UNIVERSITY graduates in creative subjects are more entrepreneurial than those who study supposedly “higher value” degrees such as law, a study has revealed.
University of Sussex academic Martha Bloom found students graduating with creative degrees such as art and drama are more likely to be in graduate-level jobs after three-and-a-half years compared to those studying law, biology or psychology.
The study also found creative graduates are four times more likely to be self-employed, freelance or running their own business compared to non-creative graduates.
And it revealed creative graduates generally earn the same wages as other graduates.
Research student Ms Bloom said her study challenges the findings of the Government-commissioned Augar Review which claims creative subjects should receive less funding as they fail to provide “value for money”.
“Performance of a particular subject’s graduates typically reflects differences in industry structure rather than quality of provision or market need for these subjects,” she said.
“While studying a creative subject is on average associated with lower earnings when compared with all non-creative subjects, for many specific non-creative subjects this is not the case.
“These findings should not be used to denigrate the provision of other areas of higher education or the ‘value’ of other subjects.
“This is strong evidence that creative higher education is providing significant value to graduates in supplying them with the skills they need to gain employment in their chosen career, regardless of the association with salary.
“While creative graduates account for only 17 per cent of all graduates, 46 per cent of graduates employed in the creative industries have a creative degree.”
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