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As part of its mission to make a distinctive contribution to
Higher Education in Northern Ireland, St Mary’s has developed
a BA (Hons) Liberal Arts degree. We consider it to be a ‘degree
with a difference’. Building on our successful experiences
in teacher education, the University College is now offering wider
access, based on the same values and standards, to meet the needs
of students who have not chosen teaching as a career. This innovative
degree offers students the combination of focused study and broad
development which is a key feature of a Liberal Arts education.
The learning programme seeks to develop the skills necessary to
succeed in new and challenging situations. It also offers the
challenge of studying a relatively wide range of university modules
and the opportunity to deepen one’s personal values and
sense of responsibility to the needs of society. We therefore
believe that a Liberal Arts degree offers students learning opportunities
for both employability and fulfilment.
While relatively new in the British Isles, the tradition of Liberal
Arts education is firmly established in North America and Continental
Europe. By definition, it provides a high-quality undergraduate
degree programme which seeks to provide students with a well-rounded
university education by way of preparation for further study or
employment. The Association of American Colleges and Universities
defines a truly liberal education as one which “prepares
people to live responsible, productive and creative lives in a
dramatically changing world”. It is an education which fosters
well-grounded intellectual resilience, a disposition to lifelong
learning and an acceptance of responsibility for the consequences
of one’s ideas and actions. A degree in Liberal Arts is
not tied to a specific career path (as with a degree in teaching,
engineering or medicine). We believe that the degree prepares
the citizens of tomorrow, the leaders in business and across society,
and it is particularly relevant in Ireland, North and South, at
this time.
At St Mary’s we have developed a BA degree programme to
provide this particular form of university education to students
who feel it is right for them. As a result, the BA (Hons) Liberal
Arts degree has a number of distinctive features:
- a multi-disciplinary study of the person, as an individual
and as a member of society, from economic, political and ethical
perspectives
- an economic and cultural exploration of Ireland in its European
and global context
- opportunities to experience the world of work through study
visits and placements with businesses, organisations and community
enterprises
- opportunities to develop the key skills of communication
as well as career and personal development
- a careers service that is fully integrated into the learning
and teaching programme.
Programme Summary
Teaching & Learning
Assessment & Feedback
Your Career Options
Find out more about
the BA Liberal Arts degree course.
Entry Requirements
for the BA Liberal Arts degree course.
Apply for the BA Liberal
Arts degree course. |
