A Liberal Education*
Liberal education is an inquiry into what it means to be human - a quest to understand the rational, spiritual, and aesthetic dimensions of human life, integrating a variety of disciplinary approaches.

Such an education is more important than ever. In a culture where image and icon often short-circuit reason, a liberal education seeks to free people from thoughtless adherence to the authoritative opinions of their time and place. In an age where information is prepared for massive and quick consumption, liberal education seeks to strengthen the capacity to raise fundamental questions. In an era characterized by enormous pressures to conform, liberal education seeks to inspire the imagination and engage the spirit.

The Value of a Liberal Education*
With its emphasis on a liberal education, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire strives to create an academic, cultural, and social environment in which each student can develop

1) An independent, inquiring mind. A liberal education teaches people how to think; it does not dictate what they ought to think. Through independent reasoning and fair-minded inquiry, it encourages the recognition of unstated assumptions and the thoughtful reconsideration of received ideas -- it challenges simplistic generalizations. The liberal arts thus explore controversial and competing ideas in ways that demand informed, careful, and considered judgment and support.

2) A breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding. Through both general and specialized studies, a liberal education seeks to stimulate an understanding of the content, methods, and theoretical approaches of different disciplines, as well as a capacity to integrate knowledge across disciplinary boundaries.

3) An awareness of the perennial questions and new challenges confronting humanity. A liberal education encourages appreciation of the variety and complexity of circumstances and human responses to them in different times and places.

4) A depth and consistency of moral judgment. A liberal 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 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 life-long desire for learning. Because liberal education is a process of questioning, rather than a set of answers, it is by definition a life-long project. Liberal education seeks to create in students a love of learning and the capacity to continue their personal and intellectual development long after graduation.

The Value of a Liberal Education*
When considering the value of any type of education, many people wonder first of all whether it will lead to a satisfying, well-paying job. In this respect, there is no doubt -- a liberal education is an excellent personal investment. Although specialists and technically-trained workers will always be needed, employers are saying emphatically that they need well-educated generalists who are flexible, creative, curious, and capable of seeing the broader picture. Employers in business, industry, government, health care, and other sectors are looking for people who have learned how to learn, people with excellent communication and teamwork skills -- in brief, they are looking for well-rounded, liberally-educated people. A university education is an excellent investment if you actively and creatively take advantage of all it offers, and liberal arts graduates in particular have lifetime earnings as high or higher than graduates of other programs.

From a broader perspective, liberal education is valuable because a democratic society needs citizens who can think for themselves and can participate in the improvement of that society. We need to be able to understand, in a critical and independent way, the issues and structures in which we are immersed. Liberal education contributes to this understanding by making us aware of the geographical, historical and cultural contexts of modern life. Students educated in the liberal arts recognize the issues that confront us, as citizens of a democracy, here and now.

From an individual perspective, liberal education is valuable because it enables personal growth and the cultivation of our human individuality. There is, after all, more to life than a career, no matter how satisfying that career might be. As individuals, we also need the intellectual and emotional nourishment provided by the creative arts -- theatre, music, literature, art. Liberal education aims to help us understand and appreciate cultures and culture in the widest sense. As such it contributes to the development of well-rounded individuals with a depth of human understanding and a high degree of personal satisfaction. Employers, in turn, put a high value on well-rounded individuals because they are the ones who make the best informed, the most "human" judgments. The value of a liberal education, in short, is that it enhances your prosperity, your society, and your humanity.

*All content on this page adapted nearly verbatim from The Value of a Liberal Education and Our Goals, thoughtfully and concisely prepared by St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick.