A liberal arts education is more important than ever. At a time of such rapid cultural and technological change, where short clips, manufactured images, and a flood of conflicting information often short-circuit reason, the liberal arts seek to move people away from thoughtless adherence—to strengthen the capacity to raise fundamental questions and develop the human skills needed to navigate an evolving world and changing workforce.
Longstanding Goals of a Liberal Arts Education
1. An independent, inquiring mind.
A liberal arts education teaches people how to think; it does not dictate what they ought to think. It encourages, through independent reasoning and fair-minded inquiry, the recognition of unstated assumptions, the thoughtful reconsideration of received ideas, and the challenging of simplistic generalizations. The liberal arts explore controversial and competing ideas in ways that demand informed, careful, and considered judgement.
2. A breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding.
Through both general and specialized studies, a liberal arts education stimulates an understanding of the content, methods, and theoretical approaches of different disciplines, as well as a capacity to integrate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries and apply learnings to real-world setting through field learning, internship, and experiential learning activities.
3. An awareness of the perennial questions and new challenges confronting humanity.
A liberal arts education encourages appreciation of the variety and complexity of circumstances and human responses to them in different times and places—historical and modern.
4. A depth and consistency of moral judgement.
A liberal arts education emphasizes the seriousness and difficulty of moral and ethical issues, and the necessity of examining them thoroughly.
5. An ability to write and speak with clarity and precision.
A liberal arts education recognizes the connection between clear thinking and effective communication. It fosters the ability to develop sustained, well-reasoned, and clearly-presented arguments.
6. A capacity and lifelong desire for learning.
Pursuing a liberal arts path is a process of questioning, rather than a set of answers. By the time students graduate from St. Thomas University, they have developed a way of thinking and learning they carry with them into their lives and careers.