Benefits
A liberal arts education fosters curiosity and problem-solving skills that serve graduates throughout their lives.
Professors in the College of Arts and Sciences relish the “light bulb” moments when understanding suddenly illuminates their students’ faces. The joy of grasping a difficult concept or solving a complex problem is powerful, and the College of Arts and Sciences aims to cultivate the active curiosity and rigorous habits of thinking that enable its graduates to experience this feeling of accomplishment and wonder again and again, for the rest of their lives.
At the College of Arts and Sciences, students learn how to observe carefully, analyze, and synthesize information from a variety of sources. They learn to apply analytical approaches to texts, data, and the patterns and structures of culture; they discover a wider world full of exciting challenges. The analytical tools they master at Valpo enable graduates to approach those challenges with enthusiasm and confidence.
Teresa Bals-Elsholz Ph.D., Associate Professor of Meteorology and Chair, Department of Geography and Meteorology
“We teach our students theory, and how to apply it. Crossing that boundary is how you learn to think critically, and those skills are valuable in any setting,”
Liberal arts education at the College of Arts and Sciences does something better than job training; it prepares each student to take the reins of a career. Employers and graduate admissions committees prize the analytical and communication skills that the College develops — as evidenced by a placement rate of more than 90 percent of our graduates for more than 20 consecutive years.
Departments in the College of Arts and Sciences focus a great deal of individual attention on their majors, learning about each student’s preferences, goals, and strengths. Sound advice from dedicated faculty mentors ensures that each student can take advantage of Valpo’s resources to chart the most advantageous course of study.
Independent study and the opportunity to do serious research give Valpo students experience that confers a distinct advantage in a competitive job market. With support from Valpo’s excellent Career Center, Arts and Sciences graduates move on to richly rewarding careers.
“My Valpo professors left me with a solid baseline of real-world experiences from their classrooms to the opportunity of interning at Indiana 105 [radio station].”
Drew Forni