What is a liberal arts education?
Historically, a liberal arts education fosters skills and promotes experience in critical thinking, self-reflection, designing projects of discovery and creation, encountering differences, exchanging ideas, and developing ethical judgment. By offering an education in the liberal arts, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ endorses life-long learning characterized by sustained intellectual curiosity and an open mind for assessing the unfamiliar.
With the guidance of a faculty adviser, each student creates an academic plan that is appropriate to their interests, talents, and goals. You will do this planning based on how Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ defines the Elements of a Liberal Education (essential reading). Whatever major you choose and however you organize your academic schedule, students best succeed at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ and beyond when they engage in coursework in writing and literary studies, a non-native language, scientific studies based on experimental observation, quantitative reasoning, human behavior, society past and present, and creative expression.
Ä¢¹½´«Ã½â€™s Academic Structure and the Liberal Arts
- The lists every class offered at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½. The structure of the education a college offers is called its curriculum. You’re about to encounter a lot of new terms going into higher education, so if anything is unclear, see our .
- The College organizes academic departments into three divisions. You’ll find courses in the following disciplines:
- Humanities: Arabic, Art History, Chinese, Classics, English, French, German Studies, Japanese, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Russian, Spanish, Studio Art, and Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies
- Science: Biological Chemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, and Statistics
- Social Studies: African Diaspora Studies, Anthropology, Economics, Education, History, Physical Education, Political Science, and Sociology
- In addition, there are Interdisciplinary Areas of Study and Concentrations: American Studies; Digital Studies; East Asian Studies; General Literary Studies; Environmental Studies; European Studies; Film and Media Studies; Global Development Studies; Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies; Latin American Studies; Linguistics; Neuroscience; Peace and Conflict Studies; Policy Studies; Russian; Central European; and Eurasian Studies; Science, Medicine, and Society; and Studies in Africa, Middle East, and South Asia.
- The Academic Catalog lists all of the majors, concentrations, and other programs available for study. Browse this list to get an overview of the whole curriculum!
- The Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ curriculum gives each student responsibility for planning an individual course of study in the liberal arts that meets your interests and goals. To aid in your planning, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ faculty recognize the following course areas as . Taking several classes in these areas in addition to your major area of study will prepare you academically and intellectually for anything life can throw at you!
- Communication and Writing
- Language Study
- Natural Sciences
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Culture, Human Behavior, and Society
- Creative Expression
Knowing how individual courses relate to the six elements is something you and your faculty adviser should discuss.