Questions about liberal arts degree

College Search & Selection
1

<p>By liberal arts degree I mean a BA in liberal arts, not a BA in a specific discipline offered at liberal arts colleges.</p>

<p>What kinds of implications does this have for </p>

<ul>
<li><p>employment straight out of college</p></li>
<li><p>graduate schools</p></li>
<li><p>if one decides to pursue a career in science </p></li>
</ul>

2

<ul>
<li><p>Depends on whether the job is one associated with a particular major or course work in college.</p></li>
<li><p>PhD programs typically depend on undergraduate course work in the subject in college. MD programs have specific pre-med course requirements. JD and MBA programs have no specific undergraduate course requirements.</p></li>
<li><p>Science careers typically depend on having a good undergraduate course foundation, often followed by a PhD (computer science would be an exception). Your other posts indicate interest in Sarah Lawrence College. The science offerings there are likely insufficient if you want to take sufficient course work to prepare you for PhD study in any science, or employment in computer science. See <a href=“Disciplines and Programs of Study | Sarah Lawrence College”>http://www.slc.edu/catalogue/&lt;/a&gt; .</p></li>
</ul>

3

<p>@ucbalumnus thank you for your thoughtful response.</p>

4

<p>I was wondering, how does it work though? If one is able to venture into so many different fields without committing and eventually spending more time + effort on one discipline, is there a lack of depth? How would one compare with other students who major specifically in that discipline? Anyone else been through this? Do you feel like your education has been worthwhile?</p>

5

<p>If you have any interest in pursuing graduate work in the sciences please DO NOT major in liberal arts. I can’t think of a credible PhD program in the sciences that would accept someone with an undergraduate degree in liberal arts. they may accept you if you have sufficient coursework in that particular field. If you do have that much course work in science, chances are you have enough course work to major in the subject…so why not do that? You will still get a broad liberal arts experience. </p>

<p>If you are thinking about attending medical school, you might be able to get away with a liberal arts degree, but you will need to make sure you have the appropriate pre-med courses complete. </p>