Liberal Arts Colleges

If you have been searching for some top-notch colleges to apply, there is a high chance that you came across a liberal arts college. But have you ever wondered what it means and how it is any different from a research university?

Like other research universities, a liberal arts college is a place of higher learning and their goal is not necessarily to train students for a specific career although that may happen. Liberal arts colleges offer a variety of degree programs that aim to provide a broader spectrum of knowledge and skills.

Over the centuries, the liberal arts colleges have shared a common goal that is to create an individual whose education is vigorous and flexible. Liberal art colleges aim to challenge the students’ belief, and in the process making them critical thinkers, and poising them to become global citizens.

The main differences between liberal arts colleges and universities are the following:

Type of degree programs

Liberal arts colleges mainly offer only undergraduate programs and they tend to focus on more diverse and holistic degree programs where the student gets exposure to multiple fields of study in addition to the one he or she is interested in. that means that even if you are majoring in engineering sciences, you are likely to take a course on acting as well! How cool is that?!

The plus point of research universities is that you get specialized programs. This means that you will get to study the degree program you chose in-depth and focus on it! This is why you can build a network with field experts which will surely benefit you when you look for jobs or even, start your own project!

However, this doesn’t mean that you are not going to focus on your major when you attend a liberal arts college.

Campus and class sizes

Liberal arts colleges usually have smaller campuses with small to medium sized population of students whereas research universities have big campuses with large population of students. This leads to smaller class sizes in liberal arts colleges. This gives the students the benefit of interacting with their professors and developing the teacher-student understanding which leads to more engaged class environment. However, in research universities, due to large class sizes, it is less likely that you will get to know your professor and talk to them about the classes and interact with them as you would do in a liberal arts colleges. The use of teaching assistants is common in research based universities and they are the first point of contact for the students but you will still get taught by top professors who are experts in their field of study!

Sport opportunities

Liberals arts colleges do have sport facilities but these tend to basic sport facilities while in a research university more sophisticated sports facilities and have a  higher emphasis on athletics!

In a nutshell,

Liberal arts	Research Universities
Holistic education	Specialized programs with research components
Small class size	Large class size
Only undergraduate programs	Masters, Doctorate and professional programs
Small student-to-teacher ratio	Large student-to-teacher ratio
Smaller campuses, generally small towns or rural areas	Generally bigger campuses and in or near big cities
Basic sports facilities	More sophisticated sports facilities as higher emphasis on athletics
More classroom discussions	Large class lectures
Few or no teaching assistants with ease of access to professors	Use of teaching assistants who are first contact point for students rather than professors
All attention/resources on undergraduate programs	Resources distributed across programs (undergraduate, masters, doctorate, etc.)

Students of liberal arts are expected to be knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and to have developed skills that translate well to a variety of scenarios. The expansive area of study make liberal arts colleges best for students who are unsure of their final degree/career choice.

The main benefit of graduating from a liberal arts college is that you will earn a well-rounded education with interpersonal skills with the opportunity to work in a variety of jobs.

Whether you choose a research university or a liberal arts college, make sure it’s the right fit for you. I would suggest that you take some research universities and some liberal arts universities, both, when making a college list.