The value of a liberal arts degree?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The PP was not using the term “liberal arts college” correctly.

Precision of language is important, and has been sorely lacking in this thread.

UVA does not have a liberal arts college; it has a CLAS. There is a key difference between the two.

Which is what?

The student experience is vastly different between being at a liberal arts college versus a CLAS--housed within a university--because of the access the latter gives students to graduate programs. Of course, liberal arts colleges have some graduate programs, but by definition they have fewer than research universities (hence why they're not called research universities).

For some students, access to graduate departments--and the requisite research opportunities and opportunity to build connections with professors who are leaders in their fields--doesn't matter because it doesn't align with their career goals, but for others it's really important.

The other thing is access to professional schools, which most research universities have. If your university has a business school, for example, as an undergrad econ major you can often take upper-level courses at the business school. This isn't possible at LACs, which almost never have business schools. Likewise, of course, with the law and medical schools.

You are slanting it all to the universities. LACs will have a faculty that is much more motivated to teach and focuses on undergraduates vs research and graduate students with undergraduates getting the short end of the stick. I would also argue that universities do more cross-subsidizing, with humanities tuition revenue for instance supporting engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

~crickets~

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

~crickets~

The study with actual data behind it says Liberal Arts Colleges have relatively high ROI over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

~crickets~

The study with actual data behind it says Liberal Arts Colleges have relatively high ROI over time.

I guess it depends in what you are talking about. A kid who thrived in a smaller school and then went on to get a law degree is probably much more likely to have a higher salary than someone with a lame english degree.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend that's the COO of a company that you'd recognize. He swears by the value of a SLAC education. He went to a SLAC in the ODAC and got a CS degree and it wasn't W&L; it's a school that people here would dog. Steve Jobs always talked about how good products and great companies live at the intersection of technology and humanities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend that's the COO of a company that you'd recognize. He swears by the value of a SLAC education. He went to a SLAC in the ODAC and got a CS degree and it wasn't W&L; it's a school that people here would dog. Steve Jobs always talked about how good products and great companies live at the intersection of technology and humanities.

What does the intersection of technology and humanities have to do with SLACs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you define a liberal arts major? That can be anything from English to physics.

The liberal arts curriculum incorporates sciences, math, social sciences, and humanities. A liberal arts education is about giving students both breadth and depth. You study a broad array of subjects to get breadth, and also go deep in one area (your major). It’s not vocational in that it isn’t geared to preparing students for a specific career, but rather aims to teach critical thinking and other skills that will allow students to adapt to a variety of jobs over the course of a lifetime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend that's the COO of a company that you'd recognize. He swears by the value of a SLAC education. He went to a SLAC in the ODAC and got a CS degree and it wasn't W&L; it's a school that people here would dog. Steve Jobs always talked about how good products and great companies live at the intersection of technology and humanities.

What does the intersection of technology and humanities have to do with SLACs?

All I mean is that a LAC education can be a great asset.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

~crickets~

No it isn't.

Next question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend that's the COO of a company that you'd recognize. He swears by the value of a SLAC education. He went to a SLAC in the ODAC and got a CS degree and it wasn't W&L; it's a school that people here would dog. Steve Jobs always talked about how good products and great companies live at the intersection of technology and humanities.

What does the intersection of technology and humanities have to do with SLACs?

All I mean is that a LAC education can be a great asset.

ok and an understanding of the benefits of tech and humanities can be developed at a large university too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

~crickets~

The study with actual data behind it says Liberal Arts Colleges have relatively high ROI over time.

I guess it depends in what you are talking about. A kid who thrived in a smaller school and then went on to get a law degree is probably much more likely to have a higher salary than someone with a lame english degree.

Why is an English degree "lame"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you define a liberal arts major? That can be anything from English to physics.

The liberal arts curriculum incorporates sciences, math, social sciences, and humanities. A liberal arts education is about giving students both breadth and depth. You study a broad array of subjects to get breadth, and also go deep in one area (your major). It’s not vocational in that it isn’t geared to preparing students for a specific career, but rather aims to teach critical thinking and other skills that will allow students to adapt to a variety of jobs over the course of a lifetime.

I was an engineering major at a huge state school and I — and all of my classmates, whether Philosophy majors or nursing majors — had this. You don’t need to major in liberal arts or go to a LAC to get this. If your child goes to a four year college in the US, they will get this type of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you define a liberal arts major? That can be anything from English to physics.

The liberal arts curriculum incorporates sciences, math, social sciences, and humanities. A liberal arts education is about giving students both breadth and depth. You study a broad array of subjects to get breadth, and also go deep in one area (your major). It’s not vocational in that it isn’t geared to preparing students for a specific career, but rather aims to teach critical thinking and other skills that will allow students to adapt to a variety of jobs over the course of a lifetime.

I was an engineering major at a huge state school and I — and all of my classmates, whether Philosophy majors or nursing majors — had this. You don’t need to major in liberal arts or go to a LAC to get this. If your child goes to a four year college in the US, they will get this type of education.

yup. exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't "liberal arts degree = would you like some fries with that?"

Extra large please!

~crickets~

The study with actual data behind it says Liberal Arts Colleges have relatively high ROI over time.

I guess it depends in what you are talking about. A kid who thrived in a smaller school and then went on to get a law degree is probably much more likely to have a higher salary than someone with a lame english degree.

It doesn't depend on what I am talking about. The study covers all students, all majors at LACs and determined the NPV/ROI was relatively high. Liberal Arts, as previously noted, covers areas like natural sciences, not just arts and humanities.