Broad education helps
liberal arts graduates
■ There are more options
for students in non-technica!
programs than just graduate
school, advisers say.
By Josh Nichols
Staff writer
Students who pursue a bachelor’s
degree in liberal arts should feel con
fident they will graduate prepared
for graduate study, college career
advisers said.
But advisers said students also
have a range of professional choices,
including careers in a variety of other
fields.
Students’ key decisions are how
they plan to use their undergraduate
degrees and, if they plan to pursue
graduate study, what professional
options they will desire past the
graduate school horizon.
According to the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln undergraduate
bulletin, liberal arts degrees serve as
excellent preparation for study in
law, business, medicine and other
fields, so many choose to further
their education with graduate school.
While graduate school often is a
good option, students must focus on
what they want to do after graduate
school, said Geri Cotter, the UNL
Career Services Center acting direc
WJI.
“If you are bright and talented, it
could appear to be the path of least
resistance, but you need to have an
idea of what you are trying to get in
the end,” Cotter said.
If that idea is vague, a liberal arts
degree or a field of graduate study
with a wide application could be the
best route.
Kendra Waltke, a junior English
major, said she will attend graduate
school after she receives her bache
lor’s degree, and she is considering
law school.
Waltke chose English as a major
because she likes to write and always
has enjoyed English classes.
“Learning to read and think criti
cally will be very helpful in whatever
I decide to do,” she said.
When students come to Cotter’s
office unsure about what career field
to enter or study, she said she encour
ages them to assess themselves. They
must think about what their interests
are, what they are skilled in and what
interests fit their personality.
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major as a window of reference,”
Cotter said.
She finds students often have
overlooked the skills they could
learn or have learned by pursuing lib
eral arts degrees.
“When we define skills, we think
only of technical skills and not the
broader skills we develop through
education, such as research and com
munications skills,” she said.
Jessica Coop, chief student
adviser for the history department,
said history majors graduate from
college well-rounded students.
“Graduates in the history depart
ment take away good writing and
research skills dong with the ability
to work independently,” Coop said.
She also said the history major is
often used as a pre-professional
major. She said prestigious graduate
programs such as those at Harvard
University look fondly upon history
majors because they usually are
well-rounded.
Students in the history field also
pursue careers in government, muse
ums, library sciences and teaching.
Erin Hollingsworth, who gradu
ated last-year with a bachelor’s
degree in English, originally planned
to teach English in another country.
Then she married and decided to
find a job in Nebraska.
Through the UNL Career
Advisory Service, Hollingsworth
found a job at the Social Security
claims administrative office in
Omaha, where she is a bilingual
claims representative who works
with Spanish-speaking people.
She said her degree in English,
along with her study in Spanish,
helped her land the job.
Bryan Foster, dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences, said students in
his college “take away an education
that teaches them how to approach
complex situations and understand
wliy they happened.”
The world is changing faster than
it ever has, Foster said. Liberal arts
students will more easily adjust to
work force changes than students
enrolled in a focused area of study.
So, he said, students deciding
between majors should ask them
selves, “How do I educate myself to
be adaptable in a world that doesn’t
exist yet but will 10 years from
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