Arts after 12th: A Crucial Decision

Arts after 12th is slowly but steadily becoming a popular course of education amongst students. Most students pursue Arts because they find it interesting. Arts and humanities are usually the studies of social sciences, languages, and many more similar topics. It is a wide field that has many applications and branches. It is important to study at least some part of this stream. This is because it increases awareness and develops critical and creative thinking.  

It is an important part of being a social person. As human beings, arts and humanities talk about the most fundamental aspects of our existence. This is what makes it interesting. Arts is offered as a stream to students in their 11th and 12th standard. As of now, school education does not include a lot of subjects from this stream. In 11th, students are introduced to the basics of many new subjects. After giving their 12th board exams, students can continue to study arts in their graduation and post-graduation courses. There are many different levels and types of specializations that can be done in the field of Arts. 

Another concept that ‘Arts’ might refer to, is Fine Arts. They are arts that are creative in nature. This term usually refers to art like painting, poetry, music, etc. This field is relatively free. But still, many colleges offer formal education in fine arts. There are diploma, graduate, and postgraduate courses that help the student specialize in Fine Arts. 

Since Arts is an interesting field, it should be studied in a proper and structured way. A student can opt for a BA ( Bachelor of Arts) degree to study Arts after 12th. BA is a comprehensive course that includes the general arts subjects that the student was introduced to in 11th. There is no eligibility for this course. Any student from any stream can apply for a BA degree. Following are the subjects in arts included in this degree:

• English 
• Economics 
• Psychology 
• Political Science 
• Geography
• History
• Foreign Language 

Hence, BA is a comprehensive course. But the scope of BA is too wide. It covers subjects that are diverse in nature. But this leads to a course that is too general. What the student needs is specialization. Specialization helps the student gain expert knowledge in the field. This makes them reliable and well-prepared professionals.  

For reasons stated above, most universities offer Hons degrees in most of these subjects. The meaning of Hons in Honours. It means, specialization in that particular subject. Instead of studying all of the subjects together, the student can simply pick their field of interest to make a career in, and go for a Hons course in that subject. For example, if Ram wants to become a psychologist, he can complete his bachelor’s with a BA in psychology degree. This will eliminate subjects that he does not need, such as geography, political science, etc.  

It will also give him detailed and in-depth knowledge in his field of interest. He will learn about all the different branches of psychology. All of its theories and schools of thought. With the help of specialization like this, he can flourish in his career as a psychologist. This is why it is advisable to specialize in one of these subjects. There are also BA Hons degrees in various languages like French, German, Sanskrit, etc.  You should think about the kind of career you want to pursue and what you are interested in. And according to that, pick a BA Hons course.  

Dheya can help you through this process as this is an important decision that needs to be taken carefully. Meanwhile, at the postgraduate level, the student can get a Masters in Arts (MA) degree. 

These degrees are generally Hons. Example- MA Psychology, MA Economics, etc. The student, if interested, can further go on and get a Ph.D. or MPhil in their field of interest. These degrees go quite deep into the subject. They help the student become an expert in his field. 

After completing your education in Arts, you can find many careers in your field of specialization. For example, with Political Science, you can give civil services exams, go into policy formulation, or political communication. 

If your specialization is English, you can become an author, content writer, PR executive, etc. Foreign language majors can find jobs as translators and language experts in companies. A person with the right qualifications and specializations can also become a teacher or a professor at a university. Arts students can also go on to study law, management, and journalism. This shows that Arts has many interesting branches that have good, wholesome careers. Most major universities and colleges in India have a good education in Arts. 

Overall, the curriculum of BA or MA can be quite theoretical in nature. But on Ph.D. levels, the student has the opportunity to conduct research about various interesting topics and problems. People should have an open mind about Arts after 12th. It is important for everyone to learn about at least the basics of Arts and humanities subjects.