Liberal Arts & Communications

A liberal arts education has at its center four practices that distinguish it from other kinds of learning: critical thinking, examination of life, encounters with difference, and free exchange of ideas. It asserts the importance of lifelong learning characterized by sustained intellectual curiosity and an open mind for assessing the unfamiliar. A student of the liberal arts can grow personally as well as intellectually. This communication takes place verbally, but also in other ways, including the symbolic and expressive systems of mathematics, music, computer languages, the natural sciences, and the visual and performing arts. By learning and exploring these systems, one may attain an understanding of aspects of human expression, which is a crucial part of liberal education.

Communications
When we think about the purpose of communication classes in today's colleges, many of us probably think about the study of radio and television, and the importance of newer communication technologies like the World Wide Web. While much of our world has changed in the present age of information and technology, human communication remains central to the success of our everyday lives at school, work and in the community. The processes of human communication play an important role in the construction, maintenance, reinforcement, and reformation of various aspects of social, professional, and institutional life.  Institutes offering degrees in this field mostly have three areas of specialization that cohere around the common concern of understanding and explaining how different modes and media of communication serve as important influences on people’s everyday lives:  Interpersonal Communication and Relationships, Media and Society, and Rhetoric and Public Advocacy. Because of the unique challenges of new media, many colleges and universities also offer special tracks in technical and computer-mediated communication. High demand and quality preparation has allowed such graduates to find careers in public relations, marketing, journalism, Web development and other areas of the communication industry.

Liberal Arts & Communications
The field of Liberal Arts and Communications focuses on the traditions and concepts of the liberal arts: knowing past and contemporary cultures; liberating individuals from uninformed and arbitrary views of the world; developing writing, speaking, thinking, and reading abilities; strengthening the basis for responsible and creative participation in society; and committing to a life of learning.

Career Opportunities
A Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree with emphasis in communications is designed for students seeking a broad-based education that can lead to graduate school or jobs in which critical thinking and communication skills are valued. Students engage in time-honored methods of inquiry: creative endeavor, critical interpretation, dialogue, historical and logical analysis, and scholarly investigation. It is intended for students who plan to pursue careers that require a broad-based foundation in the arts and letters as well as advanced critical-thinking and communication skills. Entry-level jobs in the fields of editing, writing, social services, education, public relations, and government are possible options. This program also prepares students for entry into teaching in either elementary or secondary education. Students preparing for graduate study in law, philosophy, languages, public administration, communication, technical writing, art, creative writing, and English can also benefit from this degree.
A solid grounding in the liberal arts and Communication is also the best preparation for a career in communication or journalism. Through this degree the prospective journalists has an opportunity to gain skills in the arts of communication by studying well the uses to which the finest writers in English have put their language.