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The Value of a Liberal Arts Education
Students with a liberal arts education are prepared for today's evolving world of work. Liberal arts graduates are attractive to employers because they have developed the skills necessary to adapt in an ever-changing workforce. Yet many individuals do not understand what a liberal arts education is, why it is appealing to employers, or how students can prepare for careers related to liberal arts.
The liberal arts provide general knowledge and develop intellectual capacities. A liberal arts education prepares students to work in a variety of jobs, whereas other types of education enable students to develop professional or vocational skills for a specific job.
Liberal Arts Programs
Thomas University offers the following liberal arts programs:
A liberal arts major provides a student with broad knowledge about the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. With assistance from an academic advisor, students have the option to tailor their major to best suit their individual needs and abilities.
How Do Employers View a Liberal Arts Education?
Many employers know that a liberal arts education prepares students for successful careers. In 2000, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) surveyed employers across the country to determine what they look for when they hire new employees. The survey showed that employers tend to focus on finding graduates with the right skills rather than the right major. The majority of employers surveyed indicated that a new employee with the right skills could easily learn the specifics of an industry.
The survey also showed that employers desire transferable skills, skills employees take with them to any job, such as written and verbal communication skills, the ability to solve complex problems, to work well with others, and to adapt in a changing workplace. These transferable skills are characteristic of a liberal arts education. For details about the National Association of Colleges and Employers survey, go to the NACE survey press release.
An AT&T survey also found that liberal arts majors advance more quickly to middle and senior management positions than their colleagues who pursued other fields of study. This survey reflects what many employers already know: A liberal arts education equips graduates with many of the skills they need to be successful. These graduates become employees that are ready to learn.
How Can Liberal Arts Students Prepare for Careers?
As students pursue a liberal arts education and prepare for a career in a variety of industries, they can take these steps to make themselves more marketable to potential employers:
Students can meet with their advisors to brainstorm about possible careers options. They can conduct informational interviews of people in jobs of interest and ask about the skills they should develop and opportunities to develop them. These professionals might know about internship opportunities to help students learn more about a particular career and other related professions.
A liberal arts education can also provide an excellent foundation for students who wish to pursue graduate study in health care, law, business, or other fields. Graduate schools look for candidates who will succeed in graduate-level study. Candidates with a liberal arts background are appealing, because they demonstrate an ability to learn and succeed.
The value of a liberal arts education goes far beyond its economic value. Liberal arts graduates are equipped with the skills to become valuable community members. They understand problems, generate solutions, and communicate those solutions to others. In many ways, a liberal arts education is education for life — it prepares graduates who can adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world.
Adapted from www.iseek.org
Specific Career Opportunities
Click each tab below for information on specific career opportunities.
Humanities graduates possess...
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Humanities graduates are employed by...
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Interdisciplinary Studies graduates have the following skills....
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Interdisciplinary Studies graduate have these marketable skills...
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Interdisciplinary Studies graduates can pursue these careers...
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The types of entry-level jobs for which undergraduate psychology majors are typically prepared are those that use...
These skills can be used in a wide variety of work settings. Human services (counseling, social work), business, criminal justice (probation officer, corrections officer), health and recreation, and education are just a few areas that come readily to mind.
Adapted from www.psywww.com/careers/jobs.htm
Social scientists study all aspects of society—from past events and achievements to human behavior and relationships among groups. Their research provides insights that help us understand different ways in which individuals and groups make decisions, exercise power, and respond to change. Through their studies and analyses, social scientists suggest solutions to social, business, personal, governmental, and environmental problems.
Research is a major activity of many social scientists, who use a variety of methods to assemble facts and construct theories. Applied research usually is designed to produce information that will enable people to make better decisions or manage their affairs more effectively. Collecting information takes many forms, including interviews and questionnaires to gather demographic and opinion data; living and working among the population being studied; performing field investigations; analyzing historical records and documents; experimenting with human or animal subjects in a laboratory; and preparing and interpreting maps and computer graphics. The work of specialists in social science varies greatly, although specialists in one field may find that their research overlaps work being conducted in another discipline.
Anthropologists study the origin and the physical, social, and cultural development and behavior of humans. They may examine the way of life, archaeological remains, language, or physical characteristics of people in various parts of the world. Some compare the customs, values, and social patterns of different cultures. Anthropologists usually concentrate in sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, or biophysical anthropology. Sociocultural anthropologists study the customs, cultures, and social lives of groups in settings that range from unindustrialized societies to modern urban centers. Linguistic anthropologists investigate the role of, and changes to, language over time in various cultures. Biophysical anthropologists research the evolution of the human body, look for the earliest evidences of human life, and analyze how culture and biology influence one another. Physical anthropologists examine human remains found at archaeological sites in order to understand population demographics and factors that affected these populations, such as nutrition and disease.
Archaeologists examine and recover material evidence, such as the ruins of buildings, tools, pottery, and other objects remaining from past human cultures in order to determine the chronology, history, customs, and living habits of earlier civilizations. Most anthropologists and archaeologists specialize in a particular region of the world.
Geographers analyze distributions of physical and cultural phenomena on local, regional, continental, and global scales. Economic geographers study the distribution of resources and economic activities. Political geographers are concerned with the relationship of geography to political phenomena, whereas cultural geographers study the geography of cultural phenomena. Physical geographers examine variations in climate, vegetation, soil, and landforms and their implications for human activity. Urban and transportation geographers study cities and metropolitan areas, while regional geographers study the physical, economic, political, and cultural characteristics of regions ranging in size from a congressional district to entire continents. Medical geographers investigate health care delivery systems, epidemiology (the study of the causes and control of epidemics), and the effect of the environment on health. Most geographers use geographic information systems (GIS) technology to assist with their work. For example, they may use GIS to create computerized maps that can track information such as population growth, traffic patterns, environmental hazards, natural resources, and weather patterns, after which they use the information to advise governments on the development of houses, roads, or landfills.
Historians research, analyze, and interpret the past. They use many Sources of Additional Information in their research, including government and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, and unpublished manuscripts such as personal diaries and letters. Historians usually specialize in a country or region, a particular period, or a particular field, such as social, intellectual, cultural, political, or diplomatic history. Biographers collect detailed information on individuals. Other historians help study and preserve archival materials, artifacts, and historic buildings and sites.
Political scientists study the origin, development, and operation of political systems and public policy. They conduct research on a wide range of subjects, such as relations between the United States and other countries, the institutions and political life of nations, the politics of small towns or a major metropolis, and the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Studying topics such as public opinion, political decision making, ideology, and public policy, they analyze the structure and operation of governments, as well as various political entities. Depending on the topic, a political scientist might conduct a public-opinion survey, analyze election results or public documents, or interview public officials.
Sociologists study society and social behavior by examining the groups and social institutions people form, as well as various social, religious, political, and business organizations. They also study the behavior of, and interaction among, groups, trace their origin and growth, and analyze the influence of group activities on individual members. Sociologists are concerned with the characteristics of social groups, organizations, and institutions; the ways individuals are affected by each other and by the groups to which they belong; and the effect of social traits such as gender, age, or race on a person’s daily life. The results of sociological research aid educators, lawmakers, administrators, and others who are interested in resolving social problems and formulating public policy. Most sociologists work in one or more specialties, such as social organization, stratification, and mobility; racial and ethnic relations; education; the family; social psychology; urban, rural, political, and comparative sociology; gender relations; demography; gerontology; criminology; and sociological practice.
Adapted from stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos054.htm