The degrees most often considered easiest to complete fall in the arts, humanities, communications, and education fields. These programs typically require less advanced math and science, carry lighter technical workloads, and tend to produce higher average GPAs than STEM or pre-professional tracks. But “easy” is relative, and picking a degree purely for simplicity can create problems down the road if it doesn’t connect to work you actually want to do.
Degrees With the Lightest Technical Requirements
The biggest factor that makes a degree feel difficult is usually the math and hard-science course load. Programs in English, communications, history, psychology, education, music, theater, anthropology, political science, philosophy, foreign languages, and international studies generally require little to no advanced mathematics beyond a basic college-level course. You won’t face calculus sequences, organic chemistry labs, or physics problem sets in these majors.
That doesn’t mean the work is trivial. Humanities and social science degrees are reading and writing intensive. A history or philosophy major might produce dozens of research papers over four years. But most students find essay-based coursework more manageable than quantitative problem solving, which is why these fields consistently show higher average grades. Data from UC San Diego shows arts majors averaging a 3.29 GPA and humanities majors a 3.25, compared to 3.13 for science and math majors and 3.11 for social sciences.
Specific Majors Often Labeled “Easiest”
A few programs come up repeatedly in surveys and GPA data:
- Communications: Covers media, public relations, and journalism. Coursework is project-based and writing-focused, with minimal math. It’s one of the most popular majors at large universities for a reason.
- English: Heavy on reading and literary analysis, but the grading tends to be generous and the schedule flexible. No lab components.
- Education: Elementary and early childhood education programs include classroom observation hours and student teaching, which take time but aren’t academically grueling. These degrees also lead to clear career paths, with unemployment rates under 2% for elementary education graduates.
- Psychology: One of the most enrolled majors nationally. Introductory courses are approachable, and you can often avoid the statistics-heavy track until upper-division work. A bachelor’s alone has limited clinical application, though.
- History and Political Science: Paper-intensive but conceptually straightforward for students who enjoy reading. No lab or technical prerequisites.
- Graphic Design: Portfolio-based rather than exam-based. If you have some visual aptitude, the coursework can feel more like creative practice than traditional studying.
What “Easy” Actually Costs You
The trade-off with lower-difficulty degrees is often career positioning. The fields with the lowest unemployment rates and highest starting salaries, like nursing (1.42% unemployment), civil engineering (1.05%), and computer science, are also among the most demanding academically. Technology majors command starting salaries between $65,000 and $80,000, while many humanities and communications graduates start in the $35,000 to $45,000 range and face higher underemployment, meaning they end up in jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree at all.
Education is a notable exception. It’s considered one of the easier degree paths, yet special education graduates have an unemployment rate of just 0.95%, and elementary education sits at 1.79%. The pay isn’t spectacular, but the job security is real. If you want a degree that’s both manageable and leads to reliable employment, education is worth a serious look.
Ways to Make Any Degree Faster
If your goal is simply finishing a bachelor’s degree with the least friction, the major you choose matters less than how you structure the process. Several strategies can shave a year or more off your timeline regardless of field.
Credit for prior learning (CPL) lets you convert work experience, military training, professional certifications, and even self-taught skills into college credits. SUNY Empire State University, for example, estimates students can save around $10,000 and two years through its CPL program. You submit a resume and documentation of your experience, and a mentor evaluates what qualifies. Eligible examples range from military service transcripts to professional certifications like the Google UX Design Certificate to shift supervisor training from a retail job.
Standardized exams like CLEP and DSST are another shortcut. Each exam covers a single college course, costs around $90, and takes about 90 minutes. Pass, and you earn credit without sitting through a semester of lectures. CLEP exams exist for subjects like introductory psychology, American history, and college composition, which overlap neatly with the “easy” degree fields.
Transfer credits from community colleges can also reduce both time and cost. Many students complete their general education requirements at a two-year school for a fraction of university tuition, then transfer into a bachelor’s program with junior standing.
Choosing Between Easy and Strategic
The smartest approach is usually finding a degree that’s manageable for your specific strengths, not just the one with the lightest workload on paper. If you’re a strong writer, English or communications will feel easy and play to your abilities. If you’re good with people and patient with kids, education gives you both a smooth academic path and a job at the end. If you genuinely enjoy a subject, even a moderately difficult program will feel more doable than a “easy” major you find boring.
When the primary goal is just completing a degree to check a box for employers or promotions, a general studies or liberal arts program combined with prior learning credits and CLEP exams is the fastest, lowest-resistance path. Many employers care that you have a bachelor’s degree far more than they care what it’s in, particularly for roles in management, sales, human resources, and government.