Department of Liberal Arts

Broaden Your Education through Liberal Arts Studies at Kettering

Whether you dream of becoming an engineer, a scientist, or anything in between, as a Kettering University graduate, you’ll spend your career researching, designing and building innovative technologies and solving complex human problems.

Courses in science, mathematics and engineering will of course help you develop your expertise in these areas and create new and innovative technologies. However, liberal arts courses will give you a better understanding of society to help you connect the dots and determine which technologies could be improved or created in the first place.

They’ll also help you round out your abilities and help you find success — no matter the career you choose. That’s because liberal arts give you opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge you need to think critically and creatively about society and culture, solve complex problems, work collaboratively with others and communicate effectively.

At Kettering, we recognize that integrating liberal arts into your education will not only help you develop a richer personal life and the capacity for lifelong learning, but it will also give you the key to unlock a successful career.

Data Meets Depth: Our Liberal Arts

As a future leader in engineering, science, or research, your success requires more than technical expertise. To advance in your field or industry, you will need excellent communication skills, strong critical thinking ability, a solid foundation in ethical reasoning, and a deep understanding of human psychology, society, and cultures. These are skills for leadership.

Kettering’s liberal arts curriculum is designed to build your leadership skills. With top-notch faculty teaching writing, history, philosophy, cultural awareness, ethics and leadership, you will develop the skills that can advance your career and enrich your life.

Economics Minor

Economic decisions are crucial to the success of any professional, and increasingly significant in the fields of computing, engineering, and technology. This minor adds enormous value to your degree. Through our economics minor you’ll study how individuals, businesses, governments and societies make decisions about money, time, and risk, among many other choices and challenges. Such insights, combined with a working knowledge of economics, will give you an advantage over your peers in the job market — regardless of your major.

Learn more about the Economics Minor

About the Department of Liberal Arts

Kettering’s Department of Liberal Arts is a dynamic department of dedicated teacher-scholars across the humanities, arts, and social sciences. The liberal arts curriculum consists of four required courses in communication, economics, human culture and society, and leadership and ethics, respectively. Additionally, four advanced electives allow you to explore different areas of the liberal arts. All of these requirements and opportunities build skills essential for career success, including—

Effective communication
Critical analysis
Ethical reasoning
Global cultural awareness
Media literacy

Our faculty are recognized for their research, scholarship, and writing in areas such as international relations, environmental justice, law, political history, film studies, cognitive psychology, money and banking, and ethics. Their books have been published major academic presses and independent publishers.

Liberal arts faculty provide detailed written and oral feedback to students, helping them to improve these key career skills.

What Do Liberal Arts Entail?

Liberal arts examines and explores academic subjects such as history, literature, writing, communications, philosophy, sociology, creative arts, psychology and more. Paired with classes in other fields such as mathematics, engineering and natural sciences, your studies will provide you with a liberal arts education that covers technological know-how as well as communication and interpersonal skills.