Liberal Arts Education Personal Statement

In “Preparing for a Career”, Derek Bok, president of Harvard Law School and author, argues how universities, more specifically liberal arts colleges, should include training for a certain occupation with regular college classes to better prepare a student for the real world after college. Considering that Bok has earned his degrees at some of the most well-known universities like Stanford University and Harvard, he has a better understanding at what students are missing and what they need to be successful. However, on the other hand, not many professors and students see or agree with Bok’s point of view. They do not agree that students need the vocational training during their years in a liberal arts college, even though students need both; an education that helps them become critical thinkers and skilled communicators as well as skilled workers in a certain career. So why not help students with their career along with their regular core courses?

Divergent and analytical thinking are vital skills. Humanities and Liberal Arts majors encourage critical thinking, and a broad knowledge of diverse topics. For example, English majors work well with analysis, grammar, and writing. Those skills can be applied to politics, law and business. Liberal Arts and Humanities majors learn to form strong opinions, evaluate, reflect, and problem solve because they are given opportunity to experiment, create, and collaborate with others. The Liberal Arts and Humanities can also be a great foundation for students who are determined to become leaders. Students will acquire all sorts of abilities that are necessary for leadership success like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and communication skills. These majors teach students how to think critically, and this is a key skill needed in all disciplines. A Liberal Arts degree does not equal total ignorance of how a computer or the economy works, nor does it mean that those students are missing out on critical knowledge. As a matter of fact, they have very important skills to offer. All the STEM in the world is useless without context. People need the ability to interpret data and incorporate humanity. It is important to have all aspects of education, STEM, liberal arts, and humanities. While STEM degrees may appear more translatable into a paycheck six months from now, some of the most successful people I have known were Liberal Arts majors. If you ask any employers what skills they would like to see in recent graduates, its communication skills, the ability to write well, and the ability to work well in groups. Liberal arts focused on reading, language and writing are equally important to society as STEM subjects are. Liberal Arts and Humanities graduates may not go on to jobs that are as profitable as engineering of physical science careers, but they fill jobs that are important to a

In his essay, The New Liberal Arts, Sanford Ungar addresses common misperceptions related to a liberal arts education. He speaks to their usefulness, the employment opportunities after graduation, their value despite the cost of tuition, and other misconceptions. His overall message is, despite the recent emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math degrees, as well as technical or vocational training, liberal arts degrees are still important and are a valid option to consider when deciding on your educational future. While his essay could easily apply to anyone with these misperceptions, it appears to be targeted directly towards students in high school or early college who are trying to decided on the direction of their education

As the world becomes more specialized it raises the question, should undergraduate institutions change their curriculum requirements to better equip students? The goal of a liberal arts education is to enlighten individuals and prepare them for the complex and diverse world by requiring the study of literature, philosophy, mathematics, and sciences. As professional careers evolve into more specialized fields the argument that a liberal education is no longer needed rises. Some educators feel that future professionals would be better primed for the future by focusing specifically on subjects that deal with their intended field. However, a liberal arts education provides benefits that go beyond the classroom. The experience of studying a

“Misconception No.1: A liberal arts education is a luxury that most families can no longer afford. ‘Career-education’ is what we must now focus on.” (Ungar, 2010, pp.191) As Ungar has claimed, there is a recent misconception that a liberal arts education is no longer a necessity but luxury because it doesn’t provide an instant career launching education. With so many people having to a need to spend as little money as possible, they are determined to only spend money on preparation for their future career. For this reason they go to college only to take courses that are necessary for their future. “She is in college to take vocational training. She wants to write computer code. Start a business. Get a job in television. She uses college to take vocational courses that pertain to her career interest.” (Murray, 2008, pp.228) Murray explained the story of a girl who is in college solely for preparation for her career. Because of this, she isn’t interested in a liberal arts education. If the course doesn’t directly pertain to her desired career, she prefers not to take it.

Martin Luther King Junior said, “Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” Higher education does not exist for the sole purpose of preparing students for future jobs; it’s there in order to prepare individuals for life where they are expected to participate in their community, their government, and the lives of those around them. Liberal arts, in particular, exist for the broadening of students’ minds in order for them to be successful not only in their chosen career but also in their lives outside of it. Liberal arts lost their past popularity during the last few decades, but they shouldn’t be disregarded in favor of technical and professional degrees because they still provide students with skills that are perhaps less tangible, but no less necessary for life in modern world.

Hello, everyone, I'm Vic, and I am studying Business Studies in Computer Information Technology. My interests are writing, business ownership, technology, and filmmaker, hence the program I am pursuing. I am originally from Chicago, however, I now live in Las Vegas.

When faced with a problem it is often said that a person will rise and show their true potential or they will crumble under the pressure. That being said, is there any way to predict who will rise and who will crumble? What contributes to a person rising or crumbling? If there is a way to predict that, then would it be realistic to assume that people are able to be trained how to react in different situations? Does liberal arts education, in fact, follow through with the civilizing effect which is, “An educated populace is one that can deal with difficult situations and choices in ways that don’t tear at the very fabric of society?”

Imagine a world with no books. No novels, no magazines, no newspapers. Imagine a world with no entertainment. No movies, no television, no news. Imagine a world where we don’t know our past. We as humans don’t know where we came from or what we have done. Imagine a world with no art. It is difficult to envision such an existence as more than a fairy tale, yet this is seemingly what the American society desires. When the American public education invests all of its time and money into science, technology, engineering, and math careers (STEM), it is actively devaluing the careers and subjects that the American culture depends on. Liberal arts classes- the language, arts and social sciences-are forced to take a back burner while STEM classes assume

Liberal Arts are academic subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics, and social and physical sciences as distinct from professional and technical subjects. This approach to education provides students with specialized ability in a chosen major as well as builds a foundation of skills and knowledge that can be applied among many career paths and academic pursuits. Employers value the ability to solve problems, adapt to change, work across disciplines, and collaborate with others, which are distinctive tenants acquired when you pursue a major in liberal arts. Clearly, all successful careers require critical thinking, teamwork, sensitivity to cultural, demographic, economic and societal differences and political perspectives. A

A liberal arts education is an essential necessity to one’s self-development, however, the high demands to integrate technology has a threat to the future of the liberal arts institution. A liberal arts education will increase the intellect, imagination, and critical thinking skills of each student. The world is progressing rapidly and the demand for innovative educated people is at an all-time high. There is a heightened demand for individuals with a liberal arts education; however, the future demands are not as intense for individuals who has majored in a specific academic subject. Thus, they will become increasingly valuable in the job market after graduating from college. Studying a specific skill set in modern day society does not equate to a lifetime of success; neither will it lead to more desirable employment opportunities. Therefore, the individual who decides to major in a liberal arts education can expect to live a life of completeness, joy, contentment, success, and happiness. A liberal arts education is crucial in the modern day, there is a high demand globally for every person who has a liberal arts education. The institution of liberal arts has been experiencing severe challenges compared to its ancient antecedents the Greek and Romans era.

All types of education, whether technical or liberal, possess their own inherent merit. The distinction between the two lies in the spectrum of a particular study’s application. A higher education in any study should be encouraged because more knowledgeable individuals benefit both society and themselves through the continuation of their education. The value of one type of education does not negate the value of another. In today’s society technical studies, that is studies with a direct application in the workforce, are more widely encouraged due to the practical merit of the study. It is true that technical studies are valuable, but their value does not negate the immense value of liberal studies because of it lack of a single application. Therefore, the conjunction of both liberal and technical classes in college provides the greatest amount of benefit. Specifically, higher education in the liberal arts is the most valuable for it allowance of a broader application in every field of study and also the larger social realm because of the critical skills it helps students to develop.

As time passes, tuition rises, and student debt becomes crippling to student who cannot gain entry into the industry sector in which they received their education in. Many students must now face the question of whether one should begin an education in fields where unemployment rates are high, and of the available jobs, salaries are low (in comparison with the starting salaries of their peers who pursued a different education stream). The humanities education stream, which includes history, languages and philosophy, lead to low job prospects, low wages and increased financial burden on graduates. While there are many benefits to higher education in any educational stream, a humanities education’s financial and non-financial benefits do not outweigh the benefits for such a degree. Long-term debt, low salaries and poor job prospects create struggling conditions for any graduate of a humanities major.

One of the advantages found through a liberal arts education is that it exposes students to more diverse way of learning. Liberal arts covers general areas of study which includes a variety of subjects such as, humanities, social sciences, creative arts, and sciences. This is done without the intent of preparing students for a specific field of work, but to instead equip them with an invaluable set of skills to

Every year, millions of high school seniors make a decision on where they want to attend college. One of the ideas these students have to consider is if they want to attend a vocational college or a liberal arts college. While some students feel very strongly one way or another, many students don’t even know what a liberal arts education is. For a Christian liberal arts college, their answer should be simple. Jeffry C. Davis once said in his book Liberal Arts for the Christian Life that “Rightly understood, the pursuit of Christ is the supreme liberal art—the fundamental discipline that sets us free.” (Davis 23) I believe that Davis is right on target with this quote, that anyone who is seeking true and complete freedom should be seeking Jesus Christ.