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Liberal arts college

A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and general sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional or vocational curriculum.[1] Students in a liberal arts college generally major in a particular discipline while receiving exposure to a wide range of academic subjects, including general sciences as well as the traditional humanities subjects taught as liberal arts. Although it draws on European antecedents,[2] the liberal arts college is strongly associated with American higher education, and most liberal arts colleges around the world draw explicitly on the American model.

There is no formal definition of a liberal arts college, but one American authority defines them as schools that "emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study."[3] Other researchers have adopted similar definitions.[4]


Although many liberal arts colleges are exclusively undergraduate, some also offer graduate programs that lead to a master's degree or doctoral degree in subjects such as English, general biology, fine arts, and law. Similarly, the term "liberal arts college" most commonly refers to an independent institution with a specialty in non-technical coursework. It may also sometimes refer to a university college within or affiliated with a larger university. Most liberal arts colleges outside the United States follow this model.

Liberal arts and liberal arts college[edit]

In academia, liberal arts generally refer to subjects or skills that aim to provide general knowledge and comprise the arts, humanities, general sciences, and social sciences (rather than professional or technical skills).[13] Most liberal arts colleges, however, also offer courses in subjects that are not traditionally considered part of the liberal arts, such as computer science.[14]

List of liberal arts colleges

List of liberal arts colleges in the United States

Liberal arts education

Bachelor of Liberal Arts

College of Arts and Sciences

Liberal arts colleges in the United States

Bonvillian, Gary; Murphy, Robert (1996). (2014 ebook ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781135589332.

The Liberal Arts College Adapting to Change: The Survival of Small Schools

Clemmer, Joel (1997). . In Dandraia, Frank (ed.). The Academic Library Director: Reflections on a Position in Transition (2013 ebook ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781134755042.

"The Liberal Arts College Library Director and the Collegiate Myth"

Harriman, Philip (1935). "Antecedents of the Liberal Arts College". The Journal of Higher Education. 6 (2): 63–71. :10.2307/1975506. JSTOR 1975506.

doi

Thelin, John R. (2004). . Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801878551.

A History of American Higher Education

Morris, Edward. . University Press (2007)

The Lindenwood Model: An Antidote for What Ails Undergraduate Education

Pfnister, Allen O. "." The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 55, No. 2 (March/April 1984): 145–170.

The Role of the Liberal Arts College

Reeves, Floyd W. "." The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 1, No. 7 (1930): 373–380.

The Liberal-Arts College

Seidel, George. "." The Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 39, No. 6 (1968): 339–342.

Saving the Small College

Global Liberal Arts Alliance

Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges

A list maintained by Education Drive and updated in real time.

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