Liberal Arts

Studying Liberal Arts at Lancaster offers you the opportunity to expand your mind and become a creative and critical thinker. You will develop a holistic view of global issues and engage with local communities, tackle societal challenges, and explore influential ideas.

By exploring ideas from a range of arts, humanities and social science subjects, you will develop a sophisticated understanding of the key issues facing humanity, hone your problem-solving skills and practice innovative thinking. Prepare to become a versatile, global citizen ready to make a meaningful impact in an ever-changing world.

Why Lancaster?

• Think big and think differently: Develop your creative and critical thinking through dynamic, interdisciplinary approaches in humanities, arts, design and social sciences

• Unleash your creativity: Choose innovative assessments that develop your interests and skills, from producing a podcast to crafting a case study or creating a performance piece

• Make a real-world impact: Collaborate with local communities to design and deliver meaningful, hands-on projects that make a difference

• Build a future-ready skill set: Apply your learning in practical, professional settings to master problem-solving, negotiation, communication, and empathy

• Turn learning into action: Graduate with experiences and skills that demonstrate your ability to innovate, connect, and lead in a rapidly changing world

• Embark on an adventure: Shape your own learning journey by choosing to audit a range of modules from across the humanities, arts, and social sciences

Apply your ideas to current issues

Many challenges we face today are complex and require input from a range of disciplines and perspectives. You will develop a holistic understanding of real-world issues and learn how to solve problems drawing on a range of methodologies and approaches from across the Arts and Humanities.

Topics could include the environment and climate change, objectivity and subjectivity in information, relationships between human and non-human, as well as our digital presents and futures. As we explore different topics, we will draw on principles from Fine Art to Politics, from English Literature to Cultural Studies and from History to Philosophy. You will encounter big thinkers, game-changing ideas, and influential theories that shape the way we understand the world, challenge conventional thinking, and inspire innovation across various fields.

Learn through real-world encounters

We emphasise the importance of ‘place’ in our teaching, encouraging you to engage with local communities within their own unique locations on their own terms. A key part of the course is connecting your studies to the real world, applying what you have learned to current social issues to have a positive effect.

You will develop awareness of and engagement with community partners such as councils, charities, arts and heritage groups, health care partners and businesses.

As you progress through the course, you will work collaboratively on live briefs aiming to produce creative solutions to social challenges set in a range of local contexts. Through these immersive experiences and collaborative projects, you will address pressing societal challenges.

New ways of thinking. New ways of assessment.

You will become a more flexible, lateral, and creative thinker. Through human interactions you will develop negotiation skills grounded in empathy and insight. We believe that it’s not about looking for the right answers but finding the right questions to ask.

An innovative approach to study requires alternatives to traditional assessment methods. On some modules you will have creative choice over the kind of work you submit for assessment. For example, you might deliver a podcast, present a theatre performance, create a case-study or make a piece of art!