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Since classical antiquity the liberal arts have been considered the core of a well-rounded education. In the United States, there is a sector of postsecondary education institutions dedicated specifically to this course of study, and these are known as liberal arts colleges.
The growth of liberal arts education was spurred in part by the "Yale Report" of 1828 which argues that undergraduate students needed to be given more than just career- or discipline-specific education in order to properly develop the mind. Liberal arts colleges are therefore generally small 4-year colleges that focus on the combination of humanities, arts, social and natural sciences that aim to provide a "whole person" education (although the specific curriculum varies from college to college). These are not institutions that train you for a particular career; rather, the critical, analytical, investigative nature of these programs prepares you for an almost infinite variety of potential careers. Currently, there are over 200 liberal arts colleges in the United States, and these may be secular or religiously-affiliated, public or private, rural or urban, independent or part of a larger university, gender-specific, residential, small (under 1,000 students) or large (around 10,000 students).
No matter what their specifics, liberal arts colleges in the US offer innovative programs in an intimate student-centered environment designed to help you become a thoughtful, well-rounded citizen of the world.
Our database of Liberal Arts Colleges has been divided for ease of use into six regions consistent with the six regional accrediting associations recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). In addition, the states within each region are represented by similar histories, traditions, economies, climates and geography and are therefore, likely to define the typical boundaries for your search for a post-secondary institution.
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