Components of a Successful Career in Liberal Arts

You need to know what employers need from an employee who holds a liberal arts degree. They need adaptable employees who can bring innovation to their daily work. You should be curious, creative, and act as a problem solver. If you are cross-culturally competent, that’s even more of a strength for you.

You should be able to think critically, be emotionally intelligent and mature, willing to learn new things, and most of all, you should understand people.

In today’s electronic age of iPads, computers, and smartphones you should also be skilled in creating and curating digital content as you help your employer to connect with others.

How to Earn a Degree in Liberal Arts

Typical Requirements

A liberal arts degree will often take a similar number of credits to many other degrees. That means you can expect to take about 100-120 credit hours over the course of 4 years. You’ll need to have taken the SAT or ACT to get into most college programs.

Then, you’ll declare your major. Requirements may differ from university to university, but you might be required to complete your general education credits before declaring at least one liberal arts major.

Typical Certifications Needed

A liberal arts graduate working as an early childhood educator with an AAS will have to obtain a state certification that allows them to work in the field. If you have an Associate of Arts (A.A.), then you’ll need to continue on to a four-year college and earn your degree in childhood education, elementary education, or childhood special education. If your interest lies in working with teens, you’ll have to transfer to a four-year university and earn your secondary education degree, specializing in Mathematics, Biology, or English.

If you are interested in a field other than education, a liberal arts degree will allow you to find a specialization or degree in that interest, then transfer to a four-year university.

For a Master of Arts (dual certification) in Early Childhood Education and Bilingual Education, you need to apply to your state’s certification board for dual certifications, one in ECE and the second in bilingual education.

To obtain your teacher certification, you will be required to have your bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. You’ll also have to finish your teacher training via an approved certification program. Finally, you need to take and pass the teacher certification tests that are appropriate for your teaching level.

All of these are for a liberal arts graduate who plans to go into education. Many liberal arts degrees have no necessary certifications, like writing. Though if you want to write grants, it will be helpful to take a few classes that provide proof of completion, so that you have something to point to in order to prove your experience. This will help you break into the field more quickly.

Academic Standards

If you plan to go into any liberal arts-related field, you’ll have to earn your degree (most likely in a liberal studies program). You’ll be required to pass your classes with the GPA that your university requires. Students who fall below a certain standard are often put on probation or even removed from the program. This is often a 2.5 or 2.75 GPA on a four-point scale.

Exams and Experience Needed

As a Liberal Arts major, you’ll be required to take a comprehensive exam as a senior in one school’s Liberal Arts program. To graduate, you are required to pass this exam with a score of 70 points or better.

If you choose to enroll into a Liberal Arts certificate program, then once you graduate, you will receive your certificate of completion. This will allow you to find work in your field, doing the work you love.

Whether you study hard or soft sciences, the humanities, the arts, languages, social sciences, health professions, environmental sciences, mathematics, computers, or writing, you will be ready to begin working once you have completed any required training your future employer requires. You’ll be able to use your experiences that you gained before you graduated and gain new experience that will help you to broaden your world outlook, as you begin working in your new profession.

Important Questions to Ask

How Long Does It Take to Earn a Liberal Arts Degree?

First, you’re going to have to take a set number of credits at minimum each quarter or semester. If you have chosen a major in Liberal Arts without any concentrations, you’ll likely be able to complete your courses and earn your degree sooner.

Even better, one university will allow you to earn academic credit for several forms of applied education and real-world experience including job-related courses and military training.

This university requires its Liberal Arts majors to earn at least 120 semester hours for a B.A. in Liberal Arts. Ninety of those credits are required to come from the arts and sciences field; 30 can be earned in applied professional classes, extra arts and sciences classes, or some combination of both.

For those students who want to earn a B.S. in Liberal arts, they, too, must earn at least 120 semester hours to graduate. Sixty of those hours are required to come from the arts and sciences. Of those 60 hours, at least 21 hours are required to be earned in upper-level classes. At least nine of the remaining 60 credits are required to be earned at the upper or advanced level. These may be earned either in additional arts and sciences courses, applied professional courses, or a combination of each.

If you take at least 12 credit hours per semester, you’ll earn your degree in five years; if you take 15 credit hours per semester, you’ll graduate in closer to four years.

How Much Does a Degree in Liberal Arts Cost?

At one New England college, the estimated costs of an undergraduate degree are:

In-state: $10,075; New York and New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE): $10,589; Out-of-state and international: $19,020.

NEBHE-classified students receive an 85% reduction for students from New York State. This saves them about $8,400 per year, for every major.

Other sources put the costs for a bachelor’s degree anywhere between $12,000-$47,000. It varies based on in-state vs out-of-state tuition, region, population density, public vs. private, and other factors. This is why it’s important to work out the cost for any school you are considering, as they may charge different amounts, even if they are in the same town.

Does the School Have the Liberal Arts Major(s) You’re Considering?

As you begin exploring colleges and universities, you may already know what you want to major in. If you have a liberal arts major in mind, look through the undergraduate catalog, either online or a copy of the book and browse the majors offered by that college. If you find this major, this will be one school you’ll want to consider attending; if not, then cross the school from your list and move on to the next.

If you’re uncertain what degree you’re interested in, try to find a school with a robust variety of courses, that will let you experience a few varied lower level classes and allow you to figure out what you enjoy while you work through your general education.

How Many Students Graduate “On Time,” in Four Years?

Currently, students enrolled in four-year universities have less than a 50% chance of graduating within four years. Statistics vary from university to university, but many students are graduating closer to the 6-year range.

If you want to be one of the lucky 40% who do graduate in your fourth year, you’ll need to make a few sacrifices. First, you’ll have to take more than the minimum 12 credit hours per semester. Take 15 credits per semester, because you’ll finish earning the required credits in around four years.

Go to school each summer session. Take at least one class per summer semester. Not only will you be sure to graduate on time, but you may also benefit with lower per-credit tuition charges, as well.

Declare a major as soon as you can. You won’t be moving from major to major this way. If you have to work for gas or rent, work for the fewest number of hours per week that you can. Your studies are vital.

What Kind of Accreditation Does the Program Hold? How is it Regarded in the Field?

Universities should hold institutional accreditation. This comes from the Higher Learning Commission, or from a regional accrediting commission, which oversees universities and colleges in a particular region of the country.

Liberal arts college and programs are accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education. AALE is highly regarded in the accreditation field. With its strong commitment to education in the liberal arts, AALE ensures that colleges and universities offering liberal arts programs are staffed with the highest quality faculty.

Acquiring some technological abilities would permit liberal arts grads to help close that void in the very early years of their profession. Build Your Personal Brand name: Liberal arts pupils are skilled in storytelling and also interacting intricate ideas, as well as when its time to get in the task market they need to direct these skills at informing their own tale. Levesque supplied this example: A grad with a background degree making an application for a Lot of money 500 firm may not instantly make as much feeling to a hiring manager as a business or accountancy significant, however that does not suggest that there isn't worth in what the history significant can supply. Its about creating a personal branding web site, profile and also cover letter that links the dots for the hiring supervisor and showcases not just the background majors toughness, however also his/her dedication and also excitement to the organizations mission.

Think Outside package: Levesque claimed that liberal arts majors must be versatile and also creative as they start to check out the task market. If they believe as well narrowly regarding the application of their level in the labor force, they will see lower pay and higher competitors (i.e. the English major attempting to burglarize posting); however, if they agree to check out different markets as well as companies, obtaining skills, contacts, as well as experiences along the road, they will locate a way to combine every one of their areas of interests and toughness in a more engaging as well as satisfying profession, Levesque claimed. Adaptability and an open mind will certainly offer liberal arts majors well in the task market.

So, is a liberal arts degree worth it? Consider this: the work market is transforming promptly, and also the skills that are most sought after in the future may quite possibly be the humanities. Automation and artificial intelligence are impacting a growing number of markets, however skills like important reasoning, relationship-building as well as storytelling stand up to automation and also will continue to be required in the workforce. Liberal arts majors will soon be operating in jobs that have not also been thought of yet. I believe that we get on the precipice of an exciting time for liberal arts majors. As increasingly more work end up being automated, new needs, brand-new work as well as divisions that have not even been conceived, will certainly emerge, she stated.

Levesque said that in the future we can anticipate to see several new duties focused on including the human touch to AI. As artificial intelligence is creating extra detailed as well as thorough information, we are most likely to need even more individuals to analyze the trends as well as provide the messages of that information, she stated.

Recommendations to liberal arts trainees is to stay adaptable and think broadly and creatively concerning their occupation choices. As we automate more menial job, we will certainly be totally free to use our vital believing abilities to do more with the details offered to us, she said. With the humanizing capacities of liberal arts graduates, there is most likely to be a terrific demand as well as opportunity for liberal arts graduates to shine.

What Does it Mean to Research Liberal Arts? A liberal arts major uses a broad review of the arts, scientific researches, and also humanities. Within the context of a liberal arts degree, you can examine modern-day languages, songs, English, sociology, history, ladies's studies, psychology, mathematics, government or many various other disciplines. The adaptability of a liberal arts degree allows you to continue to a more certain degree program or you can make use of the interactions, reasoning, and assuming skills you've developed to enter into a broad choice of professions. Like basic studies, an Arts & Humanities degree in liberal arts significant is appealing to companies that are looking for a generalist - a person who has the confirmed capacity to think of different subjects and also has actually not been trained to operate in just one way of thinking.

Any expert needs to recognize the globe and society in order to be a contributing citizen - from indoor developers to clergy. The liberal arts include in your lifestyle by cultivating a recurring investigation of your very own environment and the global as well as historical societies that complement as well as conflict with it. You'll see that several of the possible work titles that we go over here drop under the instructional domain name of various other degrees provided on World Wide Discovers website, such as teacher or interactions specialist. In these instances, better training and education and learning may be called for to exercise in these fields.

Numerous higher-level experts start their careers in liberal arts degree programs, which may appear unusual in the beginning glance. Think of it, nevertheless. A future legal representative can begin her education and learning with a liberal arts curriculum in English, public speaking, government, approach, history, economics and also computer programs. A human resources specialist can enroll in psychology, sociology, government, economics or stats, as well as business habits that put him ahead of candidates with a big league background. Look past the apparent selections for professions when picking a liberal arts degree field of expertise.

For instance, a modern languages level can lead straight into translation and also interpreting jobs, yet can also put on worldwide problems such as foreign services, migration, charitable or international aid agencies, or even in your area, in organizations that manage ethnic neighborhoods, such as community clinical services. Creating the skills to work in various languages can also result in occupations in locations as diverse as computer system shows and also ciphering deal with knowledge agencies.

You'll develop your imagination, critical assuming abilities, as well as sense of freedom while you check out concentrations across the liberal arts, social scientific researches, and interdisciplinary programs: the liberal arts: art history, English, foreign languages, background, approach the social scientific researches: sociology, business economics, political science, plan researches, sociology, females and sex studies interdisciplinary programs: sustainability, metropolitan researches, women's as well as gender research studies. Recent researches have revealed that a degree in liberal arts offers a strong foundation for expert jobs as well as academic job.

You'll establish the high qualities that future employers prize most: solid interaction abilities, the capacity to examine a situation and develop a strategy, as well as the confidence to work independently. As a liberal arts major, you will make your own interdisciplinary path as you select two focus and also bring them with each other to produce brand-new methods of seeing, understanding, and sharing your scholastic and also research passions. Liberal arts majors find occupations in business, communications, education and learning, federal government, human resources, galleries, charitable companies, public law, and social work.

You'll be planned for graduate research study in the fields you'll explore as you pick your liberal arts concentrations. We additionally offer teacher prep work for students who are interested in mentor at the middle or senior high school level. Learn more concerning teacher preparation You'll have the chance to deal with faculty throughout a range of divisions, take initial training courses to establish your focus, and strengthen your emphasis through workshops and also associated experiences past the class.

As a liberal arts major, you'll take: 6 credit histories in multidisciplinary researches core programs 15 credit ratings in your first concentration 15 credit ratings in your 2nd focus. In the liberal arts, you can choose from art history, English literature, French, background, ideology, Portuguese, Spanish, as well as writing/communications. In the social scientific researches, we offer focus in business economics, policy studies, political science, sociology/anthropology, and also ladies and also sex research studies. You can also concentrate in an interdisciplinary program in sustainability research studies, city studies, or ladies and also gender research studies. For the major, you'll finish 36 credit rating hours in training courses connected to your major as well as 120 credit history hours on the whole.

Among the major factors that more individuals are resorting to their liberal arts degrees is since it can help them locate an excellent occupation. When you go to university, you will likely be subjected to all kind of points as well as obtain a very wide level of education and learning in all sorts of subjects. While some students focus their study on one field or one more, others work toward both their humanities as well as liberal arts degrees.

Liberal arts levels are typically much easier to discover than liberal arts degrees. Actually, both usually fused on university schools generally. That being stated, the most prominent organizations still have actually large locations committed to each degree type.

As you could expect, humanistic majors spend their time examining topics that manage the liberal arts. In this area, you will likely research the arts, history, approach, literature, and more. Humanistic majors will certainly likewise likely hang out learning about faith, principles, as well as history.

There are numerous means to identify a humanistic major. If you are seeking to go to graduate school, you could be categorized as a humanistic liberal arts significant, for example. It would be sensible, however, to service any kind of humanistic courses if you prepare to head to graduate school to ensure that you can gain a level in your area.

Among the benefits of a liberal arts degree is that it is usually considered a "soft" significant. This implies that you may not be needed to take specific courses and you might not require to pay as much for your level. Rather, your level will likely be based upon your Grade Point Average as well as just how well you pursue the needed classes.

Humanistic majors might additionally have some of the very best salaries. They commonly have higher GPAs than other majors, which mean they typically have higher salaries. They likewise tend to have greater self-esteem as well as most likely appreciate their task.

The income advantages of a liberal arts degree do not end there. You also have access to a more varied pupil body. Since lots of liberal arts majors research all type of subjects, they often have people who have different passions.

One of the benefits of a liberal arts degree is that you will certainly have less pressure. Most students who major in humanities take humanities classes to make sure that they can examine the liberal arts. With that said claimed, numerous trainees do not see the factor of taking a program that doesn't interest them.

Numerous pupils who major in liberal arts choose to take a selection of humanities courses so that they can pick the classes that they truly appreciate. That way, they can still succeed while focusing on their own life experiences. The objective is to complete training courses that they have an interest in and to develop a solid collection of abilities in locations where they require to apply their studies.

Numerous trainees frequently discover that a liberal arts degree is additionally one of one of the most enjoyable programs to head to university. Your education and learning will focus on subjects that you have an interest in. By that very same token, you won't be required to do something that you don't enjoy.

What's even more, you can concentrate your studies in whatever location that you are most thinking about, which means that you can continue to expand throughout your student's life. When you finish, you will certainly have an actual reason to live as well as learn. Your life will be easier to comply with if you were able to understand a topic from a variety of angles.

These are just a few of the Advantages of a Liberal Arts Degree. If you determine to graduate in humanities, liberal arts majors are certainly worth taking into consideration. If you intend to learn if this type of level is right for you, get started by calling your local university or university and also looking into the various choices.