Tracey Said:

What kind of career can I look forward to with a General Studies or Liberal Arts Bachelors Degree?

We Answered:

Those degrees are really good for three groups of people:

1) mid-career but don't have a degree required for advancement. May have taken college courses over the years but never finished the degree. The major doesn't matter because you already have a job - the employer just insists that the next level for you requires a degree and you need to check off the box. This is very often the case for folks that didn't finish college way-back-when and left needing a year or so to finish.

2) people that won't be needing a job because they're rich, already have a vocational qualification, have retired, but also want to be educated for the sake of learning or social standing. A long time ago this is what rich people sent their daughters to college to get so that they'd be better prepared to marry a doctor or lawyer and educate his children. Royalty like it too - they won't be needing a job either but need to be educated.

3) people with a passion for study of a field that crosses multiple disciplines for which a usual major isn't available or those who are exceptionally brilliant and have discovered a new way to look at an existing field of study. These degrees allow them to define the areas they want to study so that they achieve the correct combination. They will almost universally go to grad school and collect a couple/few master's degrees before deciding on their PhD.

None of these is for getting a job with just the bachelor's degree. These are for "checking off the box" or learning a lot of cool stuff. An exception is elementary school teachers. A BA/BS in Liberal Arts followed by the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) is preferred qualification for elementary school teachers. It's also a good choice for those people who are already talented writers of fiction who need a broad education to relate in their writing.

Sociology + Anthropology + Philosophy isn't a Liberal Arts major - that's an interdisciplinary social studies major. If you did sufficient upper levels in each of those you could use it for grad school admission in Law, Social Work, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Counseling, and Education. Social Work, Counseling, and Education grad school would lead to that "helping children and youth" idea but you'd be looking at very basic entry level (poorly paid) work without the master's.

A post-bac certificate in Liberal Arts has no vocational value whatsoever - it's intended to broaden your education. A full graduate degree in something would be the better vocational route.

All of that said, keeping in mind that I don't need a job, my BSc in Liberal Arts is second behind my MBA as the most useful degrees I have. It broadened my horizons so much that I've been able to step into all sorts of areas and to combine (synthesize) knowledge from different fields into useful information. If I had to rely on it to find a job without significant work experience I'd be up a river on a raft with no paddles.

Miriam Said:

what kind of good paying jobs can you get with an AA degree in liberal arts studies?

We Answered:

None at all. Sorry. A liberal arts degree is meant for you to get into law school or to get an MBA. It has no other use. With luck you might become an insurance sales person or a real estate agent.

Roger Said:

What can one do with a BA/BS in liberal arts? What about liberal studies?

We Answered:

OK, lots of questions.

BA - Bachelor of Arts (English for example)
BS- Bachelors of Science (Communications, as an example)

Liberal arts is a general program term. It means you are studying a general program, instead of a more specific one (like those listed above). Liberal studies is just another (less common) term for this.

You can do a lot with a BA or BS, depending on what you study. There are so many programs that I really couldn't list anything specific without knowing what major you are considering.

Liberal arts universities present general studies programs, English, Psychology, Biology, Communications, Sociology etc. They do not focus on one thing. It is good because you have a broad range of career options. Some places will request that you take more classes while you are working for them, to get more specific training.

By thy way, if you are going for a general studies degree, I wouldn't waste my time (unless you are simply looking to learn). It's not as valuable as a degree, because you create your own course load, which many companies just simply aren't interested in.

Ivan Said:

What is the difference between a Liberal Arts degree and a Liberal Studies degree?

We Answered:

Weird. Usually they refer to the same things. At my University it was called Liberal Studies. I've also seen it labeled: Comparative Studies, General Studies, Arts and Letters, and Humanities.

I can't imagine how they're different at the same University. Perhaps one has a final project and another has an internship requirement or something. Usually when you have 2 different majors that are basically the same thing at the same University, they have a minor difference in curriculum.

Erica Said:

is it possible to go to medical school in india after doing liberal arts studies in the united states?help me!

We Answered:

It is difficult to get into Indian Medical institutions for foreign nationals. The medical field requires the student to complete 10+2 and then undertake a common entrance exam for which students prepare for over a year and still dont clear it. Apart from that, medical in India is so tough that anything below 85%-90% is simply not accepted or in other words they do not find a seat in good medical institutions. Being a foreign national, you may have to spend almost a yaer in India for preparing for the common entrance exam and then apply to colleges if you clear with flying colors. This wasn't to break your confidence, but to enlighten you on what preparations you might have to do.

Theodore Said:

what is the difference between liberal arts and liberal studies?

We Answered:

hi,
check it out,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_art…

good luck,