Return on Investment

THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF A LIBERAL EDUCATION

The liberally educated person can listen, read, talk, write, solve dilemmas, seek truth and wisdom, lead, and work in a community. But most importantly, that person can connect. They pay attention to others and the world around them. They can pair their critical thinking skills and self-knowledge to connect their formal training, their emotions, past experiences, values, and traditions with those of others.

When you can put that on your resume, you have an advantage right from the start. Add in the fact that our liberal education includes a commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability and your advantage is even bigger.

So go ahead and consider your liberal education an advantage. You'll be well prepared not only for your first job but also have the skills you'll need to succeed throughout your caree and life.

RESEARCH (FOR) YOUR FUTURE

Grand Valley provides a foundation of academic and critical thinking skills that makes it possible for undergraduate students to conduct hands-on, professional research and creative practice in their chose field - opportunities that are only available to graduate students at other schools. These invaluable experiences are a precursor to admission to graduate school and provide students with a new lens through which to view and execute their long-term educational, work, and life plans.

Will you work with a professor to define specific protein interactions in Diaphanous-related formins? Or examine the gene flow of Round Gobies in Lake Michigan? Through programs dedicated to research projects, students learn that successful research requires more than academic scholarship - that one needs to learn how to learn - which drives innovative thinking, an understanding of the greater good, and an adaptability that sets them apart.

Visit the Liberal Education page to read more about Grand Valley's liberal education focus.