A descriptive comparison of the organization of life science curricula in liberal arts colleges

Liberal arts colleges are an American institution valued for their small size, private status, tiaditional-aged student body who are primarily in a residential setting, and emphasize an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum. However, many have begun offering professional degrees as well. This study is a description of life science curricula of 82 nationally and regionally ranked liberal arts colleges. Both life science liberal arts degrees and professional degrees were examined. In both national and regional colleges, the requirements for liberal arts degrees were composed of a higher percentage of biology coursework than professional degrees were. Regional colleges offered a significantly higher number of professional degrees than did national colleges, however.