What is a Liberal Arts College?

There’s no way to sugar coat this - “liberal arts” is an unfortunate name. It conjures visions of politicos gathered around an oil canvas. Or maybe an elite enjoying a walk through a sculpture park. 

Naming aside, a liberal arts college is a four-year institution of higher education that emphasizes undergraduate study (vs research) and typically offers smaller class sizes and a focus on creating well-rounded students outside of just the coursework in a student's major. And they might be a great choice for you.

Last, spoiler alert - I attended a liberal arts college and am definitely a fan.

Let's dive in!

Liberal Arts Colleges: What You Need to Know

“Liberal arts” has little to do with politics, or arts. Rather, it refers to the range of subjects that students study, and the way in which learning occurs.

Defining Liberal Arts (and Sciences)

Borrowing from Wikipedia -

Liberal arts education (from Latin liberalis "free" and ars "art or principled practice")[1] is the traditional academic course in Western higher education.[2] Liberal arts takes the term art in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. Liberal arts education can refer to studies in a liberal arts degree course or to a university education more generally. Such a course of study contrasts with those that are principally vocational, professional, or technical, as well as religiously based courses.

‘Liberal arts’ is actually a shortened form of ‘liberal arts and sciences’. When you add that back in, the breadth and depth of fields of study fully takes shape - 

• Life sciences (biology, ecology, neuroscience)

• Physical science (physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, physical geography)

• Formal science (mathematics, statistics)

• Philosophy

• History

• Languages

• Social science (anthropology, economics, human geography, linguistics, political science, jurisprudence, psychology, and sociology)

• Visual and performing arts

That’s a lot of potential majors! But, you might ask, what’s NOT included in the above? STEM degrees such as engineering and computer science, and professional degrees such as business, are not traditionally part of a liberal arts curriculum. 

College Application Guy with then president of Catawba College, at graduation in 1998

One last defining element of a liberal arts education: delivery of general knowledge together with logical reasoning and critical-thinking skills. In most liberal arts fields of study, there is an increased emphasis on interdisciplinary learning (vs a narrow focus on a singular field of study) and particular attention is given in teaching students how to write and how to think critically. 

In other words, you should expect to take a wide-range of courses as part of a liberal arts education - many of which will be outside of your major. E.g. if you're a biology major, in addition to the science classes required for your major you should expect to take English credits, communication credits, math credits, social science credits, history credits, etc... in order to fulfill graduation requirements (each school has their own program design - that's part of the appeal of these schools).

Defining Characteristics of Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Undergraduate focus. Liberal Arts colleges prioritise undergraduate education, and typically have few (if any) graduate students.

2. Baccalaureate degrees. Most degrees awarded are 4-year Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Science (vs 2-year Associates degrees).

3. Small size. Most liberal arts colleges have less than 5,000 students, with many falling in the 1,000 - 2,000 range, fostering closer relationships between students and professors.

4. Curriculum. Emphasis is given to critical thinking, writing, and breadth of knowledge.

5. Faculty focus on teaching. At Liberal Arts colleges, teaching generally takes priority over research.

6. Residential experience. Most students tend to live on campus and attend full time.

Attending a Liberal Arts College vs Public Schools with Liberal Arts Programs

Here are two ways to pursue a liberal arts education. 

Path 1 - Attending a Liberal Arts College

The Council of Independent Colleges is a consortium of ~650 liberal arts colleges and universities. These institutions demonstrate a commitment to liberal arts education through their degree programs curriculum requirements. A helpful list of these schools, with a map. 

These institutions tend to have a few traits: 

• smaller (typically less than 2500 students)

• a particular focus on undergraduate education (vs graduate programs and research)

• geographically located East of the Mississippi

Path 2 - Liberal Arts Experiences within Public Universities

You can also get a liberal arts education through public universities.

And, yes - there are public liberal arts colleges. But another option worthy of consideration is honors colleges within larger universities. These can provide many of the same advantages and experiences as a smaller private liberal arts college - small class sizes, excellence in teaching, more… - all within the context of the advantages of larger public universities such as Division I athletics, access to more clubs and social offerings, etc… Look specifically at programs offered at flagship state schools, such as Barrett College at Arizona State University and the Honors College at the University of South Carolina, as they might be interesting “out of the box” inclusions to your college list.