Liberal Arts Schools

As a professor or instructor of liberal arts classes at one of the 2,431 accredited liberal arts schools in the country, you play a fundamental role in shaping the future of this growing field. The trends in the liberal arts academic community can be evaluated by looking at the statistics and graphs below, which includes liberal arts training at the following levels:

  • Liberal Arts Certificate
  • Associates degree in Liberal Arts
  • Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts
  • Masters degree in Liberal Arts
  • PhD degree in Liberal Arts

Statistics

Professional Trends

National Employment growth for Liberal arts professionals

59,320 60,910 62,230 65,490 69,880
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
  • Dark Yellow: Actual Values

69,880 liberal arts professionals were working in the US in the year 2010. Over the course of the past 4 years, this number has grown by 18%.

This growth is faster than the growth for all careers between the years 2006 and 2010, which was 1%.

National Salary percentiles for Liberal arts professionals

10th percentile		 $32,880
25th percentile		 $43,770
50th percentile		 $60,400
75th percentile		 $83,600
90th percentile		 $113,590

Liberal arts professionals in the US earned a median salary of $60,400 per year in 2010. The median yearly salary for liberal arts professionals in the US was 0% less than that for all professions, which was $68,155 per year.

National Median Salary Growth For Liberal Arts

$51,730 $54,000 $56,380 $58,870 $60,400
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
  • Light Blue: Salaries

Between the years 2006 and 2010, salaries for liberal arts professionals have grown by 17%.

Educational Trends

National Liberal Arts Student enrollment growth by degree

244,812 250,507 254,143 264,011 215,569
51,678 53,063 54,103 54,555 51,222
438 465 441 472 493
4,374 4,335 4,700 4,671 4,735
4,137 4,990 5,286 11,597 15,171
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
  • Yellow: Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts
  • Blue: Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts
  • Red: Doctorates Degree in Liberal Arts
  • Light blue: Master's Degree in Liberal Arts
  • Grey: Certificate in Liberal Arts

We are seeing a rapid change in the career outlook for liberal arts professionals. However, the story on the educational front is quite different. In the US, 305,439 students graduated from liberal arts degree programs in 2006. And in 2010, 287,190 students graduated from liberal arts schools.

This represents a 6% change in the number of graduates. This decline in the number of students graduating from liberal arts courses is less than the change nationally for students graduating from institutions for higher education in general, which has been a 12% growth from 2006 to 2010.

Liberal Arts Programs offered Nationwide

associate		 1,967
bachelor		 1,791
master		 338
doctor		 109
Certificate		 250
Total4,455

The number of schools offering liberal arts programs has decreased. In 2006 there were 2335 liberal arts schools across the nation, and in 2010, there were 2431 schools.

Liberal Arts Faculty Salaries

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Currently we are in the process of collecting data for the number of liberal arts faculty, growth in the field of liberal arts academia and faculty salaries. This is where we need your help. If you are involved in teaching liberal arts courses to students at the certificate in liberal arts, associates degree in liberal arts, bachelors degree in liberal arts, masters degree in liberal arts, and PhD degree in liberal arts levels, please take a moment to anonymously submit your information to help us build a valuable database resource for the benefit of current and future faculty in the field of liberal arts. A summary of the information we have collected thus far will appear once you submit your information.

States

  1. Liberal Arts Schools in California209 Schools
  2. Liberal Arts Schools in New York149 Schools
  3. Liberal Arts Schools in Pennsylvania129 Schools
  4. Liberal Arts Schools in Texas123 Schools
  5. Liberal Arts Schools in Illinois104 Schools
  6. Liberal Arts Schools in North Carolina99 Schools
  7. Liberal Arts Schools in Ohio97 Schools
  8. Liberal Arts Schools in Massachusetts75 Schools
  9. Liberal Arts Schools in Florida73 Schools
  10. Liberal Arts Schools in Michigan69 Schools
  11. Liberal Arts Schools in Virginia65 Schools
  12. Liberal Arts Schools in Georgia61 Schools
  13. Liberal Arts Schools in Missouri60 Schools
  14. Liberal Arts Schools in Indiana58 Schools
  15. Liberal Arts Schools in Minnesota57 Schools
  16. Liberal Arts Schools in Tennessee51 Schools
  17. Liberal Arts Schools in Washington State50 Schools
  18. Liberal Arts Schools in South Carolina48 Schools
  19. Liberal Arts Schools in New Jersey46 Schools
  20. Liberal Arts Schools in Iowa45 Schools
  21. Liberal Arts Schools in Kansas43 Schools
  22. Liberal Arts Schools in Alabama42 Schools
  23. Liberal Arts Schools in Kentucky40 Schools
  24. Liberal Arts Schools in Maryland39 Schools
  25. Liberal Arts Schools in Arkansas39 Schools
  26. Liberal Arts Schools in Oregon38 Schools
  27. Liberal Arts Schools in Connecticut37 Schools
  28. Liberal Arts Schools in Colorado36 Schools
  29. Liberal Arts Schools in Wisconsin36 Schools
  30. Liberal Arts Schools in Oklahoma34 Schools
  31. Liberal Arts Schools in Louisiana33 Schools
  32. Liberal Arts Schools in New Mexico31 Schools
  33. Liberal Arts Schools in West Virginia30 Schools
  34. Liberal Arts Schools in Arizona30 Schools
  35. Liberal Arts Schools in Mississippi27 Schools
  36. Liberal Arts Schools in Nebraska24 Schools
  37. Liberal Arts Schools in New Hampshire24 Schools
  38. Liberal Arts Schools in Maine22 Schools
  39. Liberal Arts Schools in Montana21 Schools
  40. Liberal Arts Schools in South Dakota18 Schools
  41. Liberal Arts Schools in North Dakota18 Schools
  42. Liberal Arts Schools in Vermont17 Schools
  43. Liberal Arts Schools in Utah16 Schools
  44. Liberal Arts Schools in Hawaii14 Schools
  45. Liberal Arts Schools in Idaho11 Schools
  46. Liberal Arts Schools in Washington DC9 Schools
  47. Liberal Arts Schools in Rhode Island8 Schools
  48. Liberal Arts Schools in Wyoming8 Schools
  49. Liberal Arts Schools in Nevada7 Schools
  50. Liberal Arts Schools in Alaska6 Schools
  51. Liberal Arts Schools in Delaware5 Schools

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