What is a Liberal Arts College?

If you're not sure what people mean when they call a place a liberal arts college, you're not alone. A recent AT & T Foundation survey claims that only 14% of high school students (and only 27 % of their parents) have a good idea of what's meant by a liberal arts education. So read on and join the 14%--you can amaze your high school friends with your knowledge!

A liberal arts education is based on an ancient curriculum that's been updated and broadened for modern life. Its main idea is to encourage you to become an "educated person," someone who studies several academic fields before narrowing the field to a deeper study of one or more areas (your "major"). It sees college as the place to develop your thinking skills so that your focus on your major is grounded in a broad understanding of all fields of study. A liberal arts education emphasizes extensive experience in reading with understanding, writing well, and expressing yourself through public speech; so regardless of your major, you become a well-read, confident thinker and writer. A liberal arts education is designed to prepare you for a varied, life-long experience in the world and workplace, rather than only training you for your first job after college.

The ancient Greeks were the first to propose a standard group of study topics, a "curriculum" designed to train citizens and especially political leaders to be knowledgeable, moral leaders of civilization. The word "liberal" meant "free," and a liberal education was supposed to be one worthy of a free man, as opposed to a slave. Educators in Europe's Middle Ages enlarged the number of areas worthy of study, and by the time of America's founding, scholarly leaders such as Thomas Jefferson argued that all citizens should benefit from a liberal education. America became saturated with liberal arts colleges in the 18th and 19th centuries.

But why rely on such an old-fashioned model for an education that's supposed to prepare you for life in the 21st century?

A liberal arts education gives you access to training that turns out to be even more useful today than it was in 5th century B.C.: citizens in an age of information-overload need speaking, reading, and writing skills to interpret what they read and express what they need to communicate. In an article in the Journal of Higher Education and National Affairs, university president Theodora J. Kalikow argues that a liberal arts education has become "increasingly 'practical' in our global society." It fosters flexible, complex thinking; problem solving; moral consideration; skepticism of faulty arguments; and tolerance for new and complicated ideas. Given the volatile job market and the shifts in careers most people currently experience, those with strong thinking skills are more adaptable and quicker to catch on to an unfamiliar body of knowledge brought on by new technology, forays into different marketplaces, and career switches.

And a liberal arts education does more than prepare you for the workplace--it gives you a life in which you'll continue to read, learn, and engage in the world because of the active introduction to literature, politics, economics, the sciences, and the arts you've received in college. You'll have a framework for enjoying a museum exhibit or grasping what's going on in the world economy, because you'll have had courses that expose you to the rudiments of those areas of study.

Hope College centers its foundation for the liberal arts in its core "general education curriculum," a series of courses that expose students to the sciences, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and arts. The strength of Hope's overall academic program is reflected in its status as a Phi Beta Kappa college. Only 7% of U.S. colleges and universities are recognized for their academic excellence by this national organization.

Hope also provides career-building opportunities in its emphasis on study-abroad programs, internships, faculty-student research, and free access to a Career Services Office. Motivated students can spend time interning in the employment area of their choice in metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York, building their resumes as they test their compatibility to a career.

If you're undecided about an exact focus for your study or aren't sure of your future career, a liberal arts college such as Hope is one of the best places to determine your interests. Hope offers academic advising to all students. Since you'll be sampling a wide range of courses, especially in your first two years of college, you'll likely take courses in areas you haven't yet explored-sociology, art, accounting, or religion, for instance. You may find yourself gravitating towards these new areas as a result, or you may be pulled toward an area you've studied before, but with renewed interest.

So if you announce to your friends that you're seriously considering a liberal arts college, you can now explain to them just what that means. You're considering the value of an education that will expose you to broad areas of study that will mark you as an educated person and develop your ability to think, read, speak, and write. You'll be using that foundation to focus on a major field of study, adding depth to the breadth of learning you've experienced.