Why Attend a Liberal Arts College?
It’s a four-year investment, so you want to get the most out of your college experience. That’s why you should consider attending a liberal arts college where your personal achievement is important to everyone there, not just to you personally.
However, many people misunderstand what the liberal arts really are. Not only is there confusion about the value of the liberal arts, but many people really don’t understand what it is or where it came from. In order to dispel the confusion, we need to talk about the difference between a liberal arts college and a liberal arts education.
What is a Liberal Arts education?
A liberal arts education is the traditional curriculum originally established by the historically elite colleges, including the Ivy League schools. The small liberal arts colleges, of course, offer the curriculum, as do most of the nation’s flagship universities–where it is offered in the “college of liberal arts” of the university.
A liberal arts education was meant to foster a broad, Classical education in which the arts and letters–as well as sciences and social studies–were taught to the intellectual and economic elite of the United States. Originally, Christian theology was also part of the curriculum, as the Ivies were all affiliated with one protestant sect or another.
The idea was that an education was a broad intellectual exploration to prepare graduates for a deep appreciation of the world and its wonders, including (but not limited to) the arts: literature, art, music, drama, and the finer things of life. Government and economics also were part of the mix, as were the natural sciences and mathematics.
History of the liberal arts: education for the rich and powerful
Consider that back the 18th and 19th centuries, the consumers of this sort of education were the rich, primarily. Most students were sons of wealthy landowners and industrialists and businessmen who would go on to either take over their family businesses or make their mark on their own. While the liberal arts were primarily for men, women’s colleges also sprang up to educate girls in the liberal arts. Some Ivies had their affiliated women’s colleges (e.g., Radcliffe at Harvard and Pembroke at Brown), while other liberal arts colleges served the educational aspirations of upper class women, including Connecticut College, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Mills, and Bryn Mawr among others.
To put a point to it, a liberal arts education was never meant to be a credential for a job. The people with such an education would not ever have to worry about getting a job. These were, after all, the children of America’s elite (some might even use the word “aristocracy”) who would never really need to worry about being employed, as daddy’s network of the “old boys” would help their sons get a leg up in the economy and help their daughters “marry well” within the upper classes.
The structure of a liberal arts curriculum
Today, the liberal arts curriculum generally denotes a structured 4-year program that is broad in scope and not closely aligned with any particular job or career. A liberal arts student is required to take a number of “general education” courses that force the student to explore a wide variety of academic disciplines in the arts and humanities, the social sciences, and mathematics and natural sciences. This general education requirement comprises about 25-35% of all courses the student takes in four years of undergraduate study.
The major also comprises about 35% of the courses a student takes. It is a way for the student to specialize in a particular academic discipline to dive more deeply to gain a further appreciation of that discipline and develop a relative expertise. But in most cases a major is only about 10 courses out of the 32 or so a student may take as an undergraduate, so the expertise is not nearly as deep as one expects in a Masters or Doctoral program.
Finally, liberal arts students must take a certain number of elective courses, for which there are very few constraints, intellectually or administratively. Students are encourage to follow their own curiosities and learn about whatever tickles their intellectual fancy. Electives also comprise 25-35% of a student’s course load over four years.
What a liberal arts education is not
As you can see, the goal of a liberal arts education is not deep specialization in an academic discipline, nor is it specific preparation for a career. As was true historically, anyone wishing to pursue a professional career in things like medicine or law would have to pursue a graduate degree.
It wasn’t until around the time of the Industrial Revolution that colleges and universities–mostly the public ones–began to offer professional degrees in things like engineering (to fuel the Industrial Revolution itself), agriculture (to apply the sciences to production of crops and livestock), and business (to handle the increasing complexity of enormous corporations). The so-called “land grant” universities were established by state governments (with federal participation) expressly for the purpose of providing educational programs that would propel the economic growth of the nation.
At first, these two different sorts of “liberal arts” and “professional” educational models existed side by side, in that the newer public universities offered both sorts of curricula side by side. In many cases, however, different institutions in a single state focused on one model or the other. The University of Michigan tended to serve the more “liberal arts” oriented students, with Michigan State offering the more professional programs. The rivalry between the University of Texas at Austin and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M) is a vestige of these rival forms of education.
What is a Liberal Arts College?
Simply, a liberal arts college (or LAC) is a school that exclusively offers a liberal arts curriculum. A university may offer a liberal arts curriculum in one unit or school of the institution, but it also likely offers degrees in professions like engineering, business, or nursing.
The fact is that professional models of education have become more and more pervasive since the last quarter of the 18th Century. Now we have professional, undergraduate degree diplomas in music therapy, dental hygiene, digital marketing, data science, graphic design, kinesiology, and an entire Cheesecake Factory menu of subjects that prepare graduates for very, very specific career trajectories.
Meanwhile, the liberal arts are dwindling in popularity: what the heck can you do with a history degree (a whole lot, as it turns out, but more on that later)? Today’s students and their families prefer a college diploma that will have a clear impact on their professional futures and economic security.
The Ivies: the original liberal arts colleges
The liberal arts still reign supreme at the Ivy League schools and at many of the most prestigious colleges and university in the country. Columbia, in particular, jealously guards its classical liberal arts curriculum. The University of Chicago has a liberal arts core. And most of the Ivies (except Brown) still require general education courses or distributive requirements to ensure a broad education.
Interestingly, today’s wealthy are still willing to pay for liberal arts degrees. Nearly half–or more–of the students at such liberal arts bastions as Princeton, Yale, Brown, and Dartmouth pay the full price of tuition. Why? Because the liberal arts model is where you will surround yourself not only with the knowledge of the ages, but with peers who share your economic class. The rich still send their kids to study literature, the Classics, art history, and the natural sciences like chemistry, biology, geology, and physics.
But those who are not as rich or powerful still want their kids to hobnob with the economic elite. But these families with intelligent, motivated students tend to be less enthusiastic about letting their kids study art history or philosophy or even psychology unless there is a clear economic payoff after graduation.
Professional education now exists some of the Ivies
Fortunately there are some venerable, historic universities that offer more professional majors. The Ivies, for example, all now offer computer science majors and most offer some form of engineering. Penn offers a business undergraduate degree as well as a full-fledged college of engineering (Dartmouth, by contrast, offers engineering only within the framework of the liberal arts, meaning that engineering students must attend for 5 years in order to get both a BA and a BEng). Cornell is weird, because it was the original “land grant” institution in New York (think about what might happen if University of Michigan and Michigan State had been rolled into one). Cornell’s several schools are divided into those that are publicly funded (primarily the more professionally oriented schools) while the college of arts and sciences is private: the two forms of education live side by side on the same campus, but with vastly different priorities and administrative structures.
Today’s liberal arts colleges
But a certain group of colleges remain steadfastly dedicated to the liberal arts: the liberal arts colleges. These are among the oldest and most prestigious schools in the United States. Many are in the northeast, but the Midwest is home to many (Oberlin, Grinnell, and Macalester, for example). Only a few exist in the the South (Davidson, Millsaps, Wofford, Furman) and the West has fewer still (Colorado College and the Claremont Colleges of California being among the most prestigious in a region dominated by public institutions).
These colleges steadfastly cling to a form of education that some find outdated or at least intellectually self-indulgent. These colleges maintain their focus on liberal arts majors, even as public institutions eliminate their philosophy, English literature, geography, and foreign language majors in favor of professional degrees in occupational therapy, sports management, and criminology.
Arguments about the value of a liberal arts education continue to rage, and probably will for quite some time. Part of the background noise behind these arguments is the exorbitant cost of higher education in this country. If the cost of an undergraduate degree is approaching $100,000 per year, how can one justify studying art history?
Bowdoin College’s liberal arts Offer
Rather than refute critics of the liberal arts, I’ll just point you toward the “Offer” of Bowdoin College, a venerable liberal arts college on the coast of Maine. I’ll just quote it here. But notice that nothing in the offer focuses on the economic value of the education on offer. This is not about ROI (“return on investment”). This is about something more grand, more ethereal, and (for your author who is an unabashed fan of the liberal arts) more inspiring.
The Offer of the College
To be at home in all lands and all ages;
To count Nature a familiar acquaintance, and Art an intimate friend;
To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
And the criticism of your own;
To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
And feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
To make hosts of friends… Who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms
And cooperate with others for common ends –
This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.
Adapted from the original “Offer of the College”
by William DeWitt Hyde, President of Bowdoin College 1885–1917
A video defense of the liberal arts and Bowdoin’s Offer
Below is a video of my explanation of the Bowdoin Offer. It’s a pretty good defense of both a liberal arts education and the liberal arts colleges that offer this sort of education. The video is a little dated, however, and neither the resolution nor the sound is as good as even the worst of today’s TikTok shorts. But have a look and/or read the transcript at the bottom of this post.
The advantages of liberal arts colleges
Here are a few ways that liberal arts colleges cater to their students with a truly student-focused approach, even as they deliver their liberal arts education program.
Liberal arts colleges offers small classes
You’ll never be lost in the crowd at a liberal arts school. Small class sizes allow for deep discussion and thorough understanding for every student. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to share your own thoughts, as well as hear from your peers.
The colleges themselves are among the smallest in the country, with enrollments well under 5000 students. Classes rarely have more than 25 or 30 students in them, and many may have only 8 or 10. This model of education is expensive. Given this, is it so surprising that liberal arts colleges like Colorado College have very high percentages of students who come from America’s richest families?
The value of the small liberal arts college is the unparalleled access students have to their instructors. The intimacy of the classroom experience means that students get to know one another well on a basis of shared curiosity and exploration.
So if you’re looking for an environment where you will be intellectually challenged, both inside and outside the classroom, a liberal arts college could be the perfect environment for you.
Professors Who Know Your Name
Intimate class sizes also give you the opportunity to really know your professors. Nationwide, liberal arts colleges average 11 students per faculty member. Professors at liberal arts colleges aren’t just there to lecture for an hour and go home. They’re ready to answer your questions, look over your papers and recommend great reads.
But many liberal arts professors don’t stop there. You might grab a coffee with them after class to discuss your research paper. You might share articles on topics of shared interest. Or you might yourself having dinner with their family. Liberal arts professors don’t just care about your academic welfare; they care about you.
Faculty incentives are different in liberal arts college than in major research universities. Teaching is more highly valued at liberal arts colleges–even as research is also encouraged and supported. Thus the faculty who teach at liberal arts colleges also value teaching–and they hone their craft. And undergraduate students are the beneficiaries of a teaching-focused institution.
By contrast, many faculty at many research institutions find undergraduate teaching to be a necessary but unenjoyable aspect of being a professor. And large institutions are more likely to have armies of low-paid graduate teaching assistants who deliver most of the undergraduate education–grading papers and exams and leading labs and discussion sections–while professors just hone their lectures and spend most of their time doing independent research with the graduate and post-graduate students.
A Well-Rounded Education
A school’s liberal arts focus ensures you aren’t just an expert in one subject, but well-versed in many topics. English majors and biochemistry majors find common ground at liberal arts institutions–because they might share a general education psychology class or decide to take the same geology elective. With a liberal arts degree, you will be prepared to critically assess and engage the world. You will have the breadth of knowledge necessary to discuss and evaluate your ideas and philosophies. You will be challenged and challenge others. And your growth will last a lifetime.
Further, a liberal arts graduate learns to learn unfamiliar subjects and topics. They become the proverbial “quick study.” Because they have to take the “general education” requirements as well as enroll in electives with which they may not have any previous familiarity, they have to absorb new material quickly and deeply–just to pass the exams and write the papers for the semester.
In this way, a liberal arts education prepares students for a rapidly changing world–and economy–by equipping them with a broad set of analytical and communications tools. A liberal arts college will arm you to handle any professional challenge that the world throws at you.
It it any wonder, then, that so many national leaders in so many different fields have liberal arts degrees?
Undergraduate Research Opportunities at a Liberal Arts College
While teaching is highly valued by liberal arts college, research is also important and faculty are expected to engage in it. But since LACs do not have droves of graduate students with a deeper understanding of a professor’s area of research, professors turn to their undergraduate students to help them. Thus liberal arts students–surprisingly–get some of the best experiences with hands-on research in science labs and document archives.
While the labs at liberal arts colleges may not be as large or as well-equipped as those at a Carnegie I research university, the LAC also doesn’t have gobs of graduate and post-doctoral students who get first crack at the plum jobs in that lab (while the undergraduate cleans the Petri dishes and feeds the mice).
At a liberal arts college, you’ll have the possibility to get hands-on experience in your field. Professors don’t expect you to have lots of credentials before you begin researching with them. They equip you with both the preparation and on-the-job training you’ll need to research well.
With undergraduate research experience, you will stand out on graduate school applications. You will attract employers and excel in jobs for which you already have the skills. Plus, will leave a mark on the scholarship of your school that will last long after you’ve graduated.
Do you need help exploring liberal arts colleges and a liberal arts education?
The counselors at Great College Advice are well aware of the value of the liberal arts, and each one of us has pursued that form of education in our own lives at places like Dartmouth, Stanford, Columbia, Grinnell, and Colgate. We, ourselves, have benefitted (and continue to benefit) from the well-rounded educations we received. If you are wondering if this sort of education could serve you well, then contact us by filling out this form.
Even if you’re not sure that a liberal arts college is for you, we can help you better understand the wide range of educational options available to you, and help you make the right choice for you. A liberal arts education is not for everyone. Wherever you are in your decision-making process, we would be delighted to help you discover the path that is right for you.
Mark Montgomery
Educational consultant
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
I’m here on the campus of Bowdoin College, a small liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. I just finished walking through the music building, and before that I was in the science building. Then I went to the theater building over here, and then there’s a humanities building over here. All within very close proximity.
And that made me start thinking about what is a liberal arts education, and then I looked at what the mission of Bowdoin is. Bowdoin has what they call the Offer of Bowdoin College. It was written over 100 years ago, and I think it’s a really great explanation of what a liberal arts education is all about. The Offer was written in 1906 and it says this:
To be at home in all lands and all ages. To count Nature a familiar acquaintance, and Art an intimate friend. To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket, and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake. To make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life. Lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends. This is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.
Not a vocational education
A liberal arts education is not at all a vocational preparation. Rather, it’s a way for a young person to expand his or her mind, gain knowledge, gain skills, that will carry you throughout all of your life, not only in your profession, but also in the other activities that we do in our lives to contribute to society. Also in the ways that we interact with our fellow human beings.
This is really a liberal arts education. It’s not just about getting a job. It’s about training for life, for intellectual pursuits, spiritual pursuits, and human pursuits. So a liberal arts education really is different from those kinds of technical schools where you’re learning to prepare for a particular job. In a liberal arts college, the whole philosophy is different. You’re preparing yourself for life.
