Every year, sophomores at Brooklyn Tech pick a major for their remaining two years. Currently, of Tech’s 18 majors, the majority of which specialize in STEM disciplines, there are only two humanities-based majors. However, this ratio doesn’t seem to align with the desires of the majority of students. A recent Survey poll found that 64% of respondents believed that there should be more humanities majors at Tech.
The National Humanities Center defines humanities as the study of history, philosophy, the performing arts, literature, media, and other fields. The humanities aim to broaden understanding of culture, art, history, community, and society.
Studying the humanities is a way for individuals to understand what it means to be human, how to relate to other people, and the decisions that have led society to where it is today. The implementation of more humanities majors at Tech would help foster a diverse and well-rounded environment that perfectly balances out the STEM fields at this school.
A report done by iXR Labs noted that in 2024, top innovations in STEM education included AI-driven personalized learning, virtual reality, and online laboratories. It’s clear that STEM education is becoming increasingly important as our society continues to make technological advancements. But this should not come at the expense of a humanities-based education.
River Morris (‘27) believes that in terms of required classes that “there’s a pretty even balance between STEM, English, and History [at Tech].” Though Morris’ comment is true, and classes like Pre-AP World History, AP Computer Science, Design & Drawing for Production, and the yearly-English classes show a balance between the two, it is important to note that these classes are required for students to take in order to have enough credits to graduate. Even so, classes like Design & Drawing for Production that count for an art credit are described on the Brooklyn Technical High School website as a way for students to use their “math, science, and technology knowledge learned in other courses to solve engineering design problems.”
However, Morris also points out that “there are a lot of kids that came to this school not only for math and sciences. They took the SHSAT, they got a good score, but they could be interested in different things. Everyone came here for a good education.”
“Getting into Brooklyn Tech is an honor, and the education here is richer than some other public schools,” Law and Society major Sienna Toung (‘26) explained. “Just because you’re not into STEM doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to get an amazing, advanced education like everyone else is. It’s unfair to disadvantage people who are into humanities just because they go to a ‘technical’ school. I think there should be equal opportunity.”
At Tech, STEM takes up a majority of the majors, with a range of options such as Aerospace, Biological Sciences, Neuroscience, and Software Engineering. Humanities majors like Law and Society (LAS) and Social Science Research (SSR) offer academic courses equally vital but only take up 11% of majors. Yet although the list of humanities majors is short, their impact is undeniable.
“Personally [I’m] benefiting from a lot of my law classes, we talk a lot about politics that are happening right now,” explained Toung. “I know that not everyone else is getting that, because not everyone else is a LAS major. So I think that to keep people in the loop about current events, there should be some sort of class on that.”
Assistant Principal of English Ms. Jess Rhoades Bonilla emphasized that “in terms of readiness for college, if students are taking more humanities classes, they will be more skillful writers, better speakers, and stronger critical thinkers as they go on from [Tech].”
The desire for more humanities majors is echoed by those who plan to choose LAS or SSR for their final years at Tech.
“Having more humanities majors would probably make me more interested in coming to school to learn, because if I’m doing a major that I feel ‘alright’ about, then I wouldn’t want to be as focused in class then if I was super interested in my major,” explained Avery Ballantyne (‘27).
STEM-focused majors at Tech enrich students who already show interest in those fields. However, students interested in subjects like history, English, or philosophy have fewer opportunities to delve into their interests beyond the standard curriculum. Students passionate about literature have limited options to pursue in-depth studies through a dedicated English major, as most English electives such as Creative Writing, Journalism, and AP English Language & Composition are solely offered to seniors.
Law and Society major Thelma-Rubin Rottenberg (‘26) pointed out that since there are only two humanities-based majors offered at Tech, “students who want to take electives that go into more specific topics like AP Psychology or AP Human Geography often don’t have time in their program.” She added, “I want to see majors related to English, because we have SSR and LAS, which are social sciences and politics, but we don’t really have an English major.”
Students who are interested in other classes such as Sociology, AP Psychology, AP Human Geography, are often unable to enroll in these courses if it is outside of their chosen major. This makes it even harder for humanities students to branch out and explore other fields they might be interested in.
“We this past year added Neuroscience, which I know was a highly requested major, but there’s definitely other things that are highly requested too,” Toung noted. Implementing more humanities majors wouldn’t necessarily compromise STEM education. Toung commented that adding humanities-centered majors such as English “will not take away from the importance and attention STEM majors at Tech has, but simply adds on to the benefits.”
Ms. Bonilla points out that there is a long history of STEM academics at Tech that links back to over a hundred years. “I think realistically, if there were to be more humanities options, they would have to be grown thoughtfully, carefully, and incrementally, because they wouldn’t have 100 years of history sitting behind them like some of our other majors and academic disciplines do here, given the original mission of our school,” she shared.
Tech’s tradition of STEM excellence should not come at the expense of students who could thrive in the humanities. It is not about STEM versus humanities; it is about giving every student at Tech the opportunity to pursue their passions in an equally enriching way. By including English, philosophy, and more as possible major options, it would not only offer a more balanced academic experience, but also help prepare students for the complexities of the modern world.
