Liberal Arts Personal Statement

The first thing Liberal arts degrees offer that other fields cannot is global vision. While I could work all day in a laboratory or classroom and discover new organisms or new theorems, those discoveries would stay within the scientific community and become a “dead dogma” of sorts, a truth that is neither argued nor applied in the real world. With a liberal arts degree, especially one

There are many benefits to getting a Liberal Arts degree in today’s economic market. It is a message to your employer that you are willing to take on new information, and learn more then what is necessary to succeed. It shows initiative and the ability to expand your horizons beyond yourself. In a Liberal Arts education there is more purpose then just learning the career field of choice. It is a program that teaches critical thinking and self-thought. It teaches the student how to learn and teach themselves, to achieve more than just memorization of facts.

Liberal arts helps create a well-rounded person. Mr. Ungar described how liberal arts promotes the perceptive of looking at a problem on another angle rather keeping one track. Furthermore, he mentioned liberal arts, as

Many people go to college to get a degree so they can get a job, while others go to get an education in their desired courses such as the liberal arts. Those who go to college to get a job are focusing on a “career education” while those going to college to educate themselves in the liberal arts are investing in the ability to understand “the complex influences that shape the world we live in” (227). Knowledge in the liberal arts allows you to be able to read, visualize, and demonstrate a deeper understanding of how and why things happen and how

A topic in higher education that has gained much attention is whether people should go to college. Many people have misconceptions about college that it is a waste of time, leaves people with debt, leaves people unprepared for work etc. However, while there are people attending college, many don’t value a liberal arts education. A liberal arts education is a form of education where students are educated in the social sciences, the natural sciences and the humanities. The main misperception people have about a liberal arts college is the hard time finding jobs.

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.

In recent discussions of liberal arts degrees, a controversial issue has been whether they are worth getting rather than a vocational degree. On one hand, some argue that getting a liberal arts degree is a waste of money and there are very limited jobs out there that a liberal arts degree could be used for. On the other hand, however, others argue that in order to be a well-rounded person and to be more interesting, a student should work towards a liberal arts degree. According to this view, even though there is not one specific job that the individual will be trained for while obtaining a liberal arts education, he or she will be feeding their brain and giving himself or herself a chance to develop better knowledge of subjects in social sciences, literature, and mathematics. In sum, then, the issue is whether getting a liberal arts education is worth it or not. My own view is that I believe being an intellectually developed person is extremely important; therefore, I agree that pursuing a liberal arts education can be very valuable.

I strongly agree with Alan Wildman’s article “We ignore the liberal arts at our peril” about the significance of a liberal art degree as the liberal arts and humanities maintain a crucial role in creating an active society that inspires and advances throughout different academic fields. Graduates of humanities and liberal arts have a better understanding of cultures and history and thus it creates a more open minded society and inspires scholars in other academic fields and prevents the society from repeating previous mistakes. Moreover, the liberal arts influence is the foundation of other fields as it provides the chance of thinking more actively and thus creates more original ideas that can be applied in other careers. For instance, authors write about fascinating gadgets in their fiction novels, which inspires scientists and engineers to create these inventions in real life.

Getting a liberal arts degree is going above and beyond normal expectations in today’s society. It is challenging the mind, forcing a person to think in a different way than most people think. It allows the person to see the world in a completely different perspective than the norm, seeing everything with a more open mind. However, a liberal arts degree can only go so far. Knowing liberal arts broadens a person’s knowledge with real world issues, but it will not do much in the occupational field.

Liberal arts education has been pursued by great thinkers and enthusiastic learners throughout the centuries. Great thinkers have sought out to expand their knowledge and gain a better and deeper understanding of the world in which they live. This has been accomplished by laying foundations of knowledge gained through diligently studding subjects such as physics, mathematics, art, history, philosophy, music and denoting an equal appreciation for each of these subjects. Each of these subjects is capable of expanding our comprehension of how the things of this world work. Not one of them is more capable as compared to the other, in regards to broadening our horizons or expanding our critical thinking abilities. Instead each subject matter holds within it the power for personal, professional and mental growth.

What is a liberal arts education? Many students think that a liberal arts education just teaches students what they need to know for their future job. However, according to Arthur Holmes, in his essay Liberal Arts, a Liberal arts education “concentrates on what shapes a person’s understanding and values rather than on what he can use in one or two of the changing roles he might later play” (Timmerman and Hettinga 387-388). Liberal arts does not focus only on developing the mind, but also developing the character of the student (387). A liberal arts education is practical because it reinforces the knowledge students should already know (Stull, Richard Allen 39). For example, in high school everyone was required to learn the history of the nation and the world, but upon coming to college, the student learns the history of his major. This year I am taking

Imagine this: A modern student, pushed on by her parents, teachers, and guidance counselors, works her way through the entire available set of math, science, engineering, and technology courses her high school and subsequent college have to offer. She completes only the bare minimum of arts classes to graduate: four years of english, two years of foreign language, a year of fine arts, the required government and economics classes. She doesn’t care too much about them. She’s going to be a civil engineer. Why would she need all these extra skills when her career is all about math and science?

In Donald E. Simanek’s article On Being an Excellent Student, he says “We even impose interpretations on things we learn, and avoid learning some things because they don’t seem important at the time. Education can broaden that view, encouraging to set our egos aside and objectively evaluate facts and interpretations.” Liberal arts education is described as “useless” but it can really help a person expand their knowledge. Things you learn in liberal arts classes could be useful for the rest of your life. Simanek also said, “Awareness of what’s going on in the world around you, and the habit of intelligently relating it to your academic courses. For example, when taking a course in political science, you should relate what you are learning in class to what’s happening on the national and world political scene.” Political science is considered a liberal arts class, even though a student might not need this class for their major, they could really benefit from taking it. A student can learn information from the political science class that could help them understand and relate to what is going on in the real world. The more you learn, the clearer things

By attending a liberal arts university, I will be able to spend a lot of time communicating in speech and the written word. Most liberal arts educations prepare future employees for all areas of a career. I will have analytical, communication, and team-working skills

“Our culture is more shaped by the arts and humanities than it often is by politics.” - Jim Leach