Masters of Liberal Arts from Ivy League (bachelors, degrees, state school)

[whitecollarboy]

Greetings,

What can you do with a Masters of Liberal Arts (you create your own focus) from an Ivy League institution?

Would you assume better pay?

[duster1979]

I'm pretty sure that the term "Liberal Arts" affiliated with any college or degree will pretty much kill your chances of making a good salary.

And don't make this out to be some kind of "liberal vs. conservative" argument, I'm just speaking from the experience of having a degree from a liberal arts college.

[Ohs]

Don't waste your money this is just a basic degree used for people who want to become teachers. The school you go to doesn't help you get a teaching job. Networking and willingness to work in low income areas will get you a teaching job. And if you don't want to be a teacher or you are unsure what you want to do with your degree then get something that has more options. The only option for a liberal arts degree is teaching. It is too general and therefore makes it useless in any other more focused careers. A English degree is more useful at least you can do editing or writing and if you were interested in teaching then you could still do that. Not sure what the draw to a liberal arts degree would be other then not knowing what degree to get so just doing a basic one. It's a waste of time and money.

[poletop1]

Going to a LAC and getting a degree in liberal arts are two separate things.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by poletop1

Going to a LAC and getting a degree in liberal arts are two separate things.

In theory, yes. In reality, no.

A liberal arts degree is a degree in, basically, nothing. It's just a piece of paper that says that you successfully completed X number of hours of coursework.

At a liberal arts college you can get a degree in a particular subject, but the requirements tend to be pretty lax so employers often give degrees from these colleges less weight than degrees from state schools.

I'm speaking in general terms here, some liberal arts colleges do have good degree programs, but they tend to be pretty limited.

[uptown_urbanist]

I wouldn't do it. I admit, I would look at a Masters of Liberal Arts as essentially a degree in nothing. There's no focus there. Probably a nice way to spend a couple of years, but not something that would be of any value in the workforce. If you want the MA for the purpose of higher income, find something that will actually help you in your field. It sounds fluffy. And I'd also confirm that your degree is going to actually be from the school itself, or at least fully appear to be from the school; Harvard has some Liberal Arts extension degrees, and I don't think they carry nearly the same weight as a "real" degree from the school.

[duster1979]

I should point out that I don't believe that the only reason to get an education is to secure a lucrative vocation; for many people it's about expanding their horizons, learning for the sake of learning. And I think that's great.

But the original poster seems to specifically be looking for a degree that will enhance his income. That's the basis for my previous post.

[joe from dayton]

1) The same thing you can do with a Master of Liberal Arts from anywhere else?

2) No.

[namomof3]

I'm confused?! So many ways to look at this You can get a degree from a university under "the college of liberal arts and science" which would be a degree in english, sociology, communication, etc.. Some have more specifics added-- english with teaching endorsements, sociology with an emphasis in criminology, communication with an emphasis in broadcast journalism, etc. Then you have your BA or BS. BA typically includes credits in foreign language BS more of a math/science gen eds. Many jobs nowadays require a BA/BS-- unless you are doing something specialized for a specific occupation-(teaching, journalism, accounting etc) any degree would suffice for an "entry level" position. Not sure how those smaller LA colleges work. I graduated from a state university comprised of 6 different "colleges." My guess is that it tailors to those specifically looking to pursue a career in academia.

[itshim]

Honestly, a Liberal Arts Bachelors degree is probably worth more than a Masters in Liberal arts. Generally speaking, aside from certain fields, most employers look at all bachelor's degrees as essentially the same. A Master's in Liberal Arts, regardless of where it comes from is really an unspecialized degree that employers normally expect to be specialized.


One of the only values I can see in a degree like this, is if the selection of courses is extremely flexible. If the program allows you to load up with classes in any field, then perhaps you can articulate that someway on a resume (i.e. all of your classes were in advanced math, accounting, etc). Coming from an Ivy, you might be able to get away with something like that as being valuable.