Do you think there’s a lot more to explore than just studying and specializing in any subject? Do you also want to first learn and explore diverse fields of studies before majoring in one? If you are looking for a degree that can prepare you for a wide variety of fields, then you may want to know a tad bit more about liberal arts.
The skills and knowledge you gain after studying liberal arts can advance your chances of succeeding in a career you are most passionate about.
Think of liberal arts as a holistic approach to education. It offers an expansive and broad intellectual foundation across multiple academic disciplines. Just as important the knowledge about these diverse fields is, students also gain the skills that are highly relevant in the current job scenario.
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Liberal Arts Meaning
Liberal Arts meaning is understood from the continuance of Ancient Greek methods of exploration and inquiry that started with a “desire for a universal understanding.”This field of arts furthered into more multiple complex areas of study & disciplines.
A Liberal Arts education is spread across several fields which are crucial for an individual to develop logical and critical thinking; to understand issues which are vital for the modern and future human societies and the world, to apply their mind to solve several social, economic, political, and environmental issues and problems.
What is the scope of Liberal Arts?
The scope of liberal arts far exceeds the diversity and exposure that you may not always find in specialized education. Modern-day Liberal Arts is a broad and inter-disciplinary category that comprises of multiple academic disciplines:
- Humanities: including art, literature, philosophy, linguistics, religion, ethics, modern foreign languages, music, theatre, speech and classical languages;
- Social Sciences: including history, psychology, law, sociology, political science, gender studies, anthropology, economics, geography and business informatics;
- Natural sciences: including physics, chemistry, biology, geography, earth sciences, astronomy, archaeology, zoology, etc;
- Mathematics, Computer Science, Environmental Studies, Music, Visual Art, Performing Arts, Public Affairs, Gender Studies, etc.
A degree in Liberal Arts offers numerous career options as you will be a well-rounded, effective communicator with excellent problem-solving skills. These are all the personality traits an employer looks for in ideal candidates which will higher your chances of acquiring your dream job.
Do you know what is common among Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks; Michael Eisner, Former Walt Disney Company CEO; Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, and many other famous leaders in the world? Well, all these famous CEOs are Liberal Arts graduates proving that a degree in arts is totally worth it!
11 Reasons Why Liberal Arts Education is Worth It!
The job market is rapidly changing and the skills that are most in demand in the future shall all be closely interlinked and inter connected with humanities and arts. Skills like critical thinking, problem solving, networking, and creative thinking and many other skills will be in high demand in the future of work.
Let’s take a look around some of the top reasons for taking up a degree in Arts:
Interdisciplinary and diversified approach to learning
Liberal Arts education is integrated with multiple areas of study. It exposes students to a wide and broad range of subject areas which trains the students to gain a broader perspective in whichever career path they choose. Students with such abilities can be of greater value to employers.
Highly interesting subjects to study
During undergraduate program in Liberal Arts, students will get to study extremely interesting and engaging subjects such as evolution of societies, mind and behaviour, fundamentals of natural sciences, philosophy, logic, legal studies, rhetoric, creative writing, environmental studies, and other subject areas to gain the right mindset and world view.
Freedom to choose subjects
Liberal Arts education gives you the freedom to build upon your interest in areas you are comfortable with. Students get to decide one or two or even three majors to develop specialized knowledge along with minors. Students also get to choose from various options in interdisciplinary majors and minors.
Immense scope for arts graduates
With state-of-the-art topics and exhaustive program curriculums, liberal arts students get exposed to a variety of fields. Students can get work opportunities in a wide range of fields such as Marketing & Advertising, human resources, IT or healthcare. Liberal arts graduates also make great business owners, managers, designers and teachers. Scope of liberal arts is high and will remain so in the upcoming years.
It provides you with soft skills employers want
By pursuing a degree in liberal arts, students gain skills that are highly valued and needed in industry such as effective communication, problem solving and critical thinking, analytical and observational skills, effective oral and written communication skills. These skills are highly relevant in the growing age of technology and will prepare students for the future of work.
Liberal Arts school allows you to expand your creative and critical thinking
With subjects ranging from humanities to social sciences and natural sciences to formal sciences, students get a wider perspective toward the human society and gain a world view before finalizing their specialized subjects. This allows them to exceed their creative and critical thinking skills making them more pragmatic and open minded.
Students aren’t limited to non-STEM fields
Students who wish to take up STEM related fields after a liberal arts degree can easily switch to a course of their choice as most STEM related courses like cyber security, information technology, data analytics, mathematics, physical therapy, nursing and many others let you pursue graduation in any subject.
A degree in Liberal Arts is a long-term investment in your career: A recent study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems showed that students with a liberal arts degree tend to earn slightly more after a few years of experience as compared to those who earn high at the starting of their careers holding a professional degree in management or other field.
A liberal arts degree prepares you for jobs that are yet to be created
According to a study by the World Economic Forum– The Future of Jobs, almost 65% of children who are in primary schools will end up in jobs that don’t even exist just yet. This means that the students ending up pursuing a liberal arts degree are more likely to gain the skills for the jobs that are yet to be created.
Arts degree prepares students for their first job, but also prepares them for future jobs that aren’t even created yet! So what are the skills that are going to help them survive in a world that is constantly changing? The core skills and abilities to think, create, adapt, and collaborate.
Makes you socially responsible and aware
Unlike other graduate and undergraduate programs that focus on specialized subjects, liberal arts graduates spend time in volunteering and creating emphasis on civic responsibility. It also enables students to engage socially and understand diverse cultures and come up with creative ways to solve problems and challenges of the society.
Lead the examples of top leaders
Some of the top CEOs of famous business ventures like Starbucks, YouTube, Walt Disney and many others are liberal arts graduates. Most company heads, CEOs, directors and other leadership positions have had liberal arts degrees giving them a world view of subjects and areas they wanted to master. If you want to be leader in your field of interest, if you have it in you to excel in it, just like Michelle Obama, Sheryl Sandberg, Howard Schultz or many others having roots in liberal arts, then this degree is worth it for you, too!
A liberal arts education challenges you to consider not only how to solve problems, but also educates you to think and ask the right questions, and prepares you for leadership positions to excel in your field of interest.
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Take a look at the top 6 Liberal Arts colleges in India and plan on your exciting journey into the world of knowledge:
Top 6 Liberal Arts Colleges in India
- Ashoka University, Sonipat
- Flame University, Pune
- Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts, Pune
- Jyoti DalalSchool Of Liberal Arts (JDSoLA)- NMIMS, Mumbai
- School of Interwoven Arts & Sciences (SIAS)- Krea University
- Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat
What skills will you learn?
The list of skills, abilities, personality attributes students gain after pursuing a graduate or post graduate degree is as follows:
- Analytical and knowledge-building skills
- Evaluative and critical thinking skills
- Creative thinking skills
- Effective oral and written communication skills
- Critical and reflective reading skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Numerical skills
- Analytical skills
- Ability to ask significant questions that advance understanding and knowledge
- Ability to research and organize data
- Independent judgment and ethical decision-making
- Time and People management skills
- Self-confidence and self-awareness
- Teamwork and collaboration
Is an Arts degree worth it in today’s High-Tech world?
- The above-listed skills and abilities are examples enough to describe the relevance of arts degrees in today’s world. The employability skills are the absolute need of the hour making liberal arts graduates highly valuable for the up and coming jobs of the future.
- After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts, you can either continue higher studies and enroll for a Master’s degree or for an integrated Master’s and Ph.D. program. You also have the option to go abroad for higher studies.
- Or you may also look for job opportunities as a Junior Analyst with consulting companies such as Ernst & Young, Deloitte, etc.
- You may also look for job opportunities Print media and television companies, or advertisement companies.
- Those who want to study Liberal Arts or Humanities may look forward to an encouraging future over next the 10-30 years horizon. With rapidly advancing technologies in robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, many experts believe that automation would take over most of the routine office work and repetitive tasks and even analytical tasks that we do will simply disappear from the job market as companies will employ robotic automation and artificial intelligence to do these tasks.
- For humans, what will remain are the jobs that require higher-order thinking, creative thinking, and require emotional behavior. People with skills like complex reasoning, critical thinking, creative thinking and emotional intelligence will be still getting a good number of jobs. Liberal Arts education is one of the few educational streams which prepare people to build a good career in such a future.
- Moreover, the emerging new world order requires people with such state of the art skills to think, create, and transition into the world of advanced technologies. Hence people with education in Liberal Arts would benefit a lot.
In Conclusion
By now you must have understood the meaning and scope of Liberal Arts degree. And how a degree in this field could enable you to start a career in any field you wish to. And even if you haven’t figured out yet, take help from someone who holds expert knowledge in such careers. Talk to the top career counsellors and decide if a career in liberal arts is your true calling or not!
Some direct useful links for your easy reference:
Hey there! If you would like to research a bit more about the best colleges in India offering a Liberal Arts degree. We have made your research a tad bit easier. So take a look at these links below to find out more about this course:
- Take a look at what the Young India Fellowship (YIF) is all about
- MA in Liberal Studies (MLS) at Ashoka University
- Know more about the undergraduate programs at Flame University
- Details on program structure at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts
- More information on admissions at Jyoti Dalal School of Arts- NMIMS
- Detailed information on admission, program structure at Krea University
- Know all about B.A. Hon Liberal Arts at Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities
- Career in Liberal Arts
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Shruti Verma has an experience of around 2+ years in research and analysis of careers, jobs, and industries. She has a knowledge of diverse fields spanning from career counselling, management consulting, engineering, and technology to science, finance, and humanities.
