I'm confused about college degrees and majors. - Writers Forum

Mallignamius · 11-25-2007, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Bowdoin College, founded in 1794, is a private liberal arts college...

Bowdoin offers majors in African Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Asian Studies, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Computer Science, Economics, English, Environmental Studies, French, Gender and Women's Studies, Geology, German, Government, History, Latin American Studies, Mathematics, Music, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy, Psychology, Religion, Russian, Sociology, Spanish, and Visual Arts. In addition, the college offers minors in Theatre, Dance, Education, Film Studies, and Gay and Lesbian Studies.

Source

I'm interested in a liberal arts degree, but then I see these majors but I don't see "liberal arts" in that list. Should I take that to mean that while I might pursue a liberal arts degree, I also declare a major from that list? I had thought that liberal arts would be the major. I don't understand this.

Can anyone explain this to me?

Erik Buchanan · 11-25-2007, 10:42 AM

From Miriam-Webster's Online dictionary.:

The studies (as language, philosophy, history, literature, abstract science) in a college or university intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop the general intellectual capacities (as reason and judgment) as opposed to professional or vocational skills.

So yes, all those things listed are liberal arts, and you would choose you major from among them to be the central focus of your studies.

Amara-J · 11-25-2007, 11:02 AM

The whole idea of the "liberal arts" system is to give you (the student) a chance to broaden your educational horizons, before settling on a major. "Liberal arts" is the system, not the major itself. When you enroll in a liberal arts college, you're generally expected to have a 'trial period' of two years in which you have to study a variety of subjects - only in your junior year do you narrow down your choices, and pick your major. This is normal.

The variety of subjects isn't an optional thing. It's a must. The whole idea is to give you a well-rounded education and balance of activities. Some colleges may have different requirements; the one below actually makes students take PE (yes, Physical Education sessions!) to graduate.

Description taken from the website of Mt. Holyoke College, a women's liberal arts university in Massachusetts, USA:

The College's distribution requirement is designed to acquaint students with a wide range of knowledge and encourage students to explore new areas of interest. At least 68 credits must be earned from course work outside the major department, across the three curricular divisions: humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences. Mount Holyoke proudly requires not just this distribution across divisions of knowledge, but also a foreign language (intermediate knowledge of a language you have studied before, or elementary knowledge of a language new to you), and a multicultural course.

So even if you march into a liberal arts university thinking "I'm going to major in English, and English only", you'll still have to do your variety of subjects before then. One girl I know is taking English, Psychology, History, Statistics, and Astronomy for her first year (although she hates Math!). Another girl, in the same college, has enrolled for Economics and French among others. A third (in another college) is taking Rhetoric, Economics, Japanese, etc.

Some people come into a liberal arts university completely sure of what they want to major in, but change their mind later after having fallen in love with a completely different field of study.

In short, you'll graduate from a liberal arts university, you'll have had a liberal arts education, but you won't have a major named Liberal Arts.

Hope that helps, and fire away with any other questions.

~Amara-J

Mallignamius · 11-25-2007, 01:20 PM

Thank you for tackling my questions.

But I'm still unclear. The University of Maine Graduate School offers "Advanced Degree Options," which includes "Liberal Studies" in a list like "Accounting, Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, Biological Engineering..."

http://factsheets.umaine.edu/UWP/7c-GRD.pdf

They offer an MA (Master of Arts) in Liberal Studies (at the graduate level).

http://www2.umaine.edu/graduate/cont...s-brochure.pdf

Does this mean that one can have an MA in Liberal Studies with a major in x? I guess my confusion might be a misunderstanding of what a major is versus a degree. I thought they were the same thing.

wheelz1138 · 11-25-2007, 02:34 PM

The best way I can explain the process is this:

There are typically five "undergraduate" or starting degrees

-B.S. (Bachelor's of Science), which typically focuses more on technical and business courses. They usually require more math or science credits.

-B.A. (Bachelor's of Arts), which is generally for the more creatively-inclined student. They generally require less serious math and science study and include a foreign language requirement.

-B.F.A. (Bachelor's of Fine Arts), a degree focused significantly on art. It requires approval to enter the program and has more difficult arts classes.

-A.S. (Associate's of Science), similar to the B.S., though less strenuous and typically takes about half the time to complete. Because of this, the degree gives less focus and experience.

-A.A. (Associate's of Arts), the two-year version of the B.A., with the similar limited experience as the A.S.

Most majors, with the exclusion of the arts, can be declared under any of these degrees (i.e. a B.A. in English, or a B.S. in Accounting).

Any clearer now?

Mallignamius · 11-25-2007, 04:07 PM

I'm sorry that I still don't fully understand. Actually, for the most part, everything everyone replied with I already knew. So if the answer to my question exists here, I don't recognize it.

Quote:

In short, you'll graduate from a liberal arts university, you'll have had a liberal arts education, but you won't have a major named Liberal Arts.

-This I did not know.

I guess a part of my confusion is the fact that University of Maine offers an MA (Master of Arts) in Liberal Studies. Is "Liberal Studies" the major or is it something else?

Maybe if I put it this way: "An MA in Physics." -Is the Physics part the major?

Rumrunner · 11-25-2007, 05:15 PM

Think of the BS/BA/BFA as defining not just the type of degree (bachelors) but also the general field of study: Science, Art, Fine Art respectively. These broad fields are often called simply "colleges," more than one college can be grouped together under the umbrella of a University, although these days the terms are often conflated. Examples: College of Liberal Arts (often also called College of Arts and Sciences, as it was where I went to school), College of Law, College of Business, etc.

Undergraduate degrees are pretty structured; you will have to take certain background ("core") classes in a range of subjects intended to give you a foundation, and these will typically represent around half to two-thirds of the total courses you take. The remainder of your courses will be focused on a particular subject of your choice -- your "Major" -- which becomes your particular area of interest / expertise. You may sometimes also elect to take a smaller number of courses focused on a second subject, which becomes a "Minor." Some colleges will even allow you to take more than one Major, provided you meet the requirements for both. This lets you use the same core classes to study more than one subject in depth, provided you are within the same field or college.

Example: Say I'm interested in history. I apply to the College of Liberal Arts for a BA, and declare my Major as History. I'm now going to take all of the general requirements of the Liberal Arts BA degree, plus a certain number of hours of specialized history classes. Now, in taking the general classes, I discover that I really like philosophy, too. But I don't want to stop taking history classes, because in whatever wierd fictional world I live in, history pays well.... I might declare a double Major, and study extra classes in philosophy as well. At the end of this, I'll get a single degree (BA) which will show two Major areas of focus: history and philosophy.

In a Masters degree, the program is usually somewhat less structured, because it's expected that a significant portion of your coursework will be focused on personal research and the execution of a thesis. Thus you work within a general field, like in the bachelors: Arts, Fine Arts, Sciences, etc. Your masters will generally be awarded within the subject that you produce your thesis (physics, geology, philosophy, whatever). So there is no real "Major" per se at the masters level.

Amara-J · 11-25-2007, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mallignamius

I'm sorry that I still don't fully understand. Actually, for the most part, everything everyone replied with I already knew. So if the answer to my question exists here, I don't recognize it.

In short, you'll graduate from a liberal arts university, you'll have had a liberal arts education, but you won't have a major named Liberal Arts.

-This I did not know.

I guess a part of my confusion is the fact that University of Maine offers an MA (Master of Arts) in Liberal Studies. Is "Liberal Studies" the major or is it something else?

Sorry, I think I'd better be more careful in choosing my words. Or eat them. Maybe that should be "You'll graduate from a liberal arts university, you'll have had a liberal arts education, but your major can be anything from Mathematics to History to Anthropology. If you want, your major can also be Liberal Studies, which is offered in some places... but the name of the major isn't Liberal Arts, it's Liberal Studies."

Liberal Studies = not Liberal Arts.

Liberal Arts = the system.

Liberal Studies = a major within the system.

(Bah terminology and technicality. I suppose that's where the confusion - mine included - stems from, differentiating between the two terms.)

Found some useful links below that explain the terminology of a liberal arts education, a liberal arts college, and the major of Liberal Studies.

The Role of Liberal Arts in Your Future

Area of Study: Liberal Studies

I hope I got that right. Sorry for the earlier garbled explanation, Mallignamius.

Rumrunner · 11-25-2007, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Liberal Studies = a major within the system.

I'm guessing that this major is probably roughly equivalent to what the school I went to called Humanities (Amara-J's liberal studies link seems to support this).

Mallignamius · 11-25-2007, 07:23 PM

Ah, now I think I understand all this.

Thank you, everyone. Much appreciated.