Educational Goals

The enduring goal of a liberal arts education is the formation of well-rounded individuals whose breadth and depth of knowledge and diverse approaches to understanding prepare them for professional careers and a lifetime of learning and service. In this spirit, Westminster College provides programs that allow students to develop proficient and creative thinking in a field of study while also acquiring the following knowledge, skills and perspectives:

• Critical Thinking: development of sound analytical and synthetic reasoning skills and the ability to employ them in problem solving; 
• Communication:  ability to receive, interpret, organize, and transmit information, ideas, and emotions through a variety of verbal and nonverbal channels; 
• Mathematical Skills: acquiring the conceptual, analytic, and quantitative skills and language to interpret results and derive logical and creative solutions to problems;  
• Historical Perspective: awareness of our human heritage and of the power of historical methods for revealing patterns and meanings in national and international life;
• Human Behavior and Social Institutions: knowledge of the conditions that influence human behavior as well as their context in social and cultural institutions in which people act;
• Science: 1) understanding and application of scientific inquiry as a systematic way of learning within any discipline and 2) understanding of the natural world and the implications of scientific knowledge in the contemporary world;
• Information Technology:  ability to employ computer and other information technologies in writing and in manipulation of data, and understanding the nature and limits of information technology;
• Cultures and Global Interdependence: understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures, languages, philosophies, and religions, along with the awareness of the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of the world and the implications for economic, political, social, and cultural systems;
• Fundamental Questions and Values:  awareness of the role of values in decision making, of the search for meaning and identity, and of the ethical issues of society;
• Aesthetic Sensitivity: appreciation and understanding of literature and the fine arts.