The Executive BA – Liberal Arts à la carte

Want an aristocratic liberal arts education but also want to get on with real life as soon as possible? There are a few ways to go about that.

Some institutions offer short, concentrated, inexpensive, yet respectable programs of study. Just as an “executive” MBA is a quickie version of a four-year business degree stripped to its bare essentials, these “executive” liberal arts programs give you all the meat without the fluff (without charging you four year’s tuition for one year of classes). I will give one example here, but if you know of similar institutions (public, private, religious, secular), please let me know and I will add them to the list.

Note that this place is really only for hard-core Catholics, but consider as an example of the concept, the one-year Basic Certificate of Christian Humanities offered by Our Lady Seat of Wisdom in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Canada. Their tuition for the 2016-2017 academic year is $6,975 and room and board is $5,900. Here’s what you’ll cover in eight months time:

Core Requirements (27 credits):

  • HIS 103: History of Western Civilization I (3 credits)
  • HIS 104: History of Western Civilization II (3 credits)
  • LIT 102: Essay Writing (3 credits)
  • LIT 141: Introduction to Classical Literature (3 credits)
  • PHI 100: Fundamentals of Philosophy (3 credits)
  • PHI 141: Logic (3 credits)
  • THE 100 (previously 200): Christian Doctrine (6 credits)
  • THE 110 (previously THE/LIT 210): Introduction to Biblical Literature (3 credits)

Distribution Requirement (1 credit): One credit in music

Language Requirement (3 credits):

  • LAS 120: Introductory Latin I (May be waived if proficiency can be demonstrated through the placement test)

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom offers 1, 2, and 3 year programs. They are not yet an “accredited” university (though they are working on it), but you can transfer credit to a small list of “accredited” schools if you need to get a four-year degree. This article is geared towards those who are seeking a solid education and maybe a credential to back it up, not those seeking to get a universally recognized four-year BA. As for quality, given that you can get a four-year degree in complaining studies from an “accredited” school, let’s just say accreditation isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.