<p>I'm sorry, this may sound really dumb but I never really understood what exactly is a "liberal arts college".
I mean people have told me its where "liberal arts are the students' main focus" but what ARE the liberal arts?</p>
<p>Again, sorry, I'm probably the only one who doesn't know what liberal arts colleges are but it's bothering me because I hear it so much so I would really like to know. thanks =)</p>
<p>The "liberal arts curriculum" is taught by most top US colleges and universities. It is a broad curriculum dating back to medieval Europe, with an emphasis on general knowledge and thinking skills as opposed to studying to be a plumber or an accountant. In today's usage, a liberal arts education includes courses in the humanities (literature, history, art, music, languages, etc.), the social sciences, (poli sci, econ, sociology, psych, etc.), and the hard sciences/math (chem, bio, physics, etc.)</p>
<p>Thus, both liberal arts colleges and universities (such as Harvard and Yale) teach the same curriculum. The difference is that a liberal arts college just teaches undergrads while a university has many divisions: undergrad, grad school, medical school, law school, vet school, plus a major emphasis on revenue from research contracts.</p>
<p>Liberal arts are basic areas of studies in humanities, social studies and humanities. So, nothing pre-professional (i.e. business, finance, nursing). Most liberal arts schools don't offer engineering programs either. Liberal arts colleges (LACs) generally don't offer graduate programs in any area.</p>
<p>Via Wikipedia:</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
Liberal arts colleges are primarily colleges with an emphasis upon undergraduate study in the liberal arts. The Encyclop</p>
<p>"Liberal arts" is "a college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledgeand developing general intellectual capabilities, incontrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Close enough for a working definition. It generally embraces all the "arts and sciences," i.e., humanities (literature, history, philosophy, foreign languages), social sciences (econ, poli sci, sociology, anthropology), and physical and natural sciences. It doesn't include professionally-oriented courses in fields like engineering, business, nursing, or education. </p>
<p>A "liberal arts college" is an undergraduate-oriented institution with a broad liberal arts curriculum. But larger universities also typically include undergraduate liberal arts schools (often going by names like "School of Arts & Sciences" or "College of Liberal Arts"), which exist as units within the larger university alongside professional schools (engineering, education, law, medicine) and graduate schools. Bottom line, you can get a liberal arts education almost anywhere, but if you go to a liberal arts college that's pretty much your only choice. On the other hand, since liberal arts colleges specialize in undergraduate liberal arts education, they arguably devote more institutional energy and resources to it, and the best of them are outstanding.</p>
<p>curiosity, it is confusing because the liberal arts are neither necessarily liberal nor art-y. As others have explained a liberal arts education is a broad field of study encompassing science, social studies, math, literature, the arts. Everything except specific professional disciplines like law, medicine, engineering, architecture.</p>
<p>You can get a liberal arts education at most (all?) colleges and universities in America. </p>
<p>A liberal arts college (or LAC) is a college that focuses primarily or exclusively on a liberal arts education -- that is, almost all undergraduate and no (or few) professional degrees. LACs are usually small -- under 3000 students -- so you often hear the phrase small liberal arts college.</p>
<p>The liberal arts education that you would get an a small LAC is exactly the same as the liberal arts education that you would get at a large university, but the atmosphere and teaching style would be different, a function primarily of size.</p>
<p>Just as in large universities, small LACs can be rigorous academically or lax, selective or easy to get into. Because they are small they tend to have distinctive personalities, but those personalities vary widely from school to school.</p>
<p>And as a trend, LACs usually have smaller class sizes and they make a big deal about discussion/read/writing- the frequency of discussion due to size. </p>
<p>And interestingly enough, at a lot of LACs I applied to, they have less requirements than a lot of universities. You'd think the opposite would be true and they would be more similar to Columbia's Core, but it's not the case. They stress being well-rounded, but don't beat you over the head with it. (Not a general rule, but what I encountered a lot of the time while applying to LACs)</p>