Students who are not sure which disciplinary path should be their specialty after leaving Mercer’s Liberal Arts program, or who want to pursue an interdisciplinary specialty of their own design, can transfer to a school offering a Liberal Studies B.A. The benefit is in gaining two more years of broad, general knowledge across disciplines and even more practice in critical thinking, communication, and analytical reasoning.
Students may pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies in conjunction with a dual Education degree or teaching certification in P-3, K-5, or 5-8 grade levels. William Paterson University at Mercer offers this program, as do many other New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York schools.
Sometimes students know what they want to specialize in for a defined career, but it does not quite fit into a traditional disciplinary program. A Liberal Studies degree allows students a chance to design their own program with their career goal in mind; it can also provide experiential learning in the field, internships, and other benefits.
Rutgers offers a combined Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Liberal Studies, while Rider University offers an unspecified Liberal Arts and Sciences B.A. degree. Other colleges and universities offering a B.A./M.A. in Liberal Studies include the CUNY system in New York, Dartmouth University, Villanova University, Penn State, and many others.
A Liberal Studies B.A. opens the door to the same type of career as most other BAs in Liberal Arts disciplines, including writing, editing, journalism, marketing, business, public relations, government administration, social work, non-profit administration, education, and law.
A Liberal Studies M.A. is excellent for generalists who need an unspecified master’s degree for promotion or a jump in salary; on average, a master’s degree adds $ 12,000.00 per year. For that reason, a Liberal Studies M.A. is one of the most popular degrees for people who are already working full-time and want to advance in their career.