Math is certainly not everyone’s favorite subject, but it can be a significant hurdle to even think about continuing their education for some people. While it is important to understand basic math, it is not necessary to understand calculus and more complex math for every career. There are tons of majors out there that allow you to get a degree without taking any math classes.
In this article, we’ll be breaking down how it is possible to get a college degree without math, as well as some of the most popular and common degrees that don’t typically require you to take any math classes. We’ll also be talking about some potential career paths that you could go down if you get one of these degrees that don’t require math.
Can You Get a Degree Without Math?
Can You Get a Degree Without Math?You can absolutely get a degree without math! There are so many different types of degrees out there, and, unlike in high school, where you were required to take all subjects, college doesn’t function in the same way. If you choose to attend a liberal arts school, you may have more requirements, but very rarely is math a general requirement.
When someone says that they got a degree, they are generally referring to an associate’s degree, also called an AS, or a bachelor’s degree, either a bachelor of science (BS), bachelor of arts (BA), or a bachelor of fine arts (BFA). Each of these undergraduate degrees will have its own requirements. While it might be more challenging to get a BS without taking any math classes, it is very feasible to get a BA, BSA, or AS without taking a math class.
Even going on to get a graduate degree is totally possible without having to study math. Most graduate programs are so specific that unless you choose to study maths or a very technical natural science, you are unlikely to find yourself having to take any math classes for your graduate degree, but this isn’t something to be worried about when you are just starting your undergraduate degree since there will be plenty of time to think about it later on.
What are Good Majors That Don’t Require Math?
There are many majors without math requirements, so finding one that works for you shouldn’t be your biggest concern. Majors such as English or any branch of art hardly, if ever, require any math classes.
Generally, universities are divided into different colleges, such as the college of business, the college of fine arts, or the college of science. Although there will be exceptions, most colleges that fall into the general categories of humanities and social sciences will have an abundance of great majors that don’t require math to be taken at all. It will be considerably harder to find a major in the college of science that does not require math.
Humanities usually include majors like English or any other language, philosophy, classics, and history. Although each school is slightly different, most schools don’t require students in these majors to take any math classes.
Social sciences, such as economics, are more likely to require math than the majors in humanities, but there are still plenty of social science majors that won’t require math. Anthropology, geography, and religion are three majors that fall under the social sciences that are not likely to require math.
9 Best Majors That Don’t Require Math
Here are some of the best majors that don’t require you to take any math classes to graduate. Each of the degree requirements for these majors will be different depending on the university or college you attend. Still, generally, these are some pretty safe bets for common majors that don’t require any math credits to graduate.
Anthropology
Throughout time, studying humans and their societies is a great option for anyone interested in history but don’t feel that a history major is right for them. Working as an anthropologist can be an immensely fulfilling career that often feels like working as a detective. Although you may need some basic math, most anthropology programs don’t require you to take any math classes in order to complete the major.
English
Studying a language will hardly if ever, require you to take any math classes. This major will set you up well to work as a professor or to conduct your own research. The other benefit to an English major is that most schools offer this major. Some majors on this list are slightly harder to come across, but English is quite common.
It’s worth mentioning that while we’ve included English on this list of best majors that don’t require math, studying any language is hardly, if ever, going to need you to take math. You could study Spanish, French, Chinese, or any other language and not have to take any math classes.
Creative Writing
A degree in creative writing is precisely what you want if you wish to go on to become a writer and publish your own works. This degree will not require you to take any math classes. At some schools, this is offered as its own major, while other schools include creative writing as a concentration within the English major, and neither will require math.
Fine Arts
Any of the many majors under the broad category of fine arts are a great option for someone looking to steer clear of math courses. Fine arts can mean anything from photography to metalwork to painting and everything in between. The way that each school breaks down the fine arts category into majors or concentrations will be different, but the overall study will be similar.
Many majors are considered adjacent to fine arts, including art history. Many schools offer art history or some other combination major of art and a different major from this list. Any of these majors are also likely to not require you to take any math classes to get your degree.
Graphic Design
Although graphic design might seem simple, it is anything but. Understanding how humans perceive the world and designing devices or helping with advertisements can be a gratifying career that does not require you to take any math classes. Graphic design tends to fall into a category adjacent to the fine arts, but not precisely in the fine arts.
History
History is another broad term as it could refer to a general history major or something more specific such as an art history major. You will rarely find any major under the umbrella of history that requires you to take a math class, though. This degree will set you up well to teach history or conduct your own research.
Education
Studying education does not mean that you will go on to be a teacher yourself, although this is a great degree if you do want to be a teacher. Unless you wish to become a math teacher, you will not likely be required to take any math classes to complete an education degree. This degree is a great choice for someone looking to work anywhere within the sphere of education or to do their own research.
Music
Studying music can mean a variety of things, but it hardly ever includes the need to take a math class in college. You can study to be a composer and write your own music or study to be a professional musician. These are not the only options for a music major, but these are some of the most popular things that people do with a music major.
Theatre
Studying theatre could mean that you study plays and theatrical performances that have already been written and produced, or you could be studying to write, direct or act in your own or other theatre performances. Luckily for you, this major doesn’t require you to take any math classes. Theatre tends to be a broad major but can be a super fun major to study since you are unlikely to have a boring course load as a theatre major.
What Should You Major in If You’re Bad at Math?
Being bad at math in high school doesn’t really carry a ton of weight when you go to college. Since you will have more control over the courses that you take in college than you likely did in high school, you will be able to avoid the courses that you want to, for the most part. If there is something, such as math, that you really want to avoid in college, make that a part of your college search, so you find a school that lets you major in what you want to major in without taking a math course.
While we’ve talked about some of the most popular and obvious choices of majors if you want to avoid math altogether, there are plenty of majors that might require basic math that you can still study if you were terrible at math in high school.
For example, many of the natural sciences will require you to take statistics which is often a branch of math that you don’t study much of in high school. If you were bad at high school math, such as calculus, you could very easily find a major in the natural sciences that just doesn’t require that type of math.
Thinking about whether you are avoiding all math or just certain types of math can be super helpful when you are determining what major is best for you. Understanding that while you might be bad at something like calculus, that doesn’t mean that you are horrible at all types of math or that you need to avoid majors that might require basic math altogether.
The main takeaway is that just because you are bad at math doesn’t mean you can’t go on to get a college degree. There are so many options out there for someone who is bad at math that it shouldn’t be what holds you back from pursuing your dream.
What are Some Careers that Don’t Require Math?
Same as majors, tons of careers don’t require math. In the same way that we talked about majors being grouped into categories such as humanities or social sciences, careers can be grouped in this way as well.
Careers that rely primarily on writing, such as being a writer or editor, are not likely to require much math at all. The same goes for jobs in art, be it creating your own art or working in an art history position. Art and writing are the most likely careers to not require any math, but even these careers may require some math.
It is worth discussing what type of math you are likely to find in your career. Since the world does function on money, you will need to do basic math in most careers. That being said, basic algebra is usually not the sort of math people really want to avoid when they say they hate math.
Careers like anthropology or geography may require some math, but this entirely depends on your job within these fields. Along with many others, these fields are more than likely going to have a small amount of basic math required of most of their positions. However, this doesn’t mean that you will be asked to do calculus or any advanced math.
Another thing to think about when you are trying to find a career choice that doesn’t require math is that you were tested on highly technical mathematical concepts in school, but in the real world, you are unlikely to come across these concepts in most careers. For example, calculus is not something that most adults will encounter in their careers, even if they have to do some math.
How to Find Majors Without Math Requirements?
Finding a major without math requirements is as much about the major as it is about the school itself. Many small liberal arts colleges and universities will require all students to take a broad range of classes, so some might require all students to take a math class regardless of major. It is worth considering the general requirements of the school when you are trying to get a degree without taking a math class.
Once you have found a school that you like and doesn’t require maths as a general requirement, think about going down one more level in specificity. This means looking at the requirements of a given college within the university or a given concentration of majors. If you are going after a science degree, you may be required to take statistics or some other basic math course.
If you have found a concentration of majors, such as the humanities, that don’t require you to take any math classes, you can then pick whatever major sounds the most exciting to you. More and more schools are now having students declare their major by the end of their second year, so you might even have some time to figure out which exact major you want.
Wrapping Things Up: Best Majors That Don’t Require Math
There are tons of majors out there that don’t require you to take any math. This means that the most essential thing to think about is what is best for you. Understanding what excites you and what subjects you want to study in college is a great place to start.
Although we’ve provided a list of some of the best and most popular majors that don’t require math, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other majors or other concentrations out there that don’t require math. Look into the requirements of any major that sounds interesting to you at your school and see what courses are required. Chances are, you will find some majors that don’t require you to take math that you didn’t even think of.
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