If you are a person who wishes to have a broader education, then an online degree in liberal arts is meant for you. This degree provides you with a wide-ranging education and perspectives on history, art and culture, social systems, communications and business, among others. If you already hold a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in liberal arts, a doctorate in this field will further improve your talents and creative work. You will also have the chance to enrich your historical, cultural and personal perspective and acquire more discipline, depth and technical strength in your own work.
Tracing back its history, liberal arts originally meant “studies appropriate for free men.” Free men because the citizens of republics in the olden days were never trained directly for any trade or endeavor. They only got an education that was general in nature and perceived to be most proper for the privileged social and political groups. For this reason, the liberal arts course then focused only on classical arts, literature, rhetoric and philosophy.
During the medieval times, the curriculum of universities consisted of seven liberal arts divided under two groups of studies – the trivium and quadrivium. The trivium covered grammar, rhetoric and dialectic while the quadrivium consisted of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. However, changes in society also led to changes in the scope of the liberal arts. From being a study providing general knowledge and intellectual skills, the term broadened to include study in the humanities. The humanities refer to a group of academic subjects bounded by a commitment to study the various aspects of human condition. Generally, the study is among the three major components of the liberal arts and sciences along with social sciences and natural sciences. These days, the term liberal arts has come to mean an enlightenment such as the liberation of the mind with the absence of biases and unjustified assumptions.
Earning a degree in arts and humanities provides a very enriching experience to students which can never be taken from them. It may not be a degree in business or science but the liberal arts develops your skills which can be eventually applied in practically any profession. The degree usually puts emphasis on communication skills, abstract learning, solving problems through reasoning, logic and deduction, open debating and the study of the historical and cultural contexts of these aspects. The skills and discipline earned here prepare students to work in any field providing an easy transition should they decide to pursue degrees in medicine or law or go to graduate school.
The arts program covers five major subjects – applied arts and design; architecture; art; film, television and video; and performing arts. The applied arts and design includes computer arts and design, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, interior design, medical illustration, photography and textile design. Architecture covers architectural history, building science, environmental design, historic preservation, landscape architecture and urban design. Art history, arts administration, art therapy, decorative arts, fine arts and museum studies fall under art while dance, drama, music and theater are under performing arts.
Meanwhile, the humanities include liberal studies, language and literature (languages, classics, comparative literature), linguistic studies (linguistics, translation and interpretation), philosophy and ethics, religious studies (mission and missiology, pastoral ministry and counseling, religion and theology) and writing (professional and creative).
