What is the true value of a graduate degree in liberal arts and humanities? The dominant cultural paradigm is to frame the value proposition of graduate school as something practical, useful—career advancement or flexibility, transferable knowledge, or just “getting ahead” and “standing out from the crowd” of competitor job-seekers with bachelor’s degrees. Some rightly aspire to such immediately applicable goals–think of technical or professional fields of study in the applied sciences, engineering, nursing, or certain aspects of education to name a few. But not all graduate programs are created equal. Some programs of study offer deeper, more lasting benefits that can’t be measured strictly in “return on investment” or utility. Some programs by design and effect can lead students into encounters with timeless truth, goodness, beauty, and the pursuit of wisdom. These are programs in the liberal arts and humanities.In the liberal arts and humanities, the paths of practicality and of wisdom converge and are placed in their proper order. A master’s degree in liberal arts does indeed prepare graduates with the proverbial “marketable skills”, but it does so by cultivating what St. John Henry Newman called a “philosophical habit of mind”--the habit of thinking deeply and integratively about the whole of reality. Formal studies in the liberal arts and humanities, through deepening the intellect and sharpening the powers of the mind, thus contributing to a good life, do so in exactly the same way that a formal regimen of exercise, by cultivating bodily strength and endurance, is conducive of a good life. Bodily health has many indeterminate benefits and puts one in a position to enjoy the outdoors, play a sport, maintain focus throughout the day, keep up with rambunctious children (and grandchildren!), and any number of other activities. In that way, health frees a person from the constraints of illness, injury, lethargy, and other bodily impairments. Furthermore, bodily health frees a person for the activities of a full and flourishing life. Likewise, the liberal arts and humanities free a person from the bondage of ignorance about life’s deepest questions and it frees him for a life lived in the pursuit of wisdom.
The Professional Impact of a Master’s in Liberal Arts
Because wisdom is about universal truths, the intellectual and philosophical richness found in a master’s in liberal arts program is applicable in any context. Pursuing the liberal arts equips students with knowledge that transcends careers and industries, but at the same time it can lead to meaningful careers ranging from the classroom to the C-suite.
Wisdom, Not Mere Skills
Today’s world is full of complex issues that demand clarity of thought, depth of knowledge about the human condition, and well-reasoned, well-grounded moral principles. The challenges to work, politics, and human existence posed by AI will require intellectual and spiritual energies of an entirely new kind and on a vast scale if they are to be met with resoluteness and vision. Arguable, merely utilitarian and skill-based education is in absolutely no position to prepare humanity for these challenges. These are not challenges which can be met with merely technical study, however advanced or prestigious. The solution for you is to invest in yourself as a learner and thinker so that you become capable of mastering any job skills for yourself. A master’s degree in humanities or liberal studies will refine your ability to think deeply about problems and discern what is right and just to pursue, not simply giving you what is marketable, profitable, or useful in a short-sighted, narrow sense.
With a master’s in liberal arts, everyday situations turn into an opportunity to exercise virtue and pursue truth. Dr. William Stigall uses his master’s in philosophy degree from the University of Dallas to connect moral philosophy to medicine in his daily decisions. As a practicing doctor, he understands a strong moral framework is necessary to perform excellent medicine:
“For thousands upon thousands of years, what [you] do and ought to do [have been] inextricably linked…The practice of medicine has always included this moral component. In fact, you could not be a good doctor without also being a good moral philosopher for 2000 years. This was explicit.”
Watch the full video with Dr. Stigall
Virtue and Wisdom, Not Mere Adaptability
Being “adaptable” sounds nice. It’s the kind of pseudo-value that passes for an ethical principle in many banal corporate offices. That is why many other liberal arts and humanities programs attempt to justify their existence by saying things like this: “Technological innovations and changing ethical standards make adaptability one of the most sought-after traits for current professionals!” Implied is the idea that a humanities degree will help you become an “agile” chameleon who can “pivot” like a career politician. But the argument that the liberal arts and humanities “cultivates adaptable leaders, prepared to meet life’s challenges with confidence” papers over the real issue, which is the development of intellectual and moral virtue. After all, the relevant question is not whether we will need to adapt in work or in life. The question is for what reason will we adapt or not? What kind of flexibility is good–and what is bad? What are the moral and ethical limits to being “flexible”? Being “adaptable” doesn’t make you a leader; it makes you a follower because being “adaptable” means adapting to something else. It will make you a reliable member of the herd, the school of fish, or a speck among the tiny iron filings pulled into shape by whoever is wielding the magnet.
Something has to be firm, unshakeable, and solid underneath all talk of adaptability or flexibility; something needs to ground us and guide us so we don’t become mere particles in a force field. What’s needed is wisdom. What if the point of a liberal arts and humanities education is more than “enhancing creative capacity” or “fostering a broader worldview” but discovering the principles and order of reality? The achievement of such wisdom would make you quite adaptable indeed, and it would make you capable of leading others with truth and justice.
More than a Career Path
For those seeking a full and flourishing life, a liberal arts and humanities education prepares graduates to become people of influence no matter what their industry or profession may be. This kind of formation means the ability to pursue not just a career, but a calling.
Take Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts alumnus Deacon Harold Burke Sivers, for example. He received his Master of Theological Studies from UDallas in 2000. Originally serving in law enforcement, he heard the call to serve in the Church and changed course to pursue a degree at the University of Dallas.
Armed with a graduate education rooted in the liberal arts, Dcn. Burke Sivers served in successful leadership careers in both law enforcement and ministry. From police chief captain to passionate speaker for the faith, he experienced firsthand the versatility and power of a liberal arts degree.
Because of its deeply reflective structure and philosophical approach, earning a master’s degree in the liberal arts and humanities at the University of Dallas naturally leads to the kind of personal growth that Dcn. Burke Sivers experienced. At UDallas, he engaged with life’s most profound questions and cultivated the real intellectual and moral virtues needed for serving others.
Addressing the Great Questions
Many people move through life content to see only what lies directly in front of their noses. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation.” The study of the liberal arts and humanities calls individuals to look up and confront life’s most meaningful and important questions—what it means to live a good and virtuous life, the nature of justice, or the calling of God in our lives.
Socrates famously declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” A liberal arts education invites students to examine life through the lenses of morality and virtue, history and philosophy, and poetry, drama, and narrative literature. Such a course of study fosters a more thoughtful life, a more worthy life of examination, a more fully human life.
In contrast to a culture that often prizes financial or professional achievement above all else, the humanities offer a broader vision of humanity—one grounded in meaning, reflection, and the pursuit of a well-ordered life. The more we learn, reflect, and question, the more fully we come to understand what it means to live for something greater.
Bridge Professional and Personal Transformation with a Master’s Degree in the Liberal Arts from UDallas
At the Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts, we believe education ought to inform the mind, but above all, form the soul. Our graduate programs blend intellectual rigor with virtuous exemplars to both equip our graduates professionally and transform them personally.
Graduates of Braniff pursue diverse and impactful career paths in politics, business, education, and beyond. A graduate degree in the liberal arts and humanities provides a strong foundation for success across every area of life.
Explore one of our many graduate program offerings, including:
Those interested in pursuing wisdom and making a meaningful impact in their chosen fields are encouraged to request more information or schedule a meeting.
Check out our Braniff Viewbook to learn more about our scholarly community and the transformative degrees we offer.
