The Interfolio Blog

In a recent piece in the Chronicle, Katharine Brooks of the University of Texas discusses why building a strong career direction into liberal arts studies is so important. We've discussed this topic before on the blog, arguing that liberal arts majors have great skills and the preparation necessary to be just as qualified for professional positions as their business studies counterparts.

What was great about Katharine's article was the focus on direct and practical advice to department chairs, professors and career center professionals as to how to provide support to liberal arts majors and help them recognize career opportunities.

She argues that the critical thinking, wealth of historical knowledge, perspective on world events, logic and continued pursuit of truth combine with core skills like research and writing to make liberal arts majors great candidates in a wide variety of fields. The question becomes how to connect the majors to real-world jobs and teach students how to approach the work they do within their majors differently, thinking about not only classroom materials, but also about how those materials and skills relate to future professional opportunities.

To learn more about how Katharine recommends improving support for liberal arts majors, check out the Chronicle article. And if you have any thoughts or examples of how your school is working to support liberal arts majors feel free to share in the comments.