Why Study the Liberal Arts? – Updated September 2023
Through the study of Catholic liberal arts, the student encounters a universal study of knowledge—through Mathematics, History, Literature, Classics, and Political Science—unified by the central role played by Philosophy and Theology. By seeking the truth through various disciplines the student cultivates a new intellectual power enabling him to master any subject. As St. John Henry Newman observed, the student attains an intellectual prowess in which he can take up any career and thrive with competence, grace, versatility, and success. Unlike the non-liberally trained, the Catholic liberal arts student becomes equipped for a life of leadership and excellence. (https://www.christendom.edu/academics/liberalarts/)
Below is a collection of articles from a variety of publications exploring the value of a liberal arts education in today's world. The most recent articles are listed first (PDF version to download).
Employers Don’t Care What You Major In (NBCNewYork, September 6, 2023)
Liberal Arts Careers: 2023 Guide to Career Paths, Options & Salaries (Research.com, July 25, 2023)
‘The Evidence Liberal Arts Needs’ (Inside Higher Ed, November 18, 2021)
- Eight Reasons Why Employers Value A Liberal Arts Education (La Salle News, October 26, 2021)
- Why A Liberal Arts Education Is The Best Foundation For A Career In Finance (Forbes, August 30, 2021)
- Reasons Why Liberal Arts Majors Succeed in Business (BusinessDeccan.com, February 11, 2021)
- The CEOs of YouTube, Slack and Whole Foods All Have Liberal Arts Degrees. Here’s Why That Matters (Entrepreneur.com, January 13, 2021)
- There’s No Such Thing as a “Worthless Degree” (Lifehacker, November 19, 2020)
- Liberal Education – A Game Changer (BusinessWorld, August 27, 2020)
- 12 Med Schools That Often Admit Liberal Arts Majors (Yahoo News/US News, August 26, 2020)
- The Integrated Liberal Arts Approach: The Curricular Vaccine Higher Education Needs Now More Than Ever (DiverseEducation.com, May 19, 2020)
- Why Society Will Need Liberal Arts Graduates (DiverseEducation.com, April 26, 2020)
- Why Employers Love Liberal Arts Graduates (StudyInternational.com, April 15, 2020)
- Liberal Arts Colleges Preparing Students for a Tech Enabled World (StudyInternational.com, February 3, 2020)
- If You Go To A Liberal Arts College You Will Make More Money (Forbes.com, January 28, 2020)
- Liberal Arts Pay Off in the Long Run (InsideHigherEd.com, January 14, 2020)
- When it Comes to Future Earnings, Liberal-Arts Grads Might Get the Last Laugh (Chronicle of Higher Education, January 14, 2020)
- Liberal Arts Education: Waste of Money or Practical Investment (The Washington Post, January 13, 2020)
- How Can a Liberal Arts Degree Lead to Financial Success? (Forbes, December 11, 2019)
- Why a Liberal Arts Degree is More Important Than Ever (Study International News, December 2, 2019)
- The Most Unexpected Workplace Trend Coming in 2020 (Inc.com, November 26, 2019)
- 6 Top Nontechnical Degrees for Cybersecurity (Information Week, November 21, 2019)
- There’s Nothing Useless About the Liberal Arts (Grand Rapids Business Journal, November 8, 2019)
- Lesson of the Day: “In the Salary Race, Engineers Sprint, But English Majors Endure.” (New York Times, November 4, 2019)
- Why Hiring Managers Value a Liberal Arts Education (Times Record News, November 4, 2019)
- Why do we have Business or Education Schools in Universities? (Forbes, October 16, 2019)
- Don’t be so Quick to Dismiss that Liberal Arts Degree (San Diego Gazette, October 14, 2019)
- Studying STEM Isn’t The Career Boost We Think (Forbes, September 29, 2019)
- Liberal Arts Degree? No Degree At All? You Are The Perfect Candidate For a Tech Job (CNBC, September 26, 2019)
- In the Salary Race, Engineers Sprint But English Majors Endure (The New York Times, September 20, 2019)
- Yes, Employers Do Value Liberal Arts Degrees (Harvard Business Review, September 19, 2019)
- Why Liberal Arts is Critical For Building a Successful Business Career (Forbes, September 4, 2019)
- Majoring in Liberal Arts Could Turn Out To Be A Very Smart Move (The State, Dec. 4, 2018)
- How your liberal arts degree is preparing you to become an innovator (Silicon Prairie News, Dec. 1, 2018)
- Employers Want Liberal Arts Grads (InsideHigherEd, Nov. 13, 2018)
- As Tech Companies Hire More Liberal Arts Majors, More Students Are Choosing STEM Degrees (EdSurge, Nov. 13, 2018)
- Your College Major Does Not Define Your Career (U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 24, 2018)
- A CEO and former Googler explains why your college major really doesn't matter (Business Insider, Feb. 28, 2018)
- Liberal Arts Majors are Future of Tech Industry (Harvard Business Review, July/August 2017)
- Six Reasons Why Your College Major Doesn’t Matter (Forbes Magazine, Aug. 12, 2015)
- Employers and Public Favor Graduates Who Can Communicate, Survey Finds (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 18, 2013)
- Broad Education vs. Industry-Specific Skills (Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 18, 2013)
- How to Turn a Liberal Arts Degree Into a Paycheck (USA Today, Aug. 27, 2013)
- The Value of Liberal Arts: An Education, Not Just a Degree (Roanoke, Va. Times, Aug. 18, 2013)
- Liberal Arts has Advantages (Worcester, Mass.,Telegram & Gazette, Aug. 11, 2013)
- Liberal Arts Value Goes Beyond Dollars (The Huffington Post, Aug. 7,2013)
- A College Education Isn’t Just About Job Prospects(The Hechinger Report, July 12, 2013)
- Giving Employers What They Don’t Really Want(Chronicle of Higher Education, July 17, 2013)
- The New Case for Liberal Arts (International Herald Tribune, May 14,2013)
- Commentary: Education for Education's Sake (Michigan Radio, April 23, 2013)
- Why Businesses Prefer a Liberal Arts Education (CNBC.com, April 15, 2013)
- Why a Liberal Education Creates Great Entrepreneurs (Huffington Post, April 15, 2013) by John Dearborn, president of JumpStart Inc.
- Employers Want Broadly Educated College Grads, Capable of Innovation (Huffington Post, April 12, 2013)
- Business Schools Embrace the Liberal Arts (Bloomberg Businessweek, April 10, 2013)
- A Liberal Arts Degree Leads to a Career, Not Just a Job (Huffington Post, April 10, 2013)
- A Liberal Arts Foundation (New York Times, March 25, 2013)
- Liberal Arts Schools Prove Worth in Test Scores (U.S. News & World Report, March 14, 2013)
- Numbers Don't Lie -- A Cost/Value Analysis of a Liberal Arts Degree (Huffington Post, Feb. 26, 2013)
- A Liberal Arts Education is Still Relevant (Newsday, Feb. 7, 2013)
- Liberal Arts Education Is Transformative (San Antonio Express-News, Dec. 6, 2012)
- Liberal Arts Poor Venture? Not so Fast (Muncie, Ind. Star Press, Dec. 6, 2012)
- A Useful Liberal Arts (Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 26, 2012)
- A Liberal Arts Degree is More Valuable than Learning Any Trade (Forbes magazine, Nov. 13, 2012)
- Why History Matters (Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 5, 2012)
- Why a Communal Liberal Arts Education Matters More Now Than Ever (Huffington Post, Oct. 25, 2012)
- Scrap Liberal Arts? Think Again (Denver Post, Oct. 20, 2012)
- The Liberal Arts: A Gift that Keeps on Giving (Poughkeepsie Journal, Oct. 15, 2012)
- Why A Liberal Arts Education Is the Best Job Preparation (Christian Science Monitor, Sept. 18, 2012)
- Liberal Arts Colleges – The Model for the Future (University World News, United Kingdom, Sept. 16, 2012)
- Liberal Arts Is About More Than Money (USA Today, Sept. 10, 2012)
- Three Cheers for the Liberal Arts (Vancouver Sun, Sept. 7, 2012)
- Don’t Pit Science And Math Education Against the Liberal Arts (Seattle Times, Sept. 1, 2012)
- Liberal Arts Now More Valuable Than Ever (Evansville Courier & Press, July 17, 2012)
- Free to Choose, I Chose Liberal Arts (Tampa Bay Times, June 8, 2012)
- 5 Reasons To Choose A Liberal Arts College (Providence, R.I., Journal, June 3, 2012)
- Survey on Millennial Hiring Highlights Power of Liberal Arts (portfolio.com, May 14, 2012)
- The Liberal Arts and Leadership (Inside Higher Ed, May 14,2012)
- Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College (New York Times, May 4, 2012)
- A Coca-Cola Executive Shares his Thoughts on the Value of a Liberal Arts Education (University of Notre Dame, April 12, 2012)
- Macalester College president Brian Rosenberg talks about the long-term value of a liberal arts college (Chronicle of Higher Education, April 9, 2012 - video)
- Liberal Arts Still Relevant (Lawrence, Kan., Journal World, March 7, 2012)
- The Liberal Arts: Back to Basics (Pittsburgh, Pa., Tribune-Review, Feb. 4, 2012)
- Why a Liberal Arts Education Matters (New York Times, Feb. 1, 2012)
- The Liberal Arts as Guideposts in the 21st Century (Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. 29, 2012)
- Liberal Arts Education Lends An Edge In Down Economy (USA Today, Jan. 25, 2012)
- Liberal Arts Degrees: An Asset At Some Companies (National Public Radio, Jan. 17, 2012)
- A Liberal Education: Preparation for Career Success (Huffington Post, Dec. 6, 2011) By A.G. Lafley, Former Procter & Gamble chairman
- Alumni of Liberal-Arts Colleges See Value in Their Degrees (Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 16, 2011)
- In Defense Of Liberal Arts Education (Denver Post, Oct. 24, 2011)
- Liberal Arts Fit a Changing Workplace (Sarasota, Fla. Herald-Tribune, Oct. 20, 2011)
- Liberal Arts Education: Gateway to Riches (Hartford Courant, Sept. 25, 2011)
- Liberal Arts Arts Degree Now More Useful (Springfield News-Sun [Ohio], Sept. 3, 2011)
- Liberal Arts Education Is Smart Move in Today’s World (Harrisburg, Pa. Patriot News, Aug. 27, 2011)
- Valuing a Liberal-Arts Education in a Jobs-Focused World(Hartford Courant, Aug. 22, 2011)
- The Value of a Humanities Degree: Six Students’ Views (Chronicle of Higher Education, June 5, 2011)
- A new report by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching documents the value ofliberal arts education for business majors (Inside Higher Ed, June 2, 2011)
- Why the Liberal Arts Matter (CNN.com, May 21, 2011)
- Liberal-Arts Graduates Are Perfectly Prepared For Today’s Careers (Philadelphia Inquirer, May 16, 2011)
- In the Digital Age, the Much-Maligned, Liberal-Arts Degree Still Has Deep Value (Toronto Globe and Mail, May 9, 2011)
- A New Notion in Europe: the Liberal-Arts College (Chronicle of Higher Education, May 8, 2011)
- The Role of Liberal Arts Colleges in Advancing Positive Social Change (Huffington Post, March 23, 2011)
- American Liberal Arts Colleges: Where Art Meets Science (The London Independent, March 17, 2011)
- Where Professors Send Their Children to College (CBS Moneywatch.com, Feb. 15, 2011)
- Not a Bad Thing At All: Liberal Education (The Record [New Jersey], Aug. 8, 2010)
- 10 Reasons to Go to a Small (or Liberal Arts) College (U.S. News & World Report, July 28, 2010)