For those students who do not wish to confine themselves to one subject area at university and are looking for a more holistic type of education a Liberal Arts and Science programme could be a great option. These programmes place a strong emphasis on student community and create small-scale learning environments, where both faculty and students feel part of and contribute to the collective.
Students selecting this type of study can construct a more open curriculum that is catered to their diverse interests – choosing courses from across the arts, humanities, science and social science faculties.
The concept of a Liberal education originated in the US where students now have a plethora of colleges of all different shapes and sizes, and campus cultures to choose from – many have fewer than 2,000 students which allows for a much more intimate experience than most regular universities.
For those students not wishing to study in the US, there is also an established network of University Colleges in the Netherlands each connected to one of the leading Research Universities. Each of these programmes admits only 100-300 students per year via a holistically selective process. Students live together on a residential campus in a very international community and craft their own unique programmes, sometimes with an overarching theme, such as the Global Challenges: Diversity, Peace, Sustainability and Peace and Justice programme at University College Leiden or the Technology and Liberal Arts and Sciences programme (ATLAS) at the University College Twente aimed at students who want to make a difference through science and technology