Ready to Launch Your Legacy?

Learn what a Liberal Arts degree can do for you.

The College of the Liberal Arts is the place to find your place.
Unlimited options and unwavering support to prepare you for life and any career you choose.
It all starts here. 

The place to find your place

Unlimited options and unwavering support to prepare you for life and any career you choose.

It all starts here.

Meet our community

Get to know some of our talented Liberal Arts students, alumni, and faculty members. These stories highlight the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of our community and the impact they are making.

Felicity Sarnoff, who is the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts as college marshal for the fall 2024 commencement ceremony, stands in front of trees and bushes at Penn State University Park.
Research opportunities played a pivotal role in Felicity Sarnoff’s extracurricular activities and influenced their career aspirations of teaching English abroad. “Penn State and the College of the Liberal Arts have opened so many incredible academic opportunities for me to dive into my interests and prepare for graduate school and beyond,” Felicity said.
Kara Stover
Through her coursework and out-of-classroom experiences, Kara Stover, a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar has found ways to combine her interests in criminology, psychology, and firefighting to prepare for a career as a fire investigator. She said her experience is a testament to what it means to live with purpose and give back, shaping her future with every step she takes.
Zion Sykes, 2024–25 University Park Undergraduate Association president, sits in a chair at a table full of first-year Liberal Arts students while laughing and talking to the group.
Zion Sykes is leveraging his academic background and leadership skills to pursue a career in governmental consulting or international law. During his first year at Penn State, Zion lived in the First-Year Liberal Arts Living Learning Community (LLC) where he learned more about getting involved and utilizing Penn State resources.
Jayden Foxx
As a first-generation student, Jayden Foxx is improving the college experience and support resources for fellow first-generation students while participating in the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program to help shape her career goals.
Welch Building
The Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building—the first new Liberal Arts building at Penn State University Park in more than fifty years—opened its doors in January and serves as an innovative hub of social science teaching, research, and outreach activity.

Pursue your passions

The College of the Liberal Arts is home to nearly 150 undergraduate majors, minors, integrated undergraduate-graduate degrees (IUGs), associate degrees, and certificates.
There is truly something for everyone.

Explore by Interest

A liberal arts major helped recent graduate John Miller develop a greater worldly perspective, improve his communication skills, and see how people experience life in different ways—traits that have benefitted the Paterno Fellow on his unique path to medical school. Read his story.

Explore by Discipline

Students in the humanities study how people process and document the human experience. Most majors in the humanities build widely transferable skills that employers appreciate and go on to be writers, counselors, event organizers, social media managers, fundraisers, travel bloggers, and more. 

Explore humanities majors 

The social sciences examine the relationships between individuals and societies, as well as the development and operation of societies. The critical thinking, research, and analytical skills gained in a social science major help prepare graduates for diverse job titles, including economist, psychologist, political scientist, historian, postsecondary teacher, museum curator, and social worker. 

Explore social science majors

Intercultural communication, critical thinking and reasoning, cultural adaptability, information and trend analysis, and the other skills that drive the global economy, are in high demand today. Language graduates find jobs in tourism, international development, marketing, policy making, journalism, government, and more. 

Explore language majors

Pursue your interests

The College of the Liberal Arts is home to nearly 150 undergraduate majors, minors, integrated undergraduate-graduate degrees (IUGs), associate degrees, and certificates.
There is truly something for everyone.

Mark your calendar

The College of the Liberal Arts hosts more than 200 events
throughout the year for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the community.
Visit our events calendar to see the full list of upcoming events.
Below are the annual student events.

June
Five Liberal Arts students stand on the Sparks Building patio during the Paterno Fellows Orientation.
16
:
1

Student to Faculty Ratio

89
%

Undergraduate Graduation Rate

54

Average Class Size

800

Undergraduate Courses
Per Semester

16
:
1

Student to Faculty Ratio

89
%

Undergraduate Graduation Rate

54

Average Class Size

800

Undergraduate Courses
Per Semester

Future Students
CURRENT Students
Graduate Students
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