Study Liberal Arts in North Carolina

When you think of North Carolina, you might first think of the Atlantic coast, the Duke basketball team, or the beautiful city of Asheville in the mountains of the western part of the state. But North Carolina has far more to offer than these popular attractions and amenities, especially if you are a college student.

On the one hand, you can go to school at one of the dozens of colleges or universities in the state, including one of the 16 members of the University of North Carolina System (but there are many more private colleges and universities in the state to choose from, too). On the other hand, you have your pick of liberal arts degrees as well. The question is, which North Carolina liberal arts program is right for you?

Get your college search underway by consulting this list of some of the popular options!

Best Accredited Liberal Arts Bachelors Degrees and Colleges in North Carolina Online

Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Programs in North Carolina

Listed below are some of the popular schools offering liberal arts bachelor’s programs in North Carolina:

  • University of North Carolina-Greensboro
  • William Peace University
  • Winston-Salem State University
  • North Carolina Central University
  • Salem College
  • Meredith College
  • University of North Carolina Asheville
  • Elizabeth City State University
  • Methodist University
  • University of North Carolina-Charlotte

The University of North Carolina-Greensboro

Bachelor of Arts – Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies

The Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor of Arts degree from UNC-Greensboro focuses on the humanities and social sciences yet offers the flexibility of customization to meet your specific needs. You can study on campus in Greensboro or online, and you can choose from a number of different concentrations, too. These concentrations include Archaeology, International Affairs and Global Affairs and Development, or Psychology. Other options include the following:

  • Humanities
  • Social Sciences
  • Professional Studies
  • Asian Studies
  • International and Global Arts and Belief Systems
  • International and Global Human Rights
  • Latin American and Caribbean Studies
  • Russian Studies

In fact, this degree includes courses from 30 different programs and departments from UNC-Greensboro, which speaks to the true interdisciplinary nature of your studies. You can also choose between seven-week or 14-week courses, further enhancing the flexible nature of this program.

This is a traditional 120-credit program, of which roughly 60 credits are needed within your major area of study. While your specific major coursework depends on your concentration area, all students in the Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies program must take at least 36 upper-division credits within the major. The remaining credits needed for graduation include general education courses and electives.

As an example, let’s assume you opt for the International and Global Affairs and Development Concentration. To complete your studies, you must take 30 or more credits at the 200 level or above. Coursework includes studies in a foreign language (6 credits), core coursework (Introduction to International and Global Studies as well as a Capstone Seminar in International and Global Studies), and 18 credits from the following subject areas:

  • Society and Politics
  • Economics and Development
  • Arts and Literature
  • Belief Systems and Cultures

The other concentrations in this degree program have similar general requirements.

You can apply to UNC-Greensboro online. When applying, you will be asked to provide a host of information, including:

  • Personal information
  • Your desired degree program
  • Your residency status
  • Your academic history
  • A history of your extracurricular activities, work activities, and military history, if applicable
  • Your family history

You can also submit an optional essay if you feel that doing so will strengthen your chances of admission.

William Peace University

Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies

William Peace University offers a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies that gives you the freedom to choose your specific educational path. This customization comes in two forms: the chosen concentration area and an available minor.

The concentration area allows you to focus your studies on an area of interest, but you must take courses in at least two distinct disciplines that share a common theme. For example, you might focus on pre-med or pre-nursing, sports and fitness studies, or education. Other options include, but are not limited to, global communication, human resources, and simulation and game design.

If you choose a minor, you have many different options to customize your learning. This includes studies in the following:

  • Fine Arts
  • Foreign Languages
  • History
  • Mathematics
  • Natural Sciences
  • Philosophy and Religion
  • Social Science

It should be noted that if you choose to pursue a concentration area, it cannot be in any of the minor fields listed above.

The beauty of a program like this is that you explore many different subjects and gain a host of different skills. What’s more, you will enhance your love of learning and become adept at gathering, analyzing, and evaluating information from multiple sources.

Additionally, William Peace University strives to instill in you a solid work ethic, a desire to explore complex and difficult issues, and to develop a better understanding of the world in which we live. You will gain these and other skills throughout your four years in the program.

Though you have a lot of leeway regarding what courses you take, William Peace has a few requirements you must meet to graduate. For example, you must take two core courses: Interdisciplinary Studies Senior Seminar and Reason and Argument. You must also take at least 6-8 credits in three different interdisciplinary studies areas and at least 3-4 credits in another four interdisciplinary areas. Another 14-22 elective credits are needed to reach the minimum 120-credit threshold for graduation.

The application process is simple. Apply online to William Peace University and provide your high school transcripts along with your completed application. You can choose to provide supporting materials as well, including SAT or ACT scores, letters of recommendation, or an essay. Making these materials optional allows you to include the materials that make your case for admission as strong as possible.

Winston-Salem State University

Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Winston-Salem State University is offered as a full-time or part-time program and can be completed on campus, online, or in a hybrid format. The program requires about four years of full-time study to complete; part-time studies will result in a longer completion time.

Whether you study in person, online, or both, you will take courses that challenge you to think critically, analyze complex problems, and evaluate your place in society. You will do so while studying two or more academic areas that interest you. And unlike some liberal arts programs, you aren’t limited to choosing specific areas of inquiry. Instead, you can develop your interdisciplinary curriculum by choosing from any of the following options:

  • Accounting
  • Marketing
  • Spanish
  • Management Information Systems
  • History

In fact, there are more than three dozen topics you can choose from to devise your customized program at Winston-Salem State.

The rest of the curriculum consists of essential courses and topics that give you the broad-based skills needed to be a competent liberal arts graduate. You will take 60 credits of general education courses that give you a basic foundation of understanding of crucial topics like math, science, social science, and language arts.

Furthermore, you must take 21 “Depth Studies” credits in your chosen concentration area. This includes 18 credits in your primary study area, 12 of which must be at the 3000 level or above. You must also complete a senior capstone course in which you conduct independent research in interdisciplinary studies.

The “Breadth Studies” component of the curriculum focuses on your secondary area of study. You will take at least nine hours in this secondary area to supplement the depth studies, general education requirements, and elective courses that comprise the degree program. You can also choose to participate in an Integrative Studies Concentration online, which explores such diverse areas as:

  • African American Art
  • Non-Western Music
  • Cultures of the Spanish-Speaking World
  • Native American Studies
  • Topics in Language & Literature

You can apply to Winston-Salem State University online. To be considered for admission, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete the following high school courses:
    • English (4 years)
    • Four years of math (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and an Advanced Math)
    • Three years of science (Biological Science, Physical Science, and a Lab Science)
    • Two years of Social Studies, including at least one year of U.S. History
    • Two years of the same Foreign Language
  • When applying, you must submit official high school transcripts, a $50 application fee, and official ACT or SAT scores (though these scores aren’t required until 2024)

North Carolina Central University

At North Carolina Central University, you can choose from four distinct Interdisciplinary Studies majors:

  • Communication Arts, B.A.
  • Humanities, B.A.
  • Race, Gender, and Class, B.A.
  • Student-Generated, B.A.

Though each option explores very different coursework, they have numerous common features, not the least of which is that you need about four years to complete the degree. Likewise, each program requires you to take general education courses, major-area courses, and electives to meet the required 120 credits for graduation.

When you examine these programs closely, you immediately get an understanding of how flexible they are to address your specific educational interests. For example, the Communication Arts option allows you to study varied areas like drama, microeconomics, and art history, to name a few. Furthermore, your core coursework (of which there is a 30-credit requirement) might also explore the following:

  • U.S. History
  • Literature
  • Psychology
  • Music
  • Global Studies

Additionally, you will take 30 semester credits in communication arts-specific courses. Again, these courses run the gamut from literature to drama to music. You can choose to study specific aspects of these genres, too, such as:

  • World War I Literature
  • Twentieth-Century Music
  • Mass Media and Society
  • Renaissance Art
  • Advanced Audio Production

The Humanities and Race, Gender, and Class options follow a similar footprint. However, the Student-Generated option gives you the ultimate freedom to craft a customized degree. Instead of taking 30 credits in one study area, you will take 30 credits of thematic studies. Available themes include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Gender Studies
  • Hispanic Studies
  • Global Studies
  • Business Administration
  • Public Policy

So, for example, if you choose the Global Studies option, you might take courses in international relations, conflict management, and history courses on specific regions of the world. If you choose business administration as your thematic field, you might take courses in economics, management, and marketing.

Whichever concentration area you choose, you will emerge from your program with knowledge and skills that make you a highly marketable employee in a wide range of career fields. Likewise, the skills you gain in your undergraduate program will come in handy if you choose to continue your education in a graduate degree program.

North Carolina Central’s first priority freshman application deadline is October 15th for the following academic year. You can apply online before that date online. Admissions requirements as a freshman applicant are as follows:

  • A 2.5 high school GPA or higher
  • High school coursework that includes:
    • Four years of English
    • Four years of math
    • Three years of science, including at least one lab science
    • Two years of the same foreign language
    • Two years of social studies, including at least one year of U.S. history
  • You must also submit official high school transcripts

What are the Liberal Arts Career Opportunities in North Carolina?

As a liberal arts graduate in North Carolina, you are likely to find many different career possibilities available to you based simply on the skill set you will graduate with. For example, college graduates tend to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, and have the ability to juggle multiple deadlines at the same time. These and other college-related skills can help you gain entry-level employment as an office manager, a legal assistant, or an after-school program director, to name a few.

But with the ability to focus your liberal arts degree in an area of interest, you can develop higher-level skills for your chosen career. For example, you can use your degree’s focus on criminal justice to work as an advocate for juvenile defenders in the city of Raleigh. Alternatively, you might use a criminal justice concentration to work as a bailiff in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

As another example, let’s assume your degree concentrated on the arts. You might use your studies as a springboard for a career as the arts director for a non-profit arts organization in North Carolina. Or, perhaps, you go to work as a set designer for a theater company in one of North Carolina’s larger cities, like Winston-Salem, Raleigh-Durham, or Charlotte.

Yet another possibility is to focus your studies on social sciences and use your education to work in a social services setting. You might use your degree to work for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a social services coordinator, advocate, or case manager. Alternatively, you might be able to work as a psychology assistant or a psychiatric technician in a community mental health setting or residential setting.

The career path you take largely depends on your specific education. However, North Carolina offers ample opportunities for college-educated workers to find gainful employment and advance their careers. You can be among that group when you get your liberal arts degree in North Carolina.

Do Liberal Arts Degrees Make More Money?

Liberal arts degrees and their impact on earnings is a topic with many nuances. Generally speaking, the earning potential for individuals with liberal arts degrees can vary significantly based on several factors:

  • Field of Study: Some areas within the liberal arts (like economics or political science) may offer higher earning potential compared to others (like philosophy or fine arts).
  • Career Path: The chosen career path post-graduation plays a crucial role. For instance, a liberal arts graduate who pursues a career in business, law, or education may have different earning prospects compared to one who pursues a career in the arts or social services.
  • Advanced Degrees: Many liberal arts graduates go on to pursue higher education, such as master’s or doctoral degrees, which can significantly increase earning potential.
  • Experience and Skills: Over time, the skills developed through a liberal arts education – like critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving – can become highly valuable in the workforce, potentially leading to higher earnings.
  • Geographical Location: Salary levels can also vary based on where a person works. For example, working in a major urban area often offers higher salaries than in rural areas.
  • Industry Trends: Certain industries that value the skill set of liberal arts graduates, such as tech (for roles in human resources, marketing, etc.), may offer competitive salaries.
  • Long-Term Earnings: While liberal arts graduates may start with lower salaries, their earnings can increase significantly over time as they gain experience and potentially move into higher-paying roles.

Liberal arts degrees do not typically lead to the highest starting salaries, especially when compared to degrees in STEM or professional fields. However, the long-term earning potential can be competitive, depending on the individual’s career path, further education, and the development of a broad skill set. The value of a liberal arts degree extends beyond initial earnings, offering diverse career options and the development of critical, versatile skills.

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