SSIS College Spotlight: Liberal Arts College or Research University?
volume 1, issue 5. Fall 2016
volume 1, issue 5. Fall 2016
Dear Seniors and Families,
The United States offers a dizzying array of colleges: technical, community, and liberal arts—some of which are religiously affiliated. Universities—large and small—house one or several colleges within them. Universities are where you also find graduate programs and professional schools such as those for medicine, law, engineering, and business. The focus of this Spotlight is to compare liberal arts colleges with universities, however I mention the others as well—they offer significant opportunities to gain valued skills and pathways to a four-year baccalaureate degree.
Choosing between a liberal arts college and a university setting raises several questions: what kind of learner are you? Do you have a sense of direction career-wise? Are there research facilities that you must have? Are you seeking technical or pre-professional training? Do you prefer to be in a smaller or a larger learning community? What sort of diversity in the student body do you seek? What is your educational philosophy? Are you worried about employment immediately after college or are you planning to attend a graduate or professional school? The information below provides some tips and information to help you understand the difference between colleges and universities and make choices that are the “right fit” for you.
As always, take advantage of the College Counseling office space, the materials you find there, and me!
Best always,
Caroline
Your College Counselor
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COLLEGE VERSUS UNIVERSITY: WHAT IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE?
The primary difference between a college—any kind of 4-year college—and university is implied in the name. A university has a “universal” aspect: It houses both 4-year college baccalaureate degree programs as well as graduate and professional degree programs. The mission of a university—whether private or public—is to give students the very best possible professional training.
For example: Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington is a private Jesuit university home to 5,041 undergraduates working toward a 4-year college baccalaureate degree in 75 areas of study in the College of Arts and Sciences—its mission: building a better world through “education, character, service, and faith.” In the 2015-2016 school year, 2,111 students also were working toward a masters degree in 26 areas of study or a doctoral degree in three areas of study; 331 students were attending Gonzaga’s law school. Gonzaga offers professional training in the schools of business, engineering, nursing, education, science, and law. It has an Institute for Hate Studies and a robust Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program.
Other distinguishing characteristics of a university:
- Universities are generally larger than colleges both physically as well as in total student population
- The university student population age-range is greater
- University professors tend to receive promotions, if not exclusively than primarily, on their research, publications, and patents whereas college professors are expected to devote significant time to their students as well as their research
- University undergraduate classes, especially for freshman and sophomores, are often quite large
- University undergraduate classes and labs, especially for freshmen and sophomores, are often taught by graduate students
- University undergraduates often must compete with graduate students for access to professors and research facilities
- Public universities (state funded and controlled) confer baccalaureate degrees in technical and pre-professional fields such as accounting, nursing, communications, and engineering whereas most non-denominational private universities do not
- Universities often attract funding for state-of-the-art facilities and engage in cutting-edge work
- Universities often attract more frequent guest researchers, speakers, arts performances, etc.
The list above generalizes across many different kinds of universities—please research individual schools to learn more about their undergraduate programs.
WHAT MAKES A COLLEGE “LIBERAL ARTS?”
Liberal Arts College (LAC) curricula reflect a tradition of education that values breadth as well as depth. Students are expected to achieve mastery across the humanities, arts, mathematics, the social and natural sciences, and in a foreign language not just for professional growth, but because study across disciplines enriches the human spirit, hones critical reasoning and the ability to communicate effectively, and is considered foundational to a philosophy of citizenship that originated in the Greco-Roman world and remains current today.
- LAC classes and labs are taught exclusively by professors
- LACs usually offer seminars of 10-30 people where students are expected to participate
- LACs do not employ graduate students; often the student/professor ratio is near 1:10
- LACs rarely, if ever, offer courses such as accounting and nursing, unless they are religiously affiliated—in which case they offer pre-professional programs that run in tandem with a deep liberal arts core
- LAC graduates frequently attend graduate and professional schools such as schools of medicine, however most do not refer to their science majors as “pre-med” or their economics and political science majors as “pre-law” or “pre-business;” for example, English and Psychology majors have done well in all three fields
- LACs are generally smaller and may therefore not offer as many courses as are available at universities
- It is more common at LACs to double-major across disciplines, for example: Biochemistry and Religious Studies or Mathematics and Dance
- LACs expect you to want to be well-rounded—if you are a driven engineer-in-the-making, it may not be the best environment for you—check individual schools! Some have 5-year dual major or master-degree plans associated with some of the finest engineering schools in the country. For example, check out Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania or Occidental College in California.
Please research individual schools, they are not uniform in what they offer and how they approach teaching, and talk to your college counselor.