温哥华岛大学

Liberal Studies offers a significant alternative to traditional degrees in a single discipline. It draws its rich content from the humanities, arts and sciences, and treats it in a way which brings out the connections between different disciplines. Courses are team taught by professors from a wide range of academic backgrounds, who form with students a community intent on maximizing the learning of all. In participatory seminars students develop skills in communication and critical thinking so prized in graduate school and in the professions of tomorrow.

• A critical and creative exploration of important issues raised by the most influential works of Western culture.
• A vibrant learning community of students and professors, who investigate together alternative conceptions of the universe and our place in it.
• A forum for active learning which does not rely on the work of so-called experts, but challenges students to develop their own understanding.
• An examination of current realities against the fascinating backdrop of the last three thousand years.
• Education of the whole person, through the promotion of crucial skills in communication (oral and written), teamwork, self-reliance, critical analysis and creative expression - skills at a premium in today's workplace.

Who Would Want to Take Liberal Studies?

The Liberal Studies Major is not for students who have decided in advance that their educational goal is a career in a single narrow discipline. Even these students, however, have much to gain from the rigorous skill-training and general cultural awareness they will receive by pursuing a Minor in Liberal Studies or by taking some Liberal Studies courses as electives.

The Liberal Studies Major is for you if:

• you do not want to confine yourself to a traditional discipline, but want a more general education in which the relationships among various disciplines are explored;
• you want to complement your work in a traditional discipline with a broad understanding of its context and relevance;
• your goal is a career in law, public service, architecture, business, art, the media, education or any of a host of alternative where a broad education is recognized as an important asset.

Many possibilities for graduate study will also be open to those who combine a Major in Liberal Studies with one in a specialized discipline. Our students have gone on to postgraduate and professional study in law, architecture, public administration, education, marine archaeology, communications, folklore studies, English, history, women's studies, philosophy and so on, usually without having to complete a qualifying year. A certain number proceed to Post-Degree Programs in elementary or secondary education, and many are working in ESL and adult education.