What does “liberal arts” mean and what is a Liberal Arts College?
Liberal arts designates programs of study focused on humanities and sciences, in contrast to more applied or professional disciplines, such as business, engineering, nursing… The student eventually selects a “major” course of study where he/she concentrates on one theoretical subject. Although often available as individual courses, professional subjects (business, engineering…) are generally not offered as majors in liberal arts programs. Liberal Arts Colleges are schools that confer a four-year bachelor’s degree and no graduate degrees. They are generally smaller than universities with usually 400 students per year or less. This small size, however, does not mean that they are inferior institutions. Liberal Arts Colleges such as Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore are as competitive as most Ivy League schools.
