The liberal arts education emphasizes the 5 C’s – curiosity, critical thinking, comprehension, collaboration, and communication. A Liberal Arts Degree offers a broad view of the arts, sciences, and humanities. In this post, we will look at liberal arts education in USA.
What is Liberal Arts Education?
A typical liberal arts degree combine the following areas:
- Humanities – art, literature, philosophy, modern foreign languages, music, theater, speech.
- Social Sciences – history, psychology, law, sociology, politics, gender studies, anthropology, economics, geography, business informatics.
- Sciences – astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, botany, archaeology, zoology, geology, Earth sciences, math, logic.
Liberal arts education provides students with the knowledge and ability to become successful lifelong learners. It does not follow the traditional courses for engineering and medicine. For example, one studies computer science for 4 years and finds a job as a software developer. Know more about what is liberal arts.
Why pursue Liberal Arts?
Well first if you are truly passionate about learning and want to spend your college years exploring new ideas rather than preparing for a specific career, a majorin liberal arts should be your preference. Secondly it offers a strong foundation in different subjects and skills.
One can easily move from one career to another. Employers recognize that liberal arts graduates have the necessary transferable skills to adapt to a changing workplace. I strongly believe that a liberal arts education can truly prepare you for life.
Some of the fields where one can work with a Liberal Arts degree are Education and Training, Health Science, Human Service, PR firm, Advertising, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Where can I pursue Liberal Arts Education in USA?
One can study liberal arts either at a liberal arts college or a four-year university. Liberal Arts colleges focus is more on well-rounded education with small class sizes and more classroom discussions whereas in a university the focus is on research with huge class sizes and large lecture halls. Read why study liberal arts in the USA.
Liberal Arts Colleges in USA
There are over 1500 liberal arts colleges in the US and keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all. It is very important to do your research about the kind of program colleges have, class size, faculty background, etc. Check out their study abroad program where you can go to any country in the world for a semester and that really broadens your horizon. The list is endless but make sure you find the right fit.
Best Liberal Arts Colleges in USA
- Amherst College– It is a highly rated private college located in Amherst Center, Massachusetts. Popular majors include Mathematics, Economics, and Research, and Experimental Psychology.
- Barnard College – It is a highly rated private women’s college located in Manhattan, New York. Popular majors include Economics, English, and Political Science and Government.
- Bowdoin College – It is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. Popular majors include Economics, Mathematics, History, Environmental Science, Visual Arts, Neuroscience, and Experimental Psychology.
- Swarthmore College – It is a small private college located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia Area. Popular majors include Economics, Mathematics, and Information Science.
- Vassar College – It is a highly rated private college located in Poughkeepsie Town, New York. Popular majors include Psychology, Economics, and Political Science and Government
- Pomona College– It is one of the 5 Claremont Colleges, in the LA area where students can cross-register for 2,700 classes and meet with 6,000 peers across the campuses. The popular majors are Economics, Computer Science, Communications, Psychology, International Relations, and Molecular Biology.
- Harvey Mudd College – It is a highly rated small private college located in Claremont, California in the Los Angeles Area. Popular majors include Engineering, Computational, and Applied Mathematics, and Computer Science.
Read Best Liberal Arts Colleges in USA for Financial Aid and Jobs & Salary.
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Jobs after Liberal Arts Education in USA
- Some of the most successful people who studied Liberal Arts are Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz who did a bachelor’s in Communications from Northern Michigan University.
- YouTube CEO Susan studied History and Literature at Harvard University and later did her master’s in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Jack Ma founder of Alibaba.com did his bachelor’s in English in China. He then started working as an English teacher at a local college earning $20 a month and later, he started an online global wholesale marketplace and today his worth is 48.1 billion USD.
Conclusion
I am sharing this with you to help change your mindset that does not just study to get a job. The focus should be to make an impact and become future leaders.
Don’t limit yourself to any one thing. Keep an open mind and the sky is the limit.
THINK BIG and you can do it. Just believe in yourself.
Related Articles:
Life as an International Liberal Arts Student at UC Berkeley
Arts & Humanities vs Liberal Arts
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