<p>There is an important distinction between a liberal arts curriculum and a Liberal Arts College. A liberal arts curriculum is often offered in a university setting – many universities have a “College of Arts & Sciences” or some such. This is not the same as a Liberal Arts College, which, as other posters have mentioned almost universally have several characteristics:</p>
<p>1) Relatively small size, typically fewer than 3,000 students.</p>
<p>2) Residential - most students are expected to live on campus all 4 years.</p>
<p>3) A focus on undergraduate education. While a very few LACs have small graduate programs, the vast majority of LACs have no graduate programs.</p>
<p>4) The academic program is oriented around one interpretation or another of the liberal arts curriculum.</p>
<p>If, for example, you look at CC’s “Top Liberal Arts Colleges,” you’ll see that the only institutions which call themselves “Universities” are Colgate, Wesleyan and Washington & Lee. Colgate has 2800 undergrads and virtually no graduate students (one source said 12). Wesleyan has 2800 undergrads and 500 graduate students. W&L has 1800 undergrads and 400 in the law school (their only graduate program). By contrast, to pick an example, Rutgers has 42,000 undergraduates and 15,000 graduate students.</p>
<p>The idea of a Liberal Arts College is primarily an American invention. In most other countries higher education is almost exclusively in large universities.</p>
<p>As to which provides the “better” educational experience, I think that depends a lot on the institution in question, and the student’s personality and academic interests.</p>