Liberal Arts and Fine Arts
Liberal arts and fine arts are both broad, comprehensive degree programs. Both programs offer a lot of flexibility for specializing in your desired field as well. As a result, you can find liberal arts degrees and fine arts degrees at virtually any college or university in the nation.
But the substance of these programs is very different, both in terms of coursework and learning outcomes. Not only that, but the possible career outcomes are different for each degree, too.
So that begs the question, what are liberal arts and fine arts degrees? What are their advantages and disadvantages, and which one is better? Let’s find out!
Liberal Arts Vs. Fine Arts
Liberal arts and fine arts degrees cater to different academic interests. A liberal arts degree encompasses a broad curriculum, including humanities, sciences, and social sciences, fostering critical thinking and communication skills. In contrast, a fine arts degree focuses on creative disciplines like painting, music, and theater, aiming to refine artistic talents and techniques.
A liberal arts program is often very broad, encompassing studies in multiple fields within the liberal arts – think the natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and communications, to name a few.
With this broad range of disciplines to choose from, you can legitimately create a bespoke degree that’s specific to your interests. Let’s assume you are interested in anthropology and communications. With a typical liberal arts program, you can concentrate your studies on these fields and create a degree that might not otherwise exist at your university.
As another example, you might create a liberal arts program focusing on economics and sociology. Again, this combination of disciplines might not be offered as a traditional major, but that’s the beauty of a liberal arts degree – working with your academic advisor, you can create a custom curriculum in subjects that interest you the most.
So, when studying liberal arts, the substance of the program is often up to you. But in the fine arts, you typically must choose a predetermined major. For example, you might major in visual and performing arts, cinematography, or studio art, to name but three possibilities. While there are many other specializations within the fine arts, they are usually established disciplines with coursework that’s been determined by the university.
In other words, both of these programs offer you plenty of flexibility for completing your degree. But how that flexibility is provided differs. A liberal arts degree gives you leeway to create a custom curriculum; a fine arts degree gives you leeway to choose from many different established fine arts-related majors.
A related distinction between these degrees is the type of arts they refer to. Liberal arts usually refer to classic academic pursuits in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics, among others. History, psychology, biology, and algebra are more specific examples of liberal arts.
The fine arts typically include studies in fields that produce physical art – painting, sculpture, and drawing, for example. They often include the performing arts as well – theater, dance, and music. It’s important to note that these are broad generalizations, though. At some colleges and universities, liberal arts programs include studies in the fine arts.
Differences in Coursework
As noted above, one of the advantages of a liberal arts degree is that you can build a program that’s unique to your particular interests. That being the case, the coursework you might undertake can vary quite a bit from the coursework required for a typical fine arts degree.
For example, you might concentrate your liberal arts studies on history and economics. That being the case, your coursework might include classes like Ancient Civilizations, American History, Macroeconomics, and Global Economics. By contrast, if your liberal arts degree focuses on history and Spanish, your coursework might include classes like South American History, Mesoamerican History, Colonialism, and advanced Spanish classes.
Contrast this with a fine arts degree in art. You might take courses in 3D Art, Digital Art, and Drawing. Or, if you are a performing arts major, you might take classes in Theater Production, Vocal Performance, or Dance.
The flexibility of both of these degree programs shines through here. You can choose from thousands of different combinations of liberal arts disciplines to create your degree, and your coursework will be very different depending on the specializations you choose. Similarly, a fine arts degree allows you to focus your studies on dozens of different types of art to gain the specific skills you need to prepare for a career after graduation.
Though much is different between a liberal arts degree program and one in fine arts, they do have some similarities. For example, both degrees require about four years of full-time studies to complete. Most colleges and universities require 120 or more semester credits to complete these degrees as well.
And while the substance of the major area coursework is different between liberal arts and fine arts, both degrees require you to complete general education requirements and electives. More than half of the credits needed to graduate come from general education and elective courses. The remaining coursework comes from the major area of study.
Differences in Learning Outcomes
With the difference in the focus of liberal arts and fine arts degrees, it stands to reason that the learning outcomes expected of you in these programs are different as well.
When studying liberal arts, it’s typical for the program to emphasize the development of certain skills, such as:
- Synthesize knowledge and information from multiple sources
- Think critically
- Write and speak effectively
- Use evidence-based reasoning
- Demonstrate high-level creative skills
These soft skills are widely applicable in many different career fields, thus the popularity of liberal arts programs as preparation for post-college careers. But the learning outcomes for liberal arts programs don’t always focus on soft skills like these.
For example, you will gain hard skills relevant to your areas of concentration. A liberal arts degree focusing on chemistry has learning outcomes related to conducting research, analyzing technical information, and gaining appropriate safety skills for conducting lab experiments. So, you can expect the learning outcomes in a liberal arts program to be a mix of broad, soft skills with some specific hard skills, too.
A fine arts program has a different emphasis, though. Most fine arts programs prioritize hard skills rather than soft skills, but like liberal arts programs, the fine arts often have learning outcomes representing a mix of hard and soft skills.
For example, as a theater major, you will learn hard skills like enunciation, set design, and stage lighting. As a vocal major, you will refine skills related to music theory, reading musical notations, and music performance.
But many fine arts majors also emphasize soft skills like creativity, collaboration, and communication. Other learning outcomes that fall under the soft skills category might include effective leadership skills, time management skills, and organizational skills.
Differences in Career Opportunities
As noted earlier, both liberal arts and fine arts are broad, comprehensive programs. As such, the career opportunities available to you are similarly broad. The difference, though, is that a liberal arts degree can prepare you for many different jobs in different fields, whereas a fine arts degree can prepare you for many different jobs within the field of fine arts.
For example, three liberal arts students might have degrees focusing on the humanities, the natural sciences, and writing, respectively. Their degrees might prepare them for careers in museum studies, biological research, and journalism, respectively. No two degrees and no two career paths are alike in this situation – and the career paths are in completely different occupational areas.
By contrast, three fine arts students might major in vocal performance, photography, and art history. These majors prepare each student for a career as a performing artist, a professional photographer, and an art dealer, respectively. While these jobs are all very different, they are bound by the common thread of focusing on art in one form or another. Contrast this with the liberal arts examples above, and you can see how your career options might differ after graduation.
Another career-related difference is that many (though not all) fine arts degrees can lead to a career of choice. A photographer, for example, typically only needs a bachelor’s degree to start their career. The same goes for painters, sculptors, performing artists, and so forth.
But liberal arts degrees sometimes require additional training or education. For example, you might concentrate your studies in a liberal arts program on history, museum studies, and art history with the intention of starting a career as a museum curator. However, museum curators often have master’s degrees or higher. Though a bachelor’s degree is a good first step, it might only get your foot in the door.
As another example, you might focus your liberal arts degree on criminal justice and psychology with the intention of becoming an FBI agent. In many cases, a bachelor’s degree is all that’s needed to work for the FBI, but you would be required to undergo extensive training before being assigned a position within the organization.
Again, these are broad generalizations. Not all liberal arts graduates need additional schooling or training to maximize their job potential. At the same time, not all fine arts graduates have all the skills they need to be successful in a long-term career the moment they graduate with a bachelor’s degree!
What are the Cons of a Fine Arts Degree?
A fine arts degree can have its advantages, but it also has some distinct disadvantages:
- Fine arts degrees can be expensive (though this isn’t a problem exclusive to fine arts).
- Fine arts degrees are highly specific and might not have the wide applicability needed to find a job after graduation.
- Many fine arts jobs are highly competitive, requiring you to seek additional training, education, or experience to help you stand out from the crowd.
- A fine arts degree can instill many skills and knowledge in you, but without the necessary artistic talent, you are likely to have a hard time building a career after graduation.
What are the Pros of a Liberal Arts Degree?
A liberal arts degree has many advantages, not the least of which is the ability to tailor the degree to your specific needs and wants. Many colleges and universities give wide latitude to liberal arts majors, who, along with an academic advisor, determine the scope and substance of the program.
Many other features of a liberal arts degree are advantageous:
- Liberal arts programs give you ample opportunities to study multiple fields.
- Skills development is a central component of liberal arts degrees.
- Many employers prefer employees with a broad range of knowledge, which you’ll gain in a liberal arts program.
- Liberal arts degrees are easy to find, including online.
Which One is Better? Liberal Arts Degree or Fine Arts Degree?
Neither of these degrees is better than the other in all situations. However, there are situations in which one is the better choice over the other.
A liberal arts degree is perhaps the best option if you have broad academic interests or aren’t quite sure of what your academic interests might be. Likewise, a liberal arts education is a good choice if you want to maximize your employment opportunities after graduation.
But, a fine arts degree is the better option if you are interested in visual or performing arts or envision a career specifically in the arts. The focused nature of fine arts programs will help you build the relevant hard and soft skills required to pursue a career once you complete your program of study.
In other words, determining which of these degrees is best requires some self-reflection. Think about your interests and abilities, your current and future goals, and what you hope to do for a career in the future. Doing these things will help you decide which of these valuable degrees is the best option for you!