The Emory Career Center conducts an annual survey of liberal arts majors to capture where they're headed at the time their graduation. The 2013 survey of graduating seniors in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences shows 85 percent had definite plans in place before graduation, either in the form graduate school or employment.

The 2014 survey is underway, and Eileen Buecher, Career Center associate director, says companies are heavily recruiting students from all liberal arts majors.  "I will have to wait until the data is all in, but I've really felt a shift in the economy this year, based in part on the breadth and depth in the variety of companies that are recruiting, and the volume of alumni who are reaching out to get positions filled," she says. 

For employers, some say they look for liberal arts majors because of the numerous skills they bring to any position.

“They can think critically,” says Justin Leemis with Triage Consulting Group, a hospital revenue consulting firm. “They have a well-rounded background…They’re analytical, well-spoken.”

A liberal arts degree "is a lot more general than just, for example, public health or an M.D. or a J.D.,” says Glorimar Maldonado, a senior advisor at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. “The world is their oyster.”