UM Liberal Arts Completes Education for Students With Any Major
A recent survey revealed that nearly 50 percent of college graduates who majored in liberal arts and humanities regretted their decision after entering the workplace.
We reached out to the Director of Strategic Communications at the University of Montana Dave Kuntz who addressed that survey.
“What makes the University of Montana unique is we are a liberal arts institution, but unlike some other smaller colleges, we provide students with the ability to get that broad knowledge, but also to be specifically skilled,” began Kuntz. “So regardless of what a student’s major might be here at the university, whether they're studying the humanities, journalism, wildlife biology, or pharmacy, they're also getting that broad general education course that's rooted in our liberal arts history to make sure that they're well prepared for the workforce in the years ahead.”
Kuntz explained the tools that UM provides to ensure that any graduate can succeed in their chosen field.
“What we've done to ease any sort of frustration that students or alumni have in terms of what they chose to study is by implementing initiatives such as Elevate U, which is our workplace readiness initiative,” she said. “So right now at the University of Montana, regardless of what you study or what your major is, whether you're in the humanities or the sciences, the arts or in business, we're working with students to make sure from their very first semester that they're getting internships. They're getting connected to the workforce. They're getting resources that employers are looking for.”
Kuntz acknowledged that the W.R. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation is growing rapidly at UM.
“So we're really lucky here at the University of Montana that College of Forestry is among the fastest growing colleges on our campus,” he said. “That’s because it's really working to solve some of the major issues of society today, whether that be climate change or sustainability or making sure that we have healthy forests and healthy timber industry. We've seen students not only from Montana, but from around the country gravitate to the offerings of the College of Forestry, which has some of the fastest growing majors here at the University of Montana.”
Kuntz named several other highly successful programs, including the UM College of Business.
“The College of Business here at the University has a long track record of preparing people to enter into the business world,” he said. “Some of the biggest business leaders in the state or in the region are graduates of that college. But also we've got tremendous success happening at the College of Health. That's really growing with new offerings here at the university, with a College of Humanities and Sciences, and continues to produce students at such a high volume that make great civic impacts to society as well. As you know, we're still the home of the College of Education where we prepare teachers, Missoula College where we work to create those industry impacts. And then our College of Arts and Media is producing some of the best journalists in the world.”
According to the University of Montana website, the school boasts a 13 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio, with an average class size of 30 students.