Liberal arts is not a well-known but diversified field.
The liberal arts movement is changing the face of education in India, yet very few people are aware of its scope and advantages. In today’s dynamic world being the master of single traits is not enough. Interdisciplinary education has become a prerequisite. Does a single degree programme allow you to take many courses from different disciplines to achieve a comprehensive, interdisciplinary education? The solution is a liberal arts education.
What is liberal education?
This degree is broadly categorised with humanities, social science, natural science, and formal sciences. With modern conceptions that emphasise learning about areas that lie under the umbrella of liberal arts, liberal education covers a range of methods for graduate and undergraduate education.
Value of liberal arts:
Liberal education aims to develop students’ ability to think critically and broaden their knowledge horizons. It aims to provide them with a broad intellectual foundation by studying human cultures, natural and physical sciences, and analytical problems. Furthermore, it prepares them to apply what they've learned to real-world problems and solve them in real-time.
Advantages of getting a liberal arts degree
- If you are uncertain about your career A liberal arts education can lead to a variety of jobs, and you can choose one over another.
- Develop soft skills polish your skills in writing, public speaking, and presentation skills through the collaboration of work and creativity. Due to the apparent nature of liberal arts courses, students are encouraged to be creative.
- Open up career options with a liberal degree you can branch out into many different careers.
- It makes you a better leader not just a political leader, liberal art degree helps you in leading a team who can inspire employees and introduce new ideas into the workplace.
- Prepare you for schools of masters A potential graduate students with a liberal arts background will be able to learn across a wide range of fields of study, providing them with the foundation knowledge to pursue graduate studies in any subject of their choice.
A career in liberal arts
Instead of choosing a career at the beginning of their degree. Liberal arts are most likely to be focusing on learning as much as they can learn; about the world around them which opens up opportunities across many sectors.
- Academia : A liberal arts education will provide you with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that will help you explore, research, and/or teach a subject in a new light.
- Art :photography, commercial art, painting, interior design, graphic design, and visual design
- Marketing : Whether you go into advertising, promotions, public relations, journalism, news editing, or copywriting, the humanities subjects you studied will help you understand people better.
- Political Science : career in this field- law, public policy, politics, business, and working in charities and NGOs.
- Other career paths : Biology (healthcare, laboratory assistant, research assistant), business (entrepreneur, store manager, salesperson), event planning, environment (conservation, public policy), finance (banker, accountant, financial analyst), law enforcement, research analysis (combining statistics and psychology), and social services are examples of occupations (such as counseling or therapy).
Skills gained for liberal arts
Across the globe, supporters of liberal arts education criticise other degree programs' educational formats and curricula for overemphasizing technical abilities while ignoring other critical skills. A liberal arts degree will provide you with a wide range of highly sought-after skills, some of which are listed below:
- Analytical, evaluative, critical, and creative problem-solving abilities
- Effective oral and written communication skills
- Problem-solving and pattern intelligence skills
- Ability to learn and synthesize new ideas
- Experiences in quality and quantitive data analysis
- Critical and reflective skills
- Numerical skills
- Effective research skills
- Organization and time-management skills
- Information and literacy skills
- Ability to adapt to the easy situations
- Ethical decision making
- Ability to pose meaningful questions
- Ability to work in a team
- Self-confidence and self-understanding
- Ability to be sensitive to others and tolerant of cultural differences
- Foreign language skills and cross-culture knowledge
Liberal education in India
A liberal arts degree opens up a plethora of career opportunities for you. You can pursue a career in marketing, journalism, finance, law, or a variety of other fields. You would be qualified to work in a variety of profiles and positions. Several large organizations in India would be interested in hiring you as a liberal arts student. Several companies hire students from India's top liberal arts colleges. To name a few, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Bloomberg Quint, TCS Consulting, McKinsey & Company, Federal Bank, and BCG.
Globalization, rapidly expanding information and communication technologies, and the hegemony of neoliberal ideology add new dimensions to the perennial challenge of justifying liberal education as a rational, responsible endeavor in a democratic society. Private institutions are compelled to sell their products to a consumerist public that is becoming less willing to pay a high price for something whose "value" is not tightly linked to a high-paying job upon graduation. Whereas public institutions are coming under the increasing control of legislatures that are concerned with tax reductions and proving the impact of public spending.
Students who receive a liberal education with a variety of skill sets are well-rounded and highly valued in the professional arena. According to studies, employers believe that candidates with liberal arts degrees are more likely to excel in their field and perform well at work. Be prepared to be a student for your career, to be curious and open-minded, to learn to work in groups, and to respect and tolerate diverse viewpoints, because life is all about celebrating our differences.
Focus on learning rather than placements; there is a distinction between being 'job ready' and being 'future-ready.'
Develop a long-term vision for your career and keep your options open; this will allow you to explore and discover what interests you.
