Study Liberal Arts in Minnesota

One of the best features of Minnesota is its outdoor opportunities. No matter the season, you can find something to do, be it camping, hiking, fishing, or hunting. Of course, as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, there are ample opportunities for swimming, water skiing, and boating, too!

When you aren’t exploring Minnesota’s great outdoors, you can take advantage of one of the state’s high-quality bachelor’s programs in liberal arts, liberal studies, or interdisciplinary studies. These programs are available at colleges and universities throughout the state, from St. Paul to Bemidji to Mankato and points in between.

Below are some of the popular choices to consider for completing your liberal arts education in Minnesota.

Best Accredited Liberal Arts Bachelor's Programs and Colleges in Minnesota Online

Liberal Arts Bachelor’s Programs in Minnesota

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

  • University of Northwestern
  • Metropolitan State University
  • Bemidji State University
  • University of Minnesota-Duluth
  • Minnesota State University-Mankato
  • Winona State University
  • Macalester College
  • Carleton College
  • Gustavus Adolphus College
  • Concordia College

University of Northwestern

Bachelor’s – Interdisciplinary Studies

The University of Northwestern’s Interdisciplinary Studies program can be completed as a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science. In both cases, you will need to complete 125 credits to get your degree.

UNW students have developed a large variety of concentrations for this degree. For example, past students have studied Domestic and Foreign Societal Structures, Industrial Design, and Graphics Programming, to name but three very different possibilities. Other areas of study  include the following:

  • Political Communications and Family Advocacy
  • Media Writing and Production
  • Disaster Relief and Psychological Understanding
  • Aviation Technology and Computer Science
  • Global Leadership

UNW offers nearly 50 examples of concentrations students have developed. You will note that many of them include two areas of study. Pursuing a double concentration like this allows you to gain even more specialized knowledge and skills that will help establish your career after graduation.

Of course, your plan of study will be personalized to your needs. To do so, you must meet with an academic advisor who will work with you to identify courses of interest. Your program of study cannot be a collection of courses you like, though. It must have a coherent theme in which you work toward skills development and knowledge acquisition in a particular field or fields.

As noted earlier, 125 credits are required to graduate. This must include at least 40 upper-division credits plus at least 48 credits in two or more academic areas (but no more than 30 credits in any one field).

Likewise, interdisciplinary studies students must complete a course called Professional Competency Assessment. This course requires you to create a professional e-portfolio highlighting the achievements you made throughout the program. Furthermore, a capstone project is required to graduate.

The undergraduate application for admission to UNW is available online. The requirements for admissions are as follows:

  • Submit an application for admission
  • Provide high school transcripts or GED scores
  • Submit ACT or SAT scores
  • Provide other documentation as requested

The average GPA of admitted students at UNW is 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The average ACT score is 24, and the average SAT score is 1153. You will likely be offered admission if you meet or exceed one or more of these thresholds.

Metropolitan State University

Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts

The Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Metropolitan State University is a customizable program that seeks to help you build essential skills for future educational and occupational pursuits. It is a traditional four-year on-campus program that requires you to take courses in St. Paul.

As a student in this program, you will develop skills in four crucial areas:

  • Analytical skills that allow you to combine ideas from many different fields and evaluate them using original insights, creativity, and persuasion.
  • Communication skills that help you present your knowledge and understanding of a wide range of topics in a scholarly, organized manner.
  • Research skills that enable you to quickly and effectively evaluate, compare, and critique information from many different sources.
  • This program also emphasizes individual goals and encourages you to articulate and pursue those goals through your course of study.

To complete this program, you must first take part in Metropolitan State’s general course requirements. You will take courses in core areas like science, social studies, math, and language arts. You will also complete elective courses that fulfill other general requirements, like communications, the arts, and physical education, to name a few.

Additionally, you must take at least 33 credits of upper-level courses in your liberal arts major. Your major is completely bespoke to you; you will develop the sequence of courses with the help of an academic advisor. Together, you will identify a subject or theme and develop a course of study around that theme.

Of the 33 credits required for the major, 32 consist of interdisciplinary coursework for the core segment of the liberal arts program. You must also take a one-credit Student Designed Independent Study course during the final semester of your studies. This course allows you to explore a topic of your choosing in more detail and is supervised by a College of Liberal Arts faculty member.

The major you design with your advisor must be different from existing majors at Metropolitan State. Typically, the courses available to you to complete your degree are offered by the College of Liberal Arts. But, you can take as many as eight credits of coursework in other disciplines with prior approval.

You can begin the admissions process by filling out an online application. Admission to Metropolitan State is based on one or more of the following factors:

  • A 2.75 high school GPA or higher
  • GED scores of 165 or higher on each subject
  • A composite score on the ACT, SAT, or PSAT that’s above the national median
  • A class rank in the top 50 percent

Bemidji State University

Like the other programs on this list, the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Bemidji State is a traditional four-year on-campus program. You will complete general education requirements in fields like social sciences and humanities, math and science, and language arts. And upon completing those requirements, you can commence work on your customized program in liberal studies.

The liberal studies component of your degree includes 45 credits of coursework. The courses you take are up to you; however, at least 30 of the 45 credits must be at the 3000 or 4000 level. Furthermore, you must choose your courses from certain fields of study. For example, approved disciplines include geography, chemistry, history, and international studies. Other options include the following:

  • Anthropology
  • Modern Languages
  • Psychology
  • Biology
  • English

In fact, Bemidji State offers more than two dozen disciplines for you to study as part of your individualized degree plan. You can choose to take courses in a diverse range of subjects, or, if you prefer, you can concentrate your studies in a specific field. In either case, your program must be organized according to a central theme or themes. Thematic examples include science, critical thinking, technology, or cultural heritage, to name a few.

As is common for interdisciplinary programs like this, your studies aren’t preparatory for a specific career. Instead, you will graduate from the program armed with a set of skills that are applicable to many career pursuits.

For example, you might use your liberal studies program as a springboard for a career in any of the following areas:

  • Communications
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Education
  • Human Services

Other potential career paths might be in the seminary, art, business, or library science. Many graduates of this program also choose to pursue a master’s degree or a professional degree.

Admission to this program requires a few steps. First, you must be admitted to Bemidji State. You can begin your application online. Admission is guaranteed if you meet one of the following criteria:

  • Have a 2.75 high school GPA or higher
  • Have an ACT composite score of 21 or higher
  • Rank in the top half of your high school class

Once admitted to Bemidji State, you must apply to the liberal studies program. To do so, you must submit a letter of application to the Department of Humanities before your senior year. This letter, which is reviewed by the program’s advisor, must include the following:

  • An outline of your proposed course of study and a proposed graduation date
  • A statement regarding your understanding of the academic freedom provided by this degree
  • A statement of your future plans and how this degree will help you achieve your goals

The University of Minnesota-Duluth

Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies

At the University of Minnesota-Duluth, you can create your own degree as part of the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program. The degree is offered in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and allows you to take courses in many different fields to satisfy your interest in a broad range of topics.

UMD offers two options for completing this degree: A Medical Arts and Sciences Plan or an Individualized Plan. The former option prepares you for a career in the healthcare sector. The latter option gives you the power to decide what you study within a specific focus area. In both cases, you are responsible for identifying an area of concentration and building a course of study to support inquiry into that field.

There are some restrictions regarding how you build your degree, though.

For example, you must take courses from three or more areas of study. This must include taking at least 12 credits from the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. You are, however, encouraged to take courses offered by other colleges at the University. A minimum of 51 credits is needed in the major (with 120 credits needed to graduate).

An additional restriction is that you have to apply for this program before you have completed 70 credits of college coursework. You must complete those credits with a 2.5 GPA or higher, though some exceptions are made. For example, transfer, returning, and active military or veteran students are allowed to choose the Individualized Plan prior to earning 90 credits.

In any case, you must formally apply to the Interdisciplinary Studies program before you are allowed to declare your major. You must submit an application that is reviewed by your faculty advisors and the director of the Interdisciplinary Studies program.

Past programs approved by the department reflect the customizability of the degree. These include studies in fields such as:

  • Peace Studies
  • Ancient Studies
  • Law and Society
  • Classical Heritage
  • Fashion Design, Development, and Expression

When applying as a first-year student, you must provide the following documentation:

  • Your current high school course schedule
  • High school transcripts
  • Transcripts from every college or university you have attended
  • ACT or SAT scores (this is optional)

Is University of Minnesota a Liberal Arts School?

The University of Minnesota is not primarily known as a liberal arts school. It is a large public research university that offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in various fields, including the sciences, engineering, business, and healthcare.

However, within the University of Minnesota, there is the College of Liberal Arts (CLA), which is a significant part of the university and offers liberal arts education. The CLA provides a variety of programs in the humanities, social sciences, and arts, but it is just one part of the broader university that encompasses many other fields of study.

What is Considered a Liberal Arts College?

A liberal arts college focuses on undergraduate education in liberal arts and sciences. These institutions emphasize a broad, interdisciplinary approach to learning, covering areas such as literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science.

Unlike larger universities, liberal arts colleges typically have smaller class sizes, fostering a more intimate and interactive learning environment. The goal is to develop well-rounded individuals with critical thinking skills, effective communication abilities, and a broad knowledge base across multiple disciplines.

Liberal arts colleges encourage students to explore various fields of study before specializing, promoting a holistic educational experience that emphasizes intellectual and personal growth rather than specific vocational or technical skills.

What are the Liberal Arts Career Opportunities in Minnesota?

Once you graduate from a Minnesota-based liberal arts program, you will have the knowledge and skills needed to work in entry-level careers in a diverse range of fields.

Let’s say your program of study focused on areas like education and psychology. With that kind of training, you might pursue employment as an admissions counselor at one of Minnesota’s colleges or universities. Though some of these positions require a master’s degree, you might find an open position with a bachelor’s degree requirement, especially at the community college level.

Another education-related option you might consider is working as a college recruiter. Colleges and universities use recruiters to travel around the state and promote their academic programs to high school students. With an interdisciplinary degree, you would have excellent insight into what it’s like to study various programs at the college level. What’s more, you would have a diverse set of communication skills to help you paint a picture of college life for prospective students.

But let’s say you aren’t attracted to a career in education and you instead want to work in media. A liberal arts degree is excellent preparation for working as a print or online journalist for one of Minnesota’s newspapers. While journalistic positions at the state’s larger papers are often reserved for applicants with a lot of experience, you can get your foot in the door working for a smaller outlet, build your resume, and work up the ladder as you gain experience.

Yet another liberal arts-related job you might explore is working as a training specialist. Businesses and organizations throughout Minnesota rely on training specialists to onboard new employees, teach employees new procedures, and help build a better work environment. As a training specialist, you can draw on typical liberal arts skills like problem-solving, critical analysis, and communication to be effective in your work.

These are just a handful of examples, of course. With a liberal arts degree, you can explore many other career fields. If you graduate with a high GPA, get positive recommendations from professors, and have unique learning experiences (e.g., research, internships), the likelihood that you can find a satisfying career as a liberal arts graduate in Minnesota will be even greater!

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