What Is: Liberal Studies

It has nothing to do with politics, and it’s not the same as Liberal Arts. So, just what is Liberal Studies? Like the Liberal Arts, Liberal Studies encompasses a broad range of disciplines in the arts and sciences. But while a Liberal Arts major typically focuses on one subject, a student in a Liberal Studies program seeks to connect them all—which, of course, is how we live our lives in today’s fast-paced, interconnected, knowledge-driven society. “You’re not just learning the material in textbooks,” says Charles McNelis, Faculty Director of the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and the Doctor of Liberal Studies programs, “but also the larger global and societal connections beyond the textbook.”