Though some bemoan the decline of the liberal arts education and the rise of undergraduate trade schools, pre-professionalism has a rightful place at universities. At our University, which has several undergraduate trade schools and at which students often pursue internships and employment early on in their scholastic careers, pre-professionalism can aid students for whom the pursuit of a college diploma is not intended to be solely academic.
To decry a pre-professional education because it is not in line with the values of pursuing academia and higher education is to ignore elements of class that often guide students’ educational decision-making. For those for whom college is a means to an end, a pre-professional education can be an entry to upward mobility. Negative perceptions of pre-professionalism may stem from a belief that college should convey the importance of academia, but for some students, this is not a realistic option.
A college education has a high sticker price. As such, it is not unreasonable for students to view their educations as investments in their futures, especially those who must take loans to enroll at a university. With student debt at an all-time high, students who attend college with the goal of achieving financial security are justified in pursuing pre-professional majors and programs that have a demonstrated track record of producing well-paid earners. The reality of our current employment structure is that this is not the case for each field of study. Especially as academia becomes more and more competitive, and stable employment that comes with tenured positions can seem out of reach, for some students academia can only be pursued as a supplementary element of their education.
All of this is not to say that the liberal arts should be off limits to those seeking financial stability, nor is it to say that the liberal arts should be the domain of the already well-off. Those who study the liberal arts can and often do secure the same employment opportunities as pre-professional students; however, there’s no denying that pre-professional programs on the whole set students up for employment better than liberal arts majors do.
Additionally, those who enroll in pre-professional tracks still have access to a well-balanced education. Here at the University, pre-professional programs encourage their students to take wide-ranging courses. Commerce students take two years of electives prior to admission to the program, and Engineering students are required to complete Science, Technology and Society courses, as well as three courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
A truly liberal education amounts to more than the sum of classes one is exposed to — it extends to the entire collegiate experience. The University offers a wide range of educational experiences because students have a wide range of needs.
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