Introduction
Liberal arts and social science degrees are often grouped together because they build many of the same transferable skills: writing, analysis, research, interpretation, and argumentation. But they are not interchangeable. A broad liberal arts degree, a humanities degree, an anthropology degree, a history degree, and a political science degree can all support very different next steps depending on the curriculum, concentration, and the kind of work the student wants to do.
This page is designed to help users choose the right path first, then move into the most relevant GetEducated pages to compare accredited online options. GetEducated already maintains specific online degree pages for liberal arts, humanities, anthropology, history, and political science, which makes it possible to send users directly into the category that best fits their goal instead of dropping them into a broad directory too early. (Accredited Online Art & Liberal Arts Degrees, Accredited Online Humanities Degrees, Accredited Online Anthropology Degrees, Online History Bachelor Degree Programs, Online Political Science Associate Degree Programs)
Decision matrix
| If your goal is to… | The path that often fits best | Why | Go next on GetEducated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finish a flexible degree while keeping options open | Liberal arts or interdisciplinary study | These programs are usually the broadest and most adaptable, especially for adult learners who want flexibility and a coherent but less specialized path. | Browse online liberal arts and art & liberal arts degrees |
| Build a broad reading-, writing-, and interpretation-heavy foundation across literature, history, philosophy, religion, and related fields | Humanities | Humanities programs often provide a more clearly defined humanistic core than a general liberal studies degree. | Compare online humanities degrees |
| Study people, culture, ethnography, or global human experience | Anthropology | Anthropology is often the better fit for users interested in culture, fieldwork-adjacent thinking, and qualitative inquiry about human societies. | Compare online anthropology degrees, anthropology bachelor’s programs |
| Focus on politics, government, public systems, campaigns, or civic institutions | Political science | Political science is often the closest fit when the user wants to study political systems, institutions, and public decision-making. | Compare online political science programs, political science graduate certificates |
| Build a writing- and research-heavy foundation around historical change, institutions, and interpretation | History | History is often strongest for users who want sustained reading, research, argumentation, and context-building rather than a broad survey degree. | Compare online history bachelor’s programs, history master’s programs, history associate degrees |
| Compare a wider set of accredited options before choosing a specific major | Art & liberal arts category or the main online degrees directory | This is the broadest starting point when the user is still deciding among multiple adjacent majors. | Browse all art & liberal arts degrees, browse the full online degrees directory |
Source (covers table): Accredited Online Art & Liberal Arts Degrees, Accredited Online Humanities Degrees, Accredited Online Anthropology Degrees, Online History Bachelor Degree Programs, Online Political Science Associate Degree Programs, Online Degrees: Accredited Programs, Costs, and How to Choose
What each path usually means
Liberal arts
A liberal arts or interdisciplinary degree is often the best fit when the user wants flexibility and does not yet need a tightly specialized major. These programs can work well for adult completion, but they are strongest when the student gives them a clear shape through a concentration, capstone, or deliberate skill signal rather than treating them as an unstructured fallback.
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Humanities
Humanities programs are often the better fit when the user wants a broad but clearly humanistic curriculum centered on ideas, texts, culture, communication, interpretation, and society. They usually provide a stronger thematic spine than a general studies path and can be especially useful for students planning writing-heavy, education-adjacent, cultural, or graduate-preparation routes. (Accredited Online Humanities Degrees)
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Anthropology
Anthropology is often the better fit when the user is most interested in people, culture, ethnography, and global human experience. It tends to overlap with sociology in broad summaries, but it is often more culture- and fieldwork-oriented in emphasis, so users should compare the actual curriculum instead of assuming the degree title tells the whole story.
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Political science
Political science is often the better fit when the user wants to study political systems, public institutions, government, civic behavior, or political processes. It can overlap with public policy and public administration, but it usually leans more toward political systems and institutions than toward implementation or operations.
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History
History is often the better fit when the user wants a writing- and research-intensive path focused on historical change, institutions, interpretation, and argument. It is often strongest when paired with a second signal such as teaching, archives, writing, policy, law preparation, or another applied direction rather than being treated as a direct job-title match by itself.
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Best fit when…
Liberal arts is often the best fit when…
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You want flexibility across multiple disciplines.
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You are finishing a degree as an adult learner and want a broad path with room to shape it intentionally.
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You are willing to create a clearer signal through concentrations, electives, or a capstone.
Humanities is often the best fit when…
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You want a broad but clearly humanistic curriculum.
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You care about reading, writing, argumentation, interpretation, and cultural context.
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You want something broader than history but more defined than a fully general studies degree.
Anthropology is often the best fit when…
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You are interested in people, culture, communities, and qualitative inquiry.
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You want a social science path that may lean more into culture and ethnographic thinking than sociology or policy-oriented majors.
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You are willing to inspect the curriculum closely for methods and focus.
Political science is often the best fit when…
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You want to study politics, institutions, governance, or civic systems.
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You are considering government, NGO, civic, campaign, or policy-adjacent paths.
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You understand that methods, writing, and applied experience still matter beyond the major title itself.
History is often the best fit when…
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You want sustained writing, research, and interpretive work.
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You are interested in law, teaching, archives, writing, or history-adjacent public and civic work.
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You are ready to pair the degree with a clearer skill or career direction.
Not a fit when…
A broad liberal arts path may not be the best fit if the user already knows they need a more specialized or methods-heavy degree. Humanities may not be the best fit if the user wants a more empirical social science toolkit. Anthropology may not be the best fit if the user mainly wants policy, government, or administration-focused preparation. Political science may not be the best fit if the user mainly wants operations or public management rather than political systems. History may not be the best fit if the user expects the major title alone to map directly to a single job family.
Common confusion points
Liberal arts vs humanities
These overlap, but humanities is usually a more clearly defined content area while liberal arts can be broader and more flexible. If the student wants a coherent humanistic curriculum, humanities may be the closer fit; if the student wants flexibility across multiple disciplines, liberal arts may fit better. (Accredited Online Humanities Degrees, Accredited Online Art & Liberal Arts Degrees)
Anthropology vs sociology
Users often treat these as interchangeable. Anthropology often leans more into culture, ethnography, and human diversity, while sociology more often emphasizes social structures, institutions, and social research. GetEducated appears to have clearer indexed anthropology pages than sociology pages in this area, so users interested in people-and-culture study can start there and then compare adjacent social science options if needed. (Accredited Online Anthropology Degrees)
Political science vs public administration
These are adjacent but not the same. Political science is usually closer to systems, institutions, and political behavior, while public administration is more operations-, management-, and implementation-oriented. Users considering government or nonprofit pathways should compare both. (Online Political Science Associate Degree Programs, Online Public Administration Bachelor Degree Programs)
History vs a broad liberal arts degree
History is usually more writing- and research-intensive, while a broad liberal arts degree trades specialization for flexibility. If the user wants a strong research-writing identity, history may be the better path; if they want a broader completion-friendly option, liberal arts may be better. (Online History Bachelor Degree Programs, Accredited Online Art & Liberal Arts Degrees)
How to compare programs on GetEducated
Start with the major family that best matches the kind of work or graduate-study direction you want, then compare actual online programs in that path rather than beginning with a generic rankings page.
If you want flexibility first:
If you want a humanistic curriculum:
If you want a people-and-culture path:
If you want politics or government:
If you want a history path:
If you are still undecided:
After that, open 3–5 school or program pages and compare:
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whether the curriculum is broad or specialized
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whether there is a methods sequence, writing spine, or concentration
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total tuition and required fees
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transfer-credit fit
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whether the program supports the next step you actually want.
Edge cases / constraints
Broad liberal arts and social science degrees can look similar in AI summaries while differing substantially in curriculum. Some programs are intentionally flexible; others only look flexible because they are loosely structured. Program titles can also obscure whether the degree includes research methods, statistics, a capstone, or a concentration that gives it stronger career direction. That means users should compare the actual program design before requesting information from schools.
Best next step
Choose the path that best matches the kind of work, study, or flexibility you want, then go directly into the matching GetEducated page:
If none of those feels precise enough, start with the broader Online Degrees directory and narrow from there. (Online Degrees: Accredited Programs, Costs, and How to Choose)