Study Liberal Arts in Idaho
Idaho isn’t just unique because of its shape; it’s a state with many different climates, economic activities, and people. It’s also a state that boasts a lot of opportunities for you to advance your education.
One of the benefits of studying liberal arts in Idaho is that you have many choices regarding the type of degree you pursue and the school you attend. In fact, the hardest part of deciding to go to college for a liberal arts degree in Idaho is likely which school you will attend. So, to help you in your decision-making process, we have outlined some of the popular choices to consider!
Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Programs in Idaho
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering liberal arts bachelor’s programs in Idaho:
- Idaho State University
- University of Idaho
- Brigham Young University-Idaho
- Boise State University
- Denison University
- Oberlin College
- Kenyon College
- The College of Wooster
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Wittenberg University
Idaho State University
Bachelor of Arts – University Studies
The University Studies program at Idaho State University is a 120-credit program. The first two years are spent completing general education requirements – or at least the bulk of them. Idaho State requires you to complete coursework in several broad fields to satisfy the general education requirements. These fields include science, math, language arts, and the arts and humanities, to name a few.
During your final two years in the program, you will focus more on elective courses, major-area courses, and upper-division courses. The curriculum breakdown is as follows:
- 37 credits of general education courses.
- 21 credits of upper-division credits in the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, and/or behavioral sciences.
- 15 upper-division credits in the College of Arts and Letters, College of Education, College of Business, College of Science and Engineering, or the Kasiska Division of Health Sciences.
- 47 elective credits from colleges and departments university-wide.
Most students can complete this curriculum in four years or less. If you cannot study full-time, though, you should expect to take five or more years to finish this degree.
Fortunately, Idaho State has developed this program to be as flexible as possible. For example, you can take courses on campus in Pocatello or online, so you can take courses when and how it makes the most sense for you. Moreover, the program is customizable to your needs – you will work with an advisor to create a degree plan that prepares you for your career goals and ensures you take appropriate courses for your interests.
Regardless of the specific path you take, the University Studies program will help you develop essential skills that employers are looking for. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Applicable computer skills
- Communication, both written and verbal
- Critical Thinking
- Teamwork
- Leadership
With these skills and a deep knowledge of a variety of academic disciplines, you will graduate with a collection of tools that will help you succeed in graduate school, the workforce, and beyond.
If you are applying as a first-year student, you need to submit an application for admission, your high school transcripts or GED, and have a 2.5 GPA or higher. You must also meet the Idaho Core Requirements if you are an Idaho high school graduate. A $50 application fee is also required, though this fee is waived if you are from Idaho.
If applying as a transfer student, you must have a 2.0 GPA or higher and provide official transcripts from every college or university from which you have earned credit. You must also pay a $50 application fee. High school transcripts are required if you’ve earned fewer than 14 college credits.
The University of Idaho
Bachelor of General Studies
At the University of Idaho, you can create your own degree plan by enrolling in the Bachelor of General Studies program. This 120-credit program is available either on campus in Moscow or as a fully online program. Of note is that all full-time online students pay the in-state tuition rate, even if they reside outside of Idaho.
As with any liberal arts-related degree, the benefit of studying general studies is that you are in control of what you explore. Likewise, rather than being limited to detailed studies in a single major, you are free to get a well-rounded education by taking a breadth of courses from any number of approved academic areas.
For example, this program emphasizes learning in the sciences and humanities, so you can focus your studies on areas like biological sciences, social sciences, and art. Better still, you can mix and match courses as you see fit (and as applicable for meeting graduation requirements.
You also have the opportunity to supplement your learning with available minors, certificates, or a combination of the two. Pursuing a minor or certificate adds to the breadth of the General Studies program while also helping you acquire even more skills that make you a marketable employee or a well-prepared graduate student in the future.
While a general studies curriculum can prepare you for a wide variety of careers, the University of Idaho specifically notes that this program is particularly helpful in preparing you for law school or careers in social services or business. More generally, you can use this program to prepare yourself for focused graduate school studies.
Your learning in this program doesn’t just take place in a campus or virtual classroom, either. Instead, you will have a number of opportunities to apply your learning in the real world, be that as part of a service-learning project, an internship in a local setting, or an internship further afield in the U.S.
When applying as a first-year student, you must meet certain admissions requirements and submit the following:
- An application for admission.
- A $50 application fee (unless you are an Idaho resident).
- Official high school transcripts that note your graduation date.
- Official transcripts from every college or university from which you have earned credit.
- ACT or SAT scores (though this is optional).
If applying as a transfer student, you must meet the requirements above in addition to having a transfer credit evaluation completed.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies
The Interdisciplinary Studies degree at Brigham Young University-Idaho gives you the ability to combine studies in two or more areas to create a customized degree. The degree program you devise with the input of your advisor can meet your individual interests, help you gain specialized skills for a future career, and give you a pathway to completing a degree in a field that isn’t offered as a traditional program by BYU-Idaho.
This is a traditional program in the sense that you must complete 120 credits to graduate. However, it is certainly not a traditional degree, given that you can customize it to your unique interests. Moreover, BYU-Idaho offers many concentration areas to choose from – more than 40 areas, in fact.
You can choose from unique concentrations like Apparel Design and Construction, Horticulture, or Web Entrepreneurship. Other options include the following:
- Statistics
- Biochemistry
- Psychology
- Business Management
- Illustration
A large portion of the 120 credits needed to graduate come in the fields you choose as your concentrations. For example, you must complete at least 27 credits in a concentration area. You must also complete at least 12 credits in a certificate, cluster, or minor. All told, you need at least 39-38 credits in your fields of specialization.
Other credits come in the form of interdisciplinary studies courses. BYU-Idaho requires all students in this field to take an Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies course early on, which serves to familiarize you with the skills needed to be successful in a broad-based program. Then, you must take Interdisciplinary Innovation, which focuses on the personal traits and skills that lead to innovative thinking and action.
Also included in the interdisciplinary studies courses is one of two classes: an internship or a capstone. In both instances, you have the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills you have gained throughout the program to conduct research, solve a critical problem, or work in a real-world setting.
This degree further requires you to complete 12 or more credits in one of the following interdisciplinary clusters: Introduction to Data Analysis and Computing, Introduction to Leadership and Management, or Introduction to Communication and Design. Combined with 24 general education credits and 28-38 elective credits, this completes your course of study in this degree program.
First-year students are evaluated on three metrics:
- Academic requirements like high school GPA and ACT or SAT scores.
- A church endorsement.
- Seminary attendance and graduation.
While most applicants to BYU-Idaho are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you can apply to the university as a member of another church. You are still required to be interviewed by a leader from your church or from a local LDS church. All admittees are required to abide by the Code of Honor to ensure a chaste and virtuous lifestyle.
Boise State University
Bachelor of Arts – Interdisciplinary Professional Studies
Boise State’s Interdisciplinary Professional Studies program offers the flexibility of studying in person or online on a full-time or part-time basis. What’s more, classes are in a seven-week intensive format, so you take fewer classes at a time, but complete each class more quickly. And with six start dates throughout the academic year, you can get started on your degree when it’s right for you.
The program offers two ways to customize your degree. The first option is to select one or more academic concentrations as part of an individualized degree program. The second option involves choosing from three predetermined emphasis areas:
- Community and Social Impact
- Cyber Operations and Management
- Design and Media Management
Each of these emphasis areas is only available if you enroll in the 100 percent online program.
Choosing to customize your degree gives you even more flexibility regarding what you study. Coursework is available in a number of fields, from Healthcare to Education to Business and Leadership. In fact, you can choose from among more than 800 courses to design your degree’s curriculum. But it isn’t just classes you can use to devise your degree – you can choose from dozens of minors and certificates, too.
The breakdown of the courses you take depends on the specific path you choose. For example, if you opt for the Community and Social Impact Emphasis, you will complete 70-84 interdisciplinary professional courses and 36-50 credits in Community and Social Impact.
But, if you are interested in the Cyber Operations and Management emphasis, you will take 26 credits in the emphasis area, 12-13 credits in an emphasis option certificate, and 81-82 credits of interdisciplinary courses. These are just two examples, though. With dozens of ways to design your degree, the precise breakdown of coursework will be highly specific to your needs.
Other degree requirements are as follows:
- 12 credits of required interdisciplinary studies courses
- 10 credits of upper-division courses
- 37 credits of university foundations courses
Together with your emphasis-area coursework, you will complete 120 or more credits to graduate with this degree. Boise State allows up to 80 transfer credits, though, so you can significantly reduce the time needed to complete this program by using courses you have already taken at another school.
You can apply for admission to Boise State online. The process to apply as a first-year student residing in Idaho is as follows:
- Fill out an Apply Idaho application or a Boise State application.
- Submit official high school transcripts (unless using Apply Idaho).
- Submit a seven-semester high school transcript and a 500-word personal statement (required if your GPA is between 2.6 and 2.79). You can also submit letters of recommendation to support your application.
There are different requirements for first-year non-resident and international applicants. If applying as a transfer student, you must submit official transcripts from every college or university you have attended. If you have fewer than 14 college credits, you must also submit your high school transcript.
Is Boise State a Liberal Arts College?
Boise State University is not classified as a liberal arts college. It is a public research university offering a broad array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs across various fields, including business, engineering, health sciences, education, and the arts and sciences.
While Boise State does provide a strong liberal arts education through its College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s offerings extend well beyond the liberal arts to include professional and technical programs, making it a comprehensive institution dedicated to research, innovation, and community engagement.
What are the Liberal Arts Career Opportunities in Idaho?
Possessing a degree that includes studies in two, three, or more areas can prove beneficial to you as you seek employment after graduation. This is especially true in a state like Idaho, which has a diverse economy and different job opportunities depending on where you are in the state.
For example, you might complete a liberal arts degree to prepare for law school. While working on your degree, you could find an entry-level position in a large law firm in Boise to gain experience working in the field. Then, after completing your undergraduate degree, you might move into a more senior position as a legal assistant, legal secretary, or paralegal, provided you have the necessary qualifications. From there, you could use your undergraduate studies to prepare you for law school and eventually become a lawyer.
A large part of Idaho’s economy is tourism, so jobs are often available in tourism-related areas. For example, you might emphasize business and management in your undergraduate program, which could prepare you for a career as a hotel manager or restaurant manager. Alternatively, you could use your skills to open your own business, be that a ski shop near one of Idaho’s ski resorts, a restaurant of your own in Pocatello, or a whitewater rafting company in Idaho’s northern peninsula.
Many liberal arts graduates pursue careers in sales and retail, which makes sense given the emphasis on mastering effective communication skills. If sales is of interest, you could work as a sales representative in any number of industries, from paper products to pharmaceuticals to agriculture. If you prefer to work in retail, your level of education could qualify you for a management position in a retail chain or with a locally owned company.
Yet another option to explore as a liberal arts graduate in Idaho is working in education. On the one hand, you could work with very young students in a preschool or pre-K setting. Your broad understanding of many different fields of study could prepare you to assist teachers in delivering lessons, developing activities, and supporting the academic and social growth of the children in your care.
On the other hand, you could work with older students, such as a student support specialist in a high school setting. This job often requires guiding students who have difficulty in school, including behavioral, social, or emotional issues. Again, your liberal arts education could be of help in this setting because you could provide tutoring assistance to students in a variety of subjects.