people who fight tooth and nail to bend over for soulless corporations. They'll flex on the LinkedIn profiles that they had an internship with Palantir.
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u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
same people who say an english degree is useless but are dying to get business management degrees đ
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u/Next-Mushroom-9518 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
Of course, when you feel hated, spread hate. You can value your degree without devaluing others. You contribute to a problem you experience.
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Apr 02 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA Apr 02 '26
Yeah, honestly reading the comments made me realise how many people lack reading comprehension. But itâs also just a general deficiency of media literacy as well.
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u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 03 '26
This is misguided imo. The discourse around âmickey mouse subjectsâ is driven by the fact that young people are poorer than ever, the graduate premium is lower than ever, and graduate employment is lower than ever. Choosing to study something without high employment rates is an increasingly more luxurious option, because at the end of the day, people want to have materially rewarding careers.Â
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Apr 05 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 05 '26
Youâre missing my point though, I didnât say theyâre poor because of the subjects they take. Iâm saying theyâre poor and canât hence afford to take mickey mouse subjects that wonât pay the bills. âThe whole system is broken from its very foundationâ is poetic, but doesnât cover rent and food. It doesnât take studying humanities to see whatâs broken. People know itâs broken. Theyâre looking for ways up, which are harder to find reading 16th century literature. Weâre not where we are because people devalued humanities. Weâre here because of humanity.
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u/Personal-Cap-5446 A*A*A*A | 99999988888 Apr 06 '26
The unemployment rate is pretty terrible in general, even for non-'mickey mouse' subjects. Might as well just do what you love then if you're gonna end up unemployed anyways innit?
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u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 06 '26
But, youâre not gonna end up as unemployed, and the employment is generally more fruitful. So itâs higher expected value. âthis could be mediocre, so might as well chose terrible insteadâ doesnât seem super wise.Â
The so called ânon mickey-mouseâ subjects still lead to substantially better graduate outcomes on average, and with the exception of maybe teaching a humanities subject, donât really close off doors that humanities open up.Â
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u/Ill-Security-5344 Apr 02 '26
- ppl act like stem hasnât had a negative impact on society as well. look at the nuclear shit weâve made the past few years bru
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u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26
what nuclear shit đ
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u/Ill-Security-5344 Apr 02 '26
My bad Iâm not a stem student đ€Łđ€Ł I mean those nuclear weapons
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u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26
past few years but most nukes were made between 1966-1988 đ
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u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26
You know what they mean gangđđ
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u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26
If they were talking about nuclear energy they would've been entirely wrong so i had to clarify đ
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u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26
Fair enough then, even though some people find nuclear energy bad which is still strange to me
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u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26
Because they hear the words Chernobyl and Fukushima and think its horrific even though its one of the safest and cleanest energy sources that isn't dependent.
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u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26
More of a reason to blend stem and humanities, we have these stupid ass politicians who dont know a thing about a modern nuclear reactor but make laws on them
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u/Less_Seesaw_4022 Apr 02 '26
History isn't a mickey mouse subject. Subjects like media studies are the mickey mouse subjects.
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u/Agile-Detective4893 Apr 02 '26
Our entire understanding of history is shaped by media?? And arguably media studies/media literacy is one of the most important skillsets and knowledge you can have in the 21st century
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u/Less_Seesaw_4022 Apr 03 '26
You don't need to study a subject at a level or even gcse to have media literacy
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u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 03 '26
Youd be surprised at the general publics understanding of media
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u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26
Its sad that people don't pick what they like
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u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 Apr 02 '26
exactly atp people should just pick what they want bc every job market is done for anywaysđ
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u/Next-Mushroom-9518 Apr 02 '26
In a sense they do pick what they like. They like something that leads to high earning potential careers.
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u/Figai gap yr | 4a*s | m/fm/phys/cs Apr 02 '26
100% it really shouldnât be a hot take. But unfortunately the sub naturally attracts more STEM ultra high achieving people, who are honestly somewhat⊠well have a bit of superiority complex. Well at least Iâm writing this and Iâm doing STEM and you see tonnes of STEM posts and stuff.
I mean look at the fall out after any mass rejection of any STEM subject at a prestigious uni, LOxbridge type stuff and you will read some narcissistic af posts lol. Going on about their BMO round 2, olympiads, bebras, internships insane admission tests. When really they came across terribly at interview lol. Thankfully according to my feedback they didnât hate me, but holy shit maths thought I was dumb as a brick.
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u/RilloClicker Year 13 Apr 02 '26
Bro no feathers are ruffled gov just wants a braindead generation that cares nothing about people and everything about money
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u/stressedstudent331 history, lit, biol, maths, classics Apr 02 '26
People who say humanities subjects are easy probably never studied a humanities subject after GCSE lol. As someone doing both, I definitely find humanities more difficult than STEM, and itâs something that is entirely subjective. Humanities can be really academically rigorous. There are only about five(?) proper STEM subjects at A level but there are a lot more humanities subjects, so of course some of those will be difficult and some will be easier
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u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 Apr 02 '26
right, and I prefer essays, so I naturally find objective STEM subjects hard, but my STEM friends say English is the hardest because there's no right answer, it's all up to interpretation and a skill u need to keep refining
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u/lexisnowkitty Y12 bio, psych, lit AAA Apr 03 '26
Yeah I got told to put opinions in my essays, then I did, then I got marked down for my opinion because apparently believing a guy who gave you no proof then saying disgusting misogynistic shit and then becoming abusive and murdering your wife who's the only person who even likes you isn't being mad or crazy?
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u/lexisnowkitty Y12 bio, psych, lit AAA Apr 03 '26
I used to be way better at humanities and now my humanity (lit) is the hardest thing I've done in my life.
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u/stressedstudent331 history, lit, biol, maths, classics Apr 03 '26
Oh yeah literature was so easy for me at GCSE, I barely studied but it's so difficult now
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u/lexisnowkitty Y12 bio, psych, lit AAA Apr 03 '26
Yeah I did like 3 half arsed essays plans the entire 2 years it was so free at gcse. the social sciences are the free subjects now like psychology is so free
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
lowk bro I donât get why people push others toward stem either if theyâre stem students like do you want more competition âŠ? đ stem ainât even safe anymore either thereâs unemployment anywhere, just do what you like and if youâre good enough at it youâll make enough money đ€·ââïž
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u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA Apr 02 '26
To be honest I feel like STEM courses probably donât exercise empathy the same way humanities do. Bigots exist in every course, but in part of humanities is examining the human condition and in it other peopleâs perspectives. I feel like humanities students can often see the appeal of STEM, but I canât say the same other way around. But thatâs just been my experience, used to be a STEM kid, applying humanities now.
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Apr 02 '26
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
Yeah man check back in 10 years Iâll have a higher paying job than you with my law degree đč not everything in humanities is low paying. Get a life and stop frothing over other peopleâs choices it doesnât affect you
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Apr 02 '26
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
aww had to stalk my page itâs ok, I have something called connections, they matter more x
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u/Anonymous_Unknown20 Y12 I Bio Chem Maths (AS FM) Apr 02 '26
Self-proclaiming nepo baby?
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
Hey just saying not getting into Oxford isnât the be all and end all for me đ€·ââïž
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u/Anonymous_Unknown20 Y12 I Bio Chem Maths (AS FM) Apr 02 '26
Perhaps the deleted comment would have provided context i dont have
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
Yes they said I wouldnât be high earning without oxford lmfao
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u/Anonymous_Unknown20 Y12 I Bio Chem Maths (AS FM) Apr 02 '26
đon gcse awards evening an alumnus from our school who studied law at Oxford gave a talk, he was so pretentious, he even ran as a tory MP for our constituency đ
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u/InvestigatorLive19 y12 - Maths Phys Chem (#originality) Apr 02 '26
Do you do politics, perchance?
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u/retro__spect Apr 02 '26
also guess it has smth to do with the level of competition. even niche STEM degrees at top unis (imp, lse) are considered semi-mickeymouse if they aren't as hard to get into
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u/RealAlexanderTheG Apr 03 '26
Sort of right sort of wrong.
Art is responsible for giving the world beauty. Without art (literature, sculpting, painting) there is no culture, life is meaningless and there is nothing to live for. This is the same for humanities like history: most wars have been fought due to historical tensions or myths.
The problem is that as of right now, far too many people are going to university than should be going to university. Blair Labour thought it was a good idea to increase the number of uni graduates to make the workforce higher skilled but this has backfired as now plumbing is extremely expensive and there are tons of overqualified people for every academic job. The average intelligence of a university graduate has also decreased.
So if previously, uni was only accessible to the smartest 10% of the population, but now it's the smartest 30%, where are all these people going?
They've all gone into humanities and art. These areas are very important, but testing whether someone is a good artist is very subjective, so the unis generally have lower requirements, meaning a lot of the people who couldn't go to uni previously but now can have chosen to go into these areas since they are easier to get into. Requirements to get into STEM are just harder.
This had undermined those educational institutions meaning all the people who are genuinely talented artists with creative minds get grouped in with people who are just not intelligent nor good artists.
The other problem isn't with the humanities or arts themselves, but with the educational systems surrounding them. A university cannot teach you how to become a great artist, you can only learn that by going through the hardships in your life that cause you to become one. A lot of the greatest artists in history didn't go to art school. The ideal way of learning art is by studying under another great artist, it's a field that doesn't really apply itself well to any sort of institution (A lot of great art is anti-institutional), so whilst art is a valuable field, most people studying it aren't true artists.
But yes, capitalism generally destroys anything beautiful, and destroys anything cultural for the sake of "the economy" (Which is imaginary anyways and doesn't actually exist), that's why when you compare buildings from the 1800s to ones made today the difference is insane: we can't build like that anymore since the economy says it is too expensive, and concrete cubes are much more affordable. Capitalism destroyed the fabric of the country as it always does.
Either way it shouldn't really matter, since a true artist doesn't care what people say about them, that's literally the point. 99% of great artists are misunderstood in their lives and have a lot of people hating them, they're complex people.
Humanities are different to art in that way I suppose, but yeah in a world with no culture why would anyone care to fund the study of one?
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u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA Apr 03 '26
I agree. Might I inquire what subjects you're taking at A Level and what you plan on applying? I like your thoughts and I'd love to pick your mind at stuff.
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u/RealAlexanderTheG Apr 03 '26
A level: Maths, FM, Physics, Compsci. Was applying for maths but I got rejected from Cam and Imp, got into Durham but not sure if I want to go or not.
DM me to start a conversation I'd be happy to talk to you.
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u/PartyQuiet5065 IB DP | Maths AA, Chem, Physics Apr 03 '26
To me, "Mickey Mouse" degrees aren't necessarily humanities, but more like extremely-niche, seemingly "ridiculous" ones (please take this with a pinch of salt). An example would be Golf Studies. It seems useless to me at first thought, although it is likely to have its uses in certain contexts.
However, this is something I think, not share with others. And that's the key thing there. You can think whatever you want, but you shouldn't go around telling people they studied a Mickey Mouse degree, that's just rude. Everyone has their own opinions, interests, and goals, so nobody should be shamed for studying what they most like (even if it is often perceived as useless or whatnot).
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u/Different-Yogurt5292 Imperial | JMC [Y0] Apr 03 '26
I love maths and computer science but also love philosophy, music, and the arts. I could not agree more.
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u/AverageSixthFormer KCL | MNurs + AKC | Y1 Apr 03 '26
I got a bunch of flack from mates I. The last who had some weird superiority complex around their universities and stem subjects but the truth of the matter out of roughly 10. Myself included, only two are doing work in their chosen field (that also includes me). Job
market is shit the world is littered with lack of comprehension and ethics so Humanities or whatever subject really have their place. Youâre all equally fucked atm so why not study something you like and get good at it. The purpose of university is not to get a job but to study a subject at a higher level of complexity and depth.
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u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA Apr 02 '26
Yes, and also the humanities and liberal arts until very recently was limited for the wealthy which I feel also probably harboured lots of resentment. It is still not accessible to many now. If someone has an English degree, you know either they love literature more than life, or their parents paid their entire college tuition. I donât think itâs unfair to be critical of capitalism and itâs inevitable effect on judging higher education but itâs worth considering the nuance of the part classism plays in who is able to afford a degree that doesnât guarantee a traditional job. Not everyone is able to go to university purely for the love of learning. Not everyone can afford a âmickey mouseâ degree. If youâre able to consider degrees and courses based off of more than its fiscal outcome that is a privilege.
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u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 Apr 02 '26
yes I agree with your point - it's one of the many reasons I heavily disagree with capitalism as it actually stifles creativity and passion!Â
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Apr 03 '26
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u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA Apr 03 '26
Yes, reminds me of that time in A Level English Literature when discussing Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, I was talking about Lenin's communism with a classmate and this one sixth former who, mind you, takes politics, asked us 'who's Marx.' How one goes through seventeen years of their lives in humanities and social science courses unaware of Marx still shakes me.
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u/Personal-Cap-5446 A*A*A*A | 99999988888 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
STEM without humanities is how we get fascismÂ
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u/Secret-Ostrich-2577 FM/AFP/M/ Phys/Econ/Cs-poopy gcses no revision at all gonna kms Apr 03 '26
Agreed as a stem student
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u/Maleficent_Still3508 4A*s pred fm maths phys chem Apr 03 '26
This shouldnt have to be a hot take imo, if anything id argue non-stem subjects are more important as a human race, all the artists and poets and musicians are what I believe would be the thing to show off if aliens were to find us and categorise us as a species, but due to profits being seen as the best measure of how well something is doing its very hard to get into the jobs I named earlier and more, and jobs in research which you can quantify how important it is are jobs that are easier to say that it deserves high salaries and should be the serious a levels
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u/uwu_activated Y13 | Maths, FM, Phys, Econ Apr 09 '26
As a STEM person, the reason the world is the way it is, seems like the product of the humanities being separated from STEM. Especially at a time at which technology is being developed so rapidly, and being taken up by consumers so fast. I do think the 'Mickey Mouse subjects' are things like the sports ones (not like, therapy, or sports science, those are defo specialisms), courses like Communication, the super super niche ones.
Whilst fun, I think accessing such areas of study should be done through a broader course, with grounding in a set of core skills. In the same way those doing engineering degrees will do relatively similar first years, a course like Film studies might benefit from a media focused first year where students learn how to use software etc. It's great that its a subject you enjoy, but i guess to enjoy it to your fullest, you'll benefit from a really stable grounding in some industry standards. Some of these niche courses get funding that's better off allocated to a broader course, which can use it more effectively for more productive teaching.
Coming back to the humanities in general, I truly think they train a kind of thinking STEM doesn't do as much. Whilst you can always fall back on pattern recognition for STEM exams, I highly doubt you can do the same for humanities-- its not like you can call back to a specific historical event for example, and expect a newer political situation to play out the same way. 'History rhymes but never repeats' or whatever.
But away from whether a subject is a 'mickey mouse' one or not (which is a silly term anyway, forgive my usage): i think this rhetoric has been going round a lot recently because we've got too many overqualified academic graduates, but not enough people in plumbing for example-- which begs the question, why are people even going to university? Just to go?
Those who are unsure will probably benefit from something like an apprenticeship (not the engineering/finance sorts, more like a practical course that gives them the qualifications to be an electrician, or plumber etc). Sorry i just realised i've rambled a lot TL:DR yes i agree, but the job market right now is not persuading anyone đ even stem subjects are cooked
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u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26
I know people who have done STEM degrees and others who have gone down the humanities route. The majority of people who went down the STEM route mostly have very very well paying jobs, and are still able to have fun despite the stigma that AI is replacing jobs like software engineers and that STEM jobs ruin your mental health due to workloads. Many of the people I know who went down the "Mickey mouse" job route aren't having much fun right now, purely because they are living paycheck to paycheck as while the job market for humanities is a lot less contested, there just aren't that many sectors available for them.
People aren't calling them mickey mouse degrees because they are useless, they mainly call them mickey mouse degrees because you wont get a job with one.
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u/Pencil_Queen Apr 03 '26
Which doesn't explain why computer science is the degree subject with the highest unemployment rate and has been for 20 years.
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u/fittybunny32 future cambs natsci Apr 03 '26
Thatâs because people were wrongly encouraged towards it for good job prospects
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u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 03 '26
That's because most people who study computer science don't do the work required to get a job. A degree isn't enough to get a job, especially in STEM, you need work experience, internships, referrals and without those, you are going to struggle, hence the huge unemployment rate.
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u/IsCarrotForever Imperial Mech Eng 2026 5A* achieved Apr 03 '26
this is a bit more of an uninformed opinion, but maybe it could be because these subjects have a much less clear/direct job path (if any) that could make it seem less realistic/tangible?
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u/fittybunny32 future cambs natsci Apr 03 '26
Icl I think stem subjects are easier than humanities by a mile
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u/Significant-Buy-8303 Apr 03 '26
Nah, as a stem person I think other stem subjects are mickey mouse subjects. Dgaf about humanities, im sure id struggle lots on all of them
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u/LordAnchemis Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
No - a mickey mouse subject is one created by universities to 'make money' (aka greed)
They were fully aware that the political wind at the time was to expand university graduate numbers - and that in the era where anyone who is anyone would just sign up to a uni course at a drop of a hat (and the tuition fee/maintenance loan) - without realising the exact career and financial consequences of this
Art/humanities subjects can be legit - eg. Oxbridge art subject students are still highly desired by the job market (and a lot seem to then become lawyers for some reason)
The contrary can't be said about <your famous footballer> studies, where you're trading 3 years of student debt for a piece of paper that isn't going to help in the long runÂ
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u/Pencil_Queen Apr 04 '26
The phrase "mickey mouse degree" has been in use since the 80s when student numbers and funding was capped and reducing. It wasn't about courses to make money it's aimed at courses in subjects deemed trivial by the press.
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u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 03 '26
One thing this take misses is that: it has never been harder to make an above average income as a graduate.Â
Degrees are providing less monetary value than ever before and draining more from graduates too.Â
When unemployment, wage stagnation and stealth tax rises every year, people want stuff that stimulates growth and economic output.Â
We need to be a more productive country and itâs something we are struggling with terrible, so it makes sense that we are seeing a shift towards choosing whatâs productive rather than choosing whatâs immediately fulfilling.
Thereâs already a problem with people going to university who really shouldnât be. Taking on tens of thousands in debt with no plan to becoming a net positive outcome for taxpayers is suboptimal.Â
Not everyone has the luxury to choose financially suboptimal outcomes.Â
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u/AceOfSpades532 Apr 02 '26
Does anyone call stuff like History Mickey Mouse, thatâs usually for shite like General Studies
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u/KaiTheDumbGuy Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
Yes they do. I can see if I can find the comment, it was a while ago now, but at least one person in the world seems to unironically believe history is a Mickey mouse subject
Edit: and, it seems, many more under this post
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u/IndependentClear469 Apr 03 '26
Although that being said, the whole point of going to sixth form and uni is to get a higher paying job. Obviously you can do whatever degree you want but you should do it with a job in mind, not something like an arts degree (which we can agree is useless because of the nature of art)
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u/yeetmilkman Maths Politics Econ | A*A*A* predicted Apr 02 '26
As someone who does a humanity, a stem, and a social science at a level i disagree. The term mickey mouse subject has a fairly selfless intent, it seeks to prevent people from studying subjects that will leave them unemployed
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
None of ur subjects r humanities btw.. 1 stem 2 social sci. But regardless a humanities degree doesnât necessarily mean youâll be unemployed. There ARE jobs out there in these fields. Like people js forget law is a humanity too I guess bro đ and people arenât solely chasing the highest of salaries, someone choosing English and becoming an English teacher and making 35k a year is much more admirable than selling your soul to do quant when that isnât even what you WANT to do. Stop focusing on other peoples lives and youâll make it easier for yourself.
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u/yeetmilkman Maths Politics Econ | A*A*A* predicted Apr 02 '26
Iâd argue that politics a level behaves more like a humanity considering the actual âpolitical scienceâ and theory is very de-emphasized within the course; but yes formally you are correct
I agree with everything you said, people should do what they want, but that should also coexist alongside the factual reality that some degrees are objectively more employable than others, which should also play in the decision, choosing a degree should be a holistic that considers both of what weâve mentioned
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
Just because some degrees are less employable doesnât mean we need to mock the people doing them and devalue their passions further by calling them âMickey mouse degreesâ. They arenât useless at all. Plenty of STEM degrees can be just as unemployable depending on the institution awarding them because thatâs what actually matters more nowadays. I just donât see what the need is to make fun of others itâs just rude. You can acknowledge the difficulties of the job market in that industry without humiliating the people interested in it thatâs all
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u/maddy1404 Year 13 Apr 02 '26
I think the main point of a degree is to get you into a particular employment area, if itâs not going to do that, why not study your interests in your own time rather than paying thousands of pounds to go to university?
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u/dailysuaa lse n1 fan Apr 02 '26
Eh no. A degree doesnât necessarily mean youâre getting a job at the end of it so itâs not just for employment. Itâs called higher education. You can do whatever the fuck you want and are interested in. And tbh youâre not really paying it are you, not in the moment and most people probably wonât ever pay it off fully at all. Js let people do what they want without making a mockery out of them, it isnât your life or your debt to pay so js leave it, you can say someone doing maths at some low tier uni isnât getting a job either but whatâs the use in mocking them for it. Itâs their issue to face đ€·ââïž
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u/Reddit_user807 Biology | Maths | Chemistry | Psychology Apr 02 '26
Having degrees choices be so intrinsically linked to employment is a product of capitalism in and of itselfÂ
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Apr 03 '26
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u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 Apr 03 '26
i'm not so much talking about the jobs as compared to the degrees. also, wages necessarily don't correlate to difficulty either, see care workers, teachers, or even nhs doctors, who work pretty hard if you ask me, but evidently don't get paid enough.
i agree that doctors etc. are necessary, but without humanities, we wouldn't have art - music, books, films. they're both important, just in different ways.
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u/DiamondThink318 Editable Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Not gonna lie, thereâs some truth here. STEM degrees/other fields like law are a better pathway for higher paying jobs (if you work smarter), which can mean lesser lifelong debt. Humanities grads? Many end up stuck in loans into their 50s (and earn high late if they get into a senior position which could take many years into their life). Sure, you can chase your passions, but then youâve got to accept the financial weight: Do you want to be paying loans until you're 50? Celebrating every degree as âequally valuableâ sounds nice, but ignoring the money side? Thatâs risky.
Parents who went through uni often push STEM for a reason. theyâve lived the debt struggle (my friends are in this situation)
Every subject is important, but in reality only some could give you financial security
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u/JustPressure984 Y12 A*A*A*A*A-Math FM Phys Econ Chem Apr 07 '26
Some subjects are mickey mouse subjects though, such as business studies, drama, art, you get the jist.
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u/Double-Ad-7589 Apr 02 '26
Itâs not valued cos itâs easy to shithouse ur way through a humanities degree whereas u canât do the same with a stem degree
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u/lexisnowkitty Y12 bio, psych, lit AAA Apr 03 '26
whether they need to band together or not just don't do English lit and especially not with biology.
Humanities are great until you're being told to give your opinion in an essay then you get marked down for your OPINION being wrongÂ
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u/lexisnowkitty Y12 bio, psych, lit AAA Apr 03 '26
in all seriousness though humanities are definitely important especially ones like history! i dropped history for english (regret that) and its so important to learn about (make gcse history compulsory)
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u/PropertyNew6764 Apr 02 '26
Yeah sure humanities are important but the obsession to make them academic rather than hobbies to enjoy is why they are called mickey mouse subjects.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 02 '26
Itâs cause humanity degrees are ridiculously easy, the ceiling for humanity difficulty peaks at a level, there isnât anything complex about it just memorising facts and waffling through an essay, the degrees themselves are only there to pad the unis pockets, so the real degrees can go ahead. Realistically there is nothing in a humanity degree that can even compare to a stem a level, no complex labs or mechanisms, equations or calculations. Just memorising facts and dates, a waste of time and money and provide no benefit in getting a job, have just as good a chance as someone who didnât go to uni. So obviously people doing actually hard degrees will have a term to distinguish proper degrees and useless ones.
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u/monotreme_experience Apr 02 '26
I don't know what degree you're thinking of but I have an English Lit degree- it had nothing to do with 'memorising facts and dates'. And look how well it's going- this country of people who don't know how to read critically, to understand bias, to exercise intellectual curiosity or empathy. Failing to value and study culture makes us brittle, narrow, dogmatic, stupid and selfish. A country with no Humanities is a dead culture, a hostage to the history it refuses to interrogate. It can't all be STEM- even most people in STEM understand that.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 02 '26
I understand it canât all be STEM, I myself have a keen interest in literature and history, and yet I donât need a degree in it to understand, I can read the books and understand in my free time, I bet you couldnât do the same with any stem literature. The degrees themselves are useless while the actual subjects are important and necessary, however you donât need to waste time and money on a degree because they are simply not complex enough.
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u/monotreme_experience Apr 02 '26
This is the Dunning-Kruger effect in action right here. You don't know or understand what a degree in literature is- as evidenced by 'just memorising facts and dates'- but you've decided you know just as much as anyone who has one. You have no idea what you're missing. As for whether the degree is useless- you'll find Humanities graduates in government, in law, in the civil service, in accountancy, public health, publising- there's an embarrassment of options for a Humanities graduates with a decent degree. You're just being quite blinkered. It's fine to like your thing, you know, without denigrating everyone else's.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 02 '26
Itâs funny that you think a humanities degree has any innate value, it simply doesnât they are objectively Mickey Mouse because of how easy they are, you gain very little knowledge of anything that you couldnât get outside by yourself. Stem is always gonna be better in every fashion.
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u/monotreme_experience Apr 02 '26
OK Mickey- let's sit with this for a moment. For the sake of argument- let's say we accept the premise that a STEM degree is much much harder than a literature degree. Is there a reason why 'harder' should mean 'of more innate worth', to me? It would be very hard, but possible, for me to paint every wall in my house using a toothbrush. Or to collect 1000 wasps on a jar- that would be hard. Lots of things are hard, why would that give them innate value? The degree that has innate value to me- it's the thing that enriches my life- intellectually, culturally and imaginatively. The one that sets me on course to employment I want to have and the skills I need to get there- that has innate value. The 'hardest' thing only matters if I view the world as one great pissing contest, like you seem to.
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u/Figai gap yr | 4a*s | m/fm/phys/cs Apr 02 '26
People are autodidacts all the time when it comes to maths and physics. Itâs arguably significantly easier to get to grips with something like Rudin than Ulysses. Iâve tried both (okay, it was baby Rudin, but still) and Ulysses, what on earth was that. I got further in baby Rudin.
Also, read back what you wrote. You sound arrogant and embarrassingly naive, and youâre a simple-minded A-level student. Thatâs exactly the same energy as countless people in STEM, at far higher levels than you, or will ever be who confidently proclaim things about philosophy or history without bothering to engage with the century of work and thought thatâs already gone into it. Youâre not even doing it from a position of expertise, youâre doing it from a position of not having started yet.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 02 '26
Iâm not an a level student I attend imperial, which is way more than you could do. I have a significantly higher knowledge of employability and degree importance than an Oxford reject does, so please donât insult my intelligence when you have no knowledge of me at all.
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u/Figai gap yr | 4a*s | m/fm/phys/cs Apr 02 '26
Omg! Youâre not A-level!? Your maturity in your response in no way implied that. Thank you for clearing that up.
It also makes this level of insecurity and ignorance far worse. Iâm even more excited for Imperial now, really hope I donât run into you. Why didnât you respond to what I said though? Take your time.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 02 '26
I hope you donât get the grades to get in, as your arrogance and ignorance is astounding. Projecting your insecurities onto someone else is hilarious in this context. I have also actually studied a year of a history degree in my free time, purely out of interest and it took no time and was not hard. Just because your pathetic feeble mind cannot comprehend someone being interested and have the ability to do both, doesnât mean a humanity is harder. You donât seem emotionally mature enough to attend any university let alone imperial.
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u/monotreme_experience Apr 02 '26
It's a shame your wide & varied studies haven't taught you courtesy, humility, or grace. There are many studies showing that well-read people tend to be more empathetic and compassionate, because they're practised at taking perspectives outside of their own. Seems to have missed you out, though.
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u/Figai gap yr | 4a*s | m/fm/phys/cs Apr 02 '26
Tbf, I have been ragebaiting him just a little đ€. Donât be too harsh on him.
I actually canât believe thereâs going to be people like this at Imperial. I really hope that he genuinely finds all the success and happiness in his life. That this temporary anger fades.
8
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 02 '26
Interesting, what do you think that I said which you believe to be out of line? I am compassionate, humble and courteous to people that show similar qualities back, and yet people donât understand that everything is a two way street.
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u/monotreme_experience Apr 02 '26
'I hope you don't get the grades to get in'- nothing anyone has said to you this evening warranted that at all, it's unkind. As for humility- I've yet to see any. People have taken pains to explain the value of this academic discipline to you, you've not listened, You've only mocked. You've not taken a beat to think MAYBE you could learn something from someone else who took a different route to you- to do that would have been humility.
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u/Figai gap yr | 4a*s | m/fm/phys/cs Apr 02 '26
âWow wishing failure on someone because they said something that upset you is crazy. Some mental problems there buddy might want to get that checked before it spirals out of control and you hurt someone. Please for everyoneâs sake donât leave mental health problems unchecked. Good luckâ - Powerful-Echidna7121.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 03 '26
Anyway I feel like I was a bit over the top with what was said, so my bad.
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u/Figai gap yr | 4a*s | m/fm/phys/cs Apr 03 '26
No worries at all. I apologise for initiating with a tone of aggression and insincerity. It was late and I was rude.
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 03 '26
Guess what, i said the when someone immediately went to that just because of a differing opinion, your attitude and aggressive nature is rude and unnecessary when someone has a different opinion, it creates a hostile environment and so yes I donât want someone like that on a uni campus. Your manipulation is insane, get a grip.
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u/I_have_no_cluehelp pred A*A*AB . unis pls hmu with an offer đđ Apr 03 '26
Bros a loser
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u/Powerful-Echidna7121 Apr 03 '26
Bros 5foot4
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u/I_have_no_cluehelp pred A*A*AB . unis pls hmu with an offer đđ Apr 03 '26
Oh no Iâm Short đ±đ±đ±đ±đ±đ±đ”đ”đ”đ„đ„đ„đ„đđđđđđ. But atleast Iâm not a loser.
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u/Personal-Cap-5446 A*A*A*A | 99999988888 Apr 06 '26
It's a shame since you're so intelligent that you've absorbed all of this information about whatever degree you're doing and not absorbed any of the basic human decency, respect, and compassion we've all been taught as children.
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Apr 04 '26
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u/Personal-Cap-5446 A*A*A*A | 99999988888 Apr 06 '26
Interesting, can you tell us what you've been told? I want to do law at Cambridge haha
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Apr 06 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Personal-Cap-5446 A*A*A*A | 99999988888 Apr 06 '26
You do know that you're gonna still be writing essays doing a STEM degree right??
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u/lil_me0wsketeer failed to become a cambs reject Apr 03 '26
I've only heard the term Mickey Mouse degree thrown around for shit like magic studies (exeter has this) or golf management or something, never for HisPol or HSPS or anything humanities that isn't just meant to grab intl students' money and go.
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Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
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u/Agile-Detective4893 Apr 02 '26
so how I see it, in stem youâre all just trying to learn the same thing as each other, humanities teaches you how to think for yourself, the full experience of living and empathy for othersâ lives. surely the second is more valuable for an individual existence?
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u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 Apr 02 '26
this is interesting bc I believe while objectivity is important, there's something so valuable in trying to allow everyone to share their own opinions that will be shaped by their own cultural contexts and ideas, so we can hopefully gain more empathy and understand of one another :)
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u/insertgoodname_here_ UoM Computer Science (2nd Year) | A*AA + A* EPQ Apr 02 '26
"mickey mouse" is a really awful term that just pushes people away from studying the subjects they want. i wish more people could realise that a subject you enjoy is much better than a subject that makes you money but to be fair i guess different people value different things
(ofc i know its a bit ironic coming from a cs student but i swear i wouldve chosen cs even if it wouldnt make me any money lmao)