There are plenty of benefits to choosing a liberal arts school for your undergraduate degree. You could get a well-rounded education that includes studies in the arts, sciences and humanities, giving you a solid academic background for many future pursuits. A liberal arts curriculum will develop versatile skills you’ll use in the classroom, the workplace and your everyday life, including critical thinking and clear communication. However, if you need an advanced degree for your future career, you might wonder if a liberal arts education can help you get accepted into, and succeed in, graduate school.
What Research Says About Liberal Arts Colleges and Grad Schools
If you want to attend a liberal arts school but are concerned you won’t be able to get into graduate school, there’s good news. Not only can graduates of liberal arts colleges earn a master’s degree if they choose, but they are more likely to earn a doctoral degree than graduates from other types of colleges.
Several liberal arts schools rank among the 10 undergraduate colleges whose students are most likely to go on to earn doctoral degrees, CBS News reported. Don’t be afraid that these degrees are all in majors considered less than practical, either. Twice as many graduates of liberal arts colleges go on to attain a doctoral degree in science compared to graduates of other schools, according to CBS News.
What Graduate Degrees Do Liberal Arts Students Earn?
There’s no limit to the types of graduate degrees a liberal arts student can earn or the types of careers available with the right training. Graduates of liberal arts school become successful business professionals, attorneys, educators, writers, pastors, psychologists and highly-educated authorities in many other fields, USA Today reported. In fact, the publication specifically recommends law school, business school, seminary programs and Master of Fine Arts in writing programs as some of the best graduate school options for liberal arts students.
Graduates of liberal arts colleges can even go on to attend medical school and become doctors, the University of Medical and Health Sciences (UMSH) reported. In fact, candidates who choose this path may actually have more career options than those who begin their studies as biology or pre-med majors. Their liberal arts background gives these students the communication skills they need to become medical writers, a job that is in itself growing, according to the UMSH.
One reason a liberal arts education is so adept at preparing students for grad school is because it includes studies in a wide variety of subjects. Students can easily complete the prerequisites required for admission to grad school programs in a variety of subjects as part of their undergraduate curriculum. Additionally, the liberal arts focus on becoming better thinkers, communicators, decision-makers and overall learners helps students meet the challenges of a graduate education, regardless of what subject they choose to study.