A liberal arts college is not just a place where you can earn a degree, it’s also known as an educational institution that teaches students how to be intelligent, thoughtful people.
A liberal arts education cultivates critical thinking, knowledge of several disciplines, teamwork skills, and self-reflection. These are all valuable qualities in life. Most universities don’t emphasize these things, however.
University degrees often focus more on giving you something academic so you can test out what parts of this thing called “education” you have learned. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but some people may want to pursue their dreams beyond academics after college.
Liberal arts colleges give you the opportunity to explore your career goals and hone your communication, leadership, and problem solving skills. They can help you get into the field you wanted to go into without having to spend tons of money or time on pre-professional training.
There are many reasons why a liberal arts college is important, but for now, let’s talk about three.
Teaching staff
A liberal arts education is not just about learning how to read, write and do math- it’s also about educating you in different disciplines. This way your education doesn’t stop when you leave college, because you’ll be able to pick up what you’ve missed later on.
A degree from an accredited university means that you can continue studying whatever subject matter you have chosen outside of school by investing in good quality material designed to help you learn it.
These non-academic courses are called ‘support services’ and they’re very common at many universities. They include things like reading materials, computer software or courses, information and resources such as YouTube videos, discussion forums and chat rooms, and academic support groups.
In addition to this, most universities offer students lots of extra opportunities to connect with each other, their peers and community members through student unions, sports teams, social clubs and more.
Degree requirements
A liberal arts degree does not emphasize just academic knowledge, but also important skills like communication, reasoning, and critical thinking. These are valuable to know even if you do not plan to work in your field after college.
A bachelor’s degree is usually three to five years long depending on which major you choose and how many courses you take per semester. Some universities offer part-time or online versions of some programs so that students can achieve their goal more quickly.
Liberal arts degrees often focus on studying subjects like literature, history, political science, philosophy, sociology, and art. This gives you an in depth understanding of these areas and solid fundamentals that can be applied to other fields later.
These types of degrees promote self-knowledge and learning about different viewpoints and cultures. They help develop intellectual curiosity and creativity as well. Your classmates may come from very diverse backgrounds and this can influence what you learn.
It is important to be open minded while attending school and actively seeking out new information and concepts.
Opportunities for career advancement
A liberal arts education is not only about learning how to think, but it also teaches you how to apply your knowledge in various settings. Your college can be expensive, which makes achieving that goal even more important.
Liberal arts colleges are often less financially accessible than universities. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though because most students don’t understand the value of their academic experience.
A university degree is great if you’re going into business or science, but what about when you want to do something creative, like writing or art? Or maybe you’d like to work with people rather than things – a good internship could help you get into the workforce as a recruiter or manager.
Some other careers require advanced degrees, so an undergraduate degree at a school like Harvard won’t hurt your chances of getting ahead. But a college that specializes in educating the whole person will!
There are many ways a well-rounded liberal arts education helps you achieve your goals beyond the classroom. For instance, some departments have student organizations that connect students with community members. These groups give you opportunities to share your knowledge and skills with others while building relationships along the way.
Diversify your students
A liberal arts college does not have a specific major, so every student is either in business, art, music, or humanities. These different majors are linked together by one thing: the knowledge they bring to the table. Students of any major can come away with many things beyond just an individual field. They may learn about history, philosophy, and sociology, for example.
Liberal arts colleges emphasize understanding how ideas relate to each other, rather than focusing on whether someone’s idea is right or wrong. This helps students develop critical thinking skills that can be applied to anything.
A liberal arts education also teaches you to look at things from multiple angles — something that more focused universities typically do not offer. In fact, some argue that having too much focus makes it hard to get a holistic view of what things mean.
Challenge students
A liberal arts college is not like an undergraduate university where you can easily drop in to attend classes and take advantage of all it has to offer, without investing time into understanding the curriculum and learning how to navigate campus life.
A liberal arts education demands that you are invested in the school and its community. You have to work with other people, and you have to value their knowledge as much or even more than your own.
This doesn’t mean that there isn’t any depth to what you learn at a liberal arts institution– there definitely is! But it does mean that your studies don’t stop when you leave the classroom.
You will always have something to focus on outside of your academic career – which makes the experience so rich and educational.
Furthermore, many employers look for candidates with a liberal arts degree, making your job search very supportive. And while most bachelor’s degrees grant you access to certain professions, a liberal arts degree expands your horizons and helps you develop fundamental skills that apply to almost anything.
It also gives you the opportunity to explore different subjects and areas of interest, which adds to your overall success.
Socialize more
A liberal arts college is not just about learning how to read, write, and do math. It is also about socializing with other people. You will meet many new people while you are here because we have large-scale courses that require interaction with others in the classroom setting.
A significant part of your education at most liberal arts colleges will be spending time outside of class meeting with students from all different majors and industries. This exposure will help you find yourself – what career field you want to pursue and who you want to be as a person.
At some schools there will even be organized group activities or events that invite participation from the whole community. Many student groups organize trips every few weeks or months where they go out somewhere together and participate in a theme like hiking or swimming.
These experiences add to the educational value of this school by giving you chances to practice teamwork, communication, and leadership skills.
