Why Study the Liberal Arts and Sciences?
Transforming Students to Change the World
A major in the liberal Arts and Sciences will give you the fundamental skills and attributes that every employer desires, including the ability to think critically and make informed decisions.
These skills and attributes are:
- Defining problems and tasks
- Writing, Communicating and Analyzing
- A critical eye and ear
- Ability to retrieve information - libraries, books, periodicals, Internet
- Planning and executing research
- An open mind to new ideas and solutions
- Sensitivity to individuals and tolerance of cultural differences
- An ability to learn what you need in order to accomplish a task
- A joy of life-long-learning
- Knowing not only how to do things right, but also, how to do the right thing.
These skills and attributes in combination with the Elon Experiences - study abroad, internships, service learning, leadership and research - will help you to get a job and most importantly to be a good citizen.
" We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist---to use technologies that haven’t been invented---in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet." Karl Firsh - Did you Know?
A liberal education is a philosophy of education that empowers individuals, liberates the mind, cultivates intellectual judgment, and fosters ethical and social responsibility. A liberal education prepares all students for a world of complexity, diversity and change (AACU).
The Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) Council defines “liberal education for the twenty-first century as a comprehensive set of aims and outcomes that are essential for all students because they are important to all fields of endeavor. Today, in an economy that is dependent on innovation and global savvy, these outcomes have become the keys to economic vitality and individual opportunity. They are the foundations for American success in all fields--from technology and the sciences to communications and the creative arts.”
The LEAP Council also recommends that "an education that intentionally fosters, across multiple fields of study, wide-ranging knowledge of science, cultures, and society, high-level intellectual and practical skills: an active commitment to personal and social responsibility; and the demonstrated ability to apply learning to complex problems and challenges."
Liberal Education and American's Promise - Essential Learning Outcomes
Liberal Learning - Association of American Colleges and Universities
Elon University maintains a special identify as a comprehensive university that centers the curriculum on the liberal arts and sciences. Because all students must successfully complete at least 58 hours in the liberal arts and sciences through their four years as undergraduates, those who choose majors in the professional schools (Business, Communications, Education) are considered dual citizens in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences.
At Elon, the arts and sciences are at the core of all majors. The schematic below provides an overview of the Elon curriculum. All students must complete:
14 credits of the first-year core,
32 credits of studies in the arts and sciences,
the foreign language graduation requirement,
a major,
12 credits of advanced studies in the arts and sciences, including an interdisciplinary seminar,
the experiential learning requirement,
132 total credits, including electives that can be used to complete a double major or minor(s).
The Elon curriculum guarantees breadth and depth.
General Studies - Mission Statement
The General Studies Program aspires to develop excitement about intellectual discovery, a curiosity that transcends disciplinary boundaries, and a global vision with which to address fundamental issues in order to improve the human condition.
To accomplish this mission, the program provides an interdisciplinary framework for learning, integrating the arts and sciences with experiential education. Though each discipline within this framework is different, the intellectual challenges are similar. Students are asked to see the nature and dimensions of a problem, use appropriate resources and methods in search of solutions, develop well-reasoned arguments, and effectively communicate with a wider audience.
Through this intellectual process, the General Studies Program challenges students to become responsible participants in the global community.
Program Goals
- Effective writing and speaking skills
- Complex quantitative reasoning skills
- Information literacy skills
- The capacity to view issues from other cultural perspectives
- The ability to communicate effectively with people from other nations and cultures
- An understanding of their interconnectedness with other people and the environment, as well as their responsibility to both
- A mature understanding of how knowledge is constructed through academic inquiry within and across disciplines
- The intellectual curiosity essential to life-long learning
- Ethical decision-making skills to promote the common good
- A vital and integrated sense of self: mind, body and spirit
When it comes to internships, Elon's arts and sciences students have many choices. Here are just a few examples of recent internship sites:
The White House
U.S. Congress
Walt Disney World
Chanel, Inc.
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of the Interior
National Archives
Duke University Medical Center
National Geographic Society
Baltimore Aquarium
LabCorp
Smithsonian
The Washington Center
Santa Fe Opera House
Busch Gardens
N.C. Shakespeare Festival
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
One World Action (London)
BWXT Pantex
U.S. Forest Service
School for Marine and Science Technology, U Mass Dartmouth
Big Huge Games Inc.
Boston Art Museum
CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center
WestPoint Stevens - Human Resources
The Carter Center
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
After graduation, arts and sciences alums start their careers in a variety of exciting fields with positions like these:
Civil engineer
Environmental consultant
Entrepreneur
Physician
Nurse practitioner
Computer engineer
Peace Corps volunteer
Social worker
Attorney
Performer in national tours of Fosse, Jekyll and Hyde, Chicago, and, Cabaret
Many Elon alumni choose to continue their studies in graduate schools all over the world. Here are just a few examples:
The College of William and Mary
West Virginia University
Johns Hopkins University
Columbia University
University of California at San Diego
Emory University
St. Andrews University (Scotland)
Wesley Theological Seminary
Ohio State University
Boston College
