In the mail today, I received an institutional guide of liberal arts colleges throughout the country, titled Power of Liberal Arts, Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities. This pocketbook gem contained a general listing, state by state. What I kind of love about this, is that there are no rankings, just an alphabetical list of colleges that have a few powerful connections: size, service and a liberal arts education. Small to mid-size colleges that serve their students in a way that allows them to actively pursue multiple disciplines and come out with a broader understanding of not only their major of choice, but learning and understanding in general.
Students can benefit from a smaller, private-independent college in a variety of ways. More personalized curriculum, access to professors, in a lot of cases flexibility with financial aid and opportunity to overlap passions and areas of interests. Here are a few examples of majors/degrees and the liberal arts education:
Willamette University, Oregon: Offers a BA/MBA program that allows students to earn a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in five years in entrepreneurial business, consulting, government and non-profits.
DePauw University, Indiana: Offers an Honors Program with specific interest areas such as environmental, management, media and science research, all enhancing the experience for the student and allowing more opportunities for internships, research and access to professors.
Rocky Mountain College, Montana: Utilizes Yellowstone National Park as a “lab” for students to study their environment and our effects. Offers a 12 to 1 student to faculty ratio and programs ranging from Environmental Management & Policy to Exercise Science.
Colorado College, Colorado: Students take classes under the “Block Plan.” Allowing students to focus on one class and dive deeper, the block plan has students take one class at a time, instead of juggling multiple, for three and a half weeks and then move on to the next course. Neuroscience major: “Neuroscience at Colorado College is an interdisciplinary major, rather than an independent department or program. The major is a challenging undertaking with required courses in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Psychology.” Source: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/dept/neuroscience/requirements/
There are literally hundreds of liberal arts colleges with so many programs and possibilities. The Council of Independent Colleges offer guides and social media outlets to help you explore. So do just that…explore. Consider your wants, needs and goals and find a college that fits those needs.
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