Why Liberal Arts?

Learn How to Learn
By studying classical and modern thinkers, artists, musicians and writers, liberal arts students discover how to learn for a lifetime. No college or university can possibly teach you everything you will ever need to know in just three or four years. A liberal arts education, however, instills in students the desire to expand their minds while they are in school, and long afterward.

Learn How to Think
Students who receive a liberal arts education are focused on issues of high importance to humanity. They are held to a higher standard because their professors know them personally and know their capabilities. Students are expected to come to class each day prepared to engage in meaningful, thought-provoking discussion based on assigned readings.

Learn How to Communicate
Because liberal arts colleges typically have a low student-to-professor ratio, students are given more opportunities to voice opinions, make presentations, receive feedback and engage with professors outside of the classroom. They learn how to follow arguments, how to form and articulate intelligent opinions, and how to distinguish the important from the trivial.

Excel As a Learner and Leader
A 1998 study by the Annapolis Group, an organization of leading independent liberal arts colleges, found that the environment and training of liberal arts colleges naturally produces learners and leaders. The study found that liberal arts graduates are six times more likely to be president of the United States, win a Pulitzer Prize or be a member of the National Academy of Sciences. They are also three times more likely to be CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

Why a Southern Virginia Liberal Arts Education?
How Does Southern Virginia Compare to Other Colleges and Universities?