Liberal Arts System: Explainer

What is Liberal Arts?

Liberal arts and sciences, commonly called liberal arts, is a unique educational system that focuses on a flexible and interdisciplinary academic approach. In this field of inquiry, you study a variety of disciplines while honing skills in the field of your chosen major(s). A 4-year undergraduate degree in a liberal arts system will provide you with a robust set of analytical skills and flexibility required to adapt to changing times in the global marketplace. A common misconception about the liberal arts system is that it is only about the “arts.” While the arts, social sciences, and humanities play a significant role in the liberal arts system, so do science and math. The liberal arts system is the primary system of education followed by the majority of undergraduate students in almost all the US universities and colleges. There are also a few liberal arts institutions outside the US, including some in India, the Netherlands, the UK, and Canada. 

Why Should I pursue a degree in Liberal Arts System?

The skills you acquire through a degree in the liberal arts system enable you to become competent researchers, thorough learners, better writers, and critical thinkers—highly valuable skills in the 21^st century for you and your future employers anywhere on the globe. The liberal arts system focuses on understanding how to solve problems and identifying which problems to solve and why. 

If you pursue a degree in the liberal arts system, you will have an opportunity to explore an array of disciplines or fields that satisfy your intellectual interests and academic goals. A typical 4-year degree in the liberal arts system allows you to keep your options open for the first two years as you develop a variety of transferrable skills. After the first two years, you will decide on at least one major you would like to pursue in-depth. Some students opt for additional majors or minors if they want to simultaneously explore multiple interests.

What are the fields in Liberal Arts?

There are many fields housed within the liberal arts and sciences. The university you attend will determine the exact list of fields on offer, but broadly a liberal arts education includes courses in humanities, social sciences, natural and formal sciences. Some examples of fields that fall under the umbrella of liberal arts are:

• Arts & Humanities – literature, linguistics, philosophy, religion, ethics, modern foreign languages, music, theater, speech, classical languages, etc.
• Social Sciences – history, psychology, law, sociology, politics, gender studies, anthropology, economics, geography, business information, etc. 
• Natural Sciences – astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, botany, zoology, geology, Earth sciences, etc. 
• Formal Sciences – computer science, mathematics, logic, statistics, etc.  

Universities and colleges in the US offer a large number of undergraduate majors with options in every field. Apart from the major(s) you choose, you will have the flexibility to select a few electives in other fields throughout your degree, and even pursue a minor.

General Requirements 

The exact requirements for both majors and completing the liberal arts curriculum vary depending on the college or university you are attending. However, there are many common features in the general requirements, which we have listed below. Of course, you may encounter some variation depending on your college, but the most common components are:

1. First-year writing seminars – You will be taking expository English writing courses that are usually taken in the first year. 
2. Foreign language requirement – You may be required to have basic proficiency in one language, except English. The level of knowledge needed for that language would vary from college to college. 
3. Distribution and Breadth – Students are required to familiarize themselves with a broad range of subject matter and explore interdisciplinary points of view during their degree. Many colleges have a requirement for taking courses from a number of different fields or departments, apart from your major, in order to graduate.
4. Major – Each department will have a list of courses that will count towards your major. Here is an example of a list of major courses you will be required to take while working on a Computer Science degree at Williams.
5. Residence – Devoting eight full-time semesters and meeting all the additional requirements for graduation.
6. Courses – You would take a number of courses in various departments depending on your colleges and majors. Each college may have different requirements and rules for the minimum or maximum courses that you will be taking in each semester while pursuing a certain degree in the liberal arts system. 
7. Credits – For every course you do, you will be given certain credits that will contribute to your degree for graduation. The method of counting credit requirements is usually specific to the university or college you are in. 
8. Minors – Like majors, the department offers certain minors that you could pursue as your secondary focus. The number of courses you are required to take in your chosen minor(s) is usually less (almost half) compared to the majors.