In the age of artificial intelligence, there hasn’t been a better time for people to pursue liberal arts degrees. They’re an amazing choice for people looking to strengthen their skills as thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers instead of relying on technology for the answers.
Liberal arts degrees have faced stigma in the past, labelled as not financially “practical” compared to STEM or business programmes. However, this has changed significantly in the past decade, as liberal arts education has become more focused on career preparation.
Many liberal arts degrees now incorporate more career-oriented fields that focus on real-world challenges to help improve employability outcomes. According to an August 2025 study of 1,030 executives and hiring managers, 93% of employers rate critical thinking and ethical judgment on the list of skills they seek in recent college graduates, which is what liberal arts programs teach.
An arts degree isn’t just for people who don’t know what they want to do with their lives. There are plenty of focused art pathways into lucrative careers, like a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program, for example, that produce highly specialised graduates who are career-ready.
What is a liberal arts degree?
There are many different types of liberal arts degrees. “Liberal arts” is an umbrella term for undergraduate programs that cover the humanities, social sciences, creative arts, natural sciences, and/or formal sciences.
Examples of liberal arts degrees include:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Science
- Bachelor of Fine Arts
The type of degree you earn and the course requirements will ultimately depend on your major. For example, students have the opportunity to study from a wide breadth and range of courses, from literature and history to anthropology, political science, mathematics, and creative courses.
The main advantage
The main benefit of studying a liberal arts degree is the flexibility. Compared to other college majors, it offers a high degree of flexibility for pursuing different careers, as it covers a broad range of topics rather than focusing on a single professional or technical field.
At colleges, such as Felician University, studying liberal arts as an undergraduate can be a great pathway to postgraduate courses, such as a Master of Arts and Counseling Psychology, which can lead to a lucrative career.
How long does it take to complete?
Like other types of bachelor’s degrees, a liberal arts degree usually takes between four and five years. The exact requirements will vary by college. Typically, students are required to complete a minimum of 120 credits for graduation.
The importance of critical thinking
In a rapidly changing job market due to a shifting economy and fast-evolving technology, the ability to adapt, think critically, and communicate effectively is in high demand. In a recent survey by Dale Carnegie, 57% of respondents identified that critical thinking was crucial for workplace success.
Critical thinking is a metacognitive process and skill that requires self-monitoring and regulation of one’s thinking in decision-making. The process consists of purposeful thinking—“thinking about thinking”—to come to an informed decision through analysis, evaluation, and inference.
This is an invaluable skill in any workplace, as it empowers employees to make logical decisions, approach challenges methodologically, and improve their problem-solving skills. 93% of employers value critical thinking more than a university degree when hiring.
Critical thinking is also ranked among the top three future skills by the World Economic Forum in 2025. Liberal arts degrees, unlike some other fields, foster critical thinking in their curriculum, greatly improving the chances of their students’ prospects.
In 2020, the Reboot Foundation released its findings on a first-of-its-kind survey looking at the public’s attitudes towards critical thinking and critical thinking education. The organization found that:
- 94% of people believe that critical thinking is “extremely” or “very important”
- 86% of people find that critical thinking skills are lacking in the public
- 60% of people responded that they did not study critical thinking in school
- Only 55% of people reported that their critical thinking skills had improved since high school
It’s worth studying an arts degree in 2026 to further develop your critical thinking skills past high school. Not only can it help in your personal life, but the skill is also a necessity if you’re looking to develop your professional career.
Career outcomes
Liberal arts majors are one of the most common among American college students, and also fare better in the job market than their stigma suggests. Statistics reveal that liberal arts majors tracked by the New York Fed have unemployment rates below the 5.6% average for all recent graduates.
Liberal arts degrees offer variety when it comes to career outcomes, as students learn the foundations for a wide range of careers. For people only looking to complete the undergraduate program, the degree equips you with transferable skills that are valued by employers across industries, including:
- Business and marketing
- Media roles
- Ministry roles
- Political and government roles
Due to the versatility of liberal arts undergraduate programs, they also open the pathway to further education, such as Graduate Diplomas and Master’s. Students can further specialize, with popular areas including humanities, social sciences, and applied professional fields. This can lead to a better salary, furthering your professional development and critical thinking skills.
Currently, the top three liberal arts undergraduate degrees for promising careers according to Federal Reserve data are:
- Journalism majors
- Communication majors
- Political science majors
Journalism majors have the lowest unemployment rate at 2.3%, with the median wage mid-career at $87,000. Political science majors have the highest median wage mid-career at $100,000.
