Hampshire College, a liberal arts university, to close
16 April 2026
Not good news. Word that the university, located in the American state of Massachusetts, is to close. I didn’t go to university after leaving high school, couldn’t decide what to study, but maybe a liberal arts degree might have been a good fit.
If I’d known, back in the day, such courses even existed.
And while a number of local tertiary education institutions offer liberal arts courses, I believe Australia only has one dedicated liberal arts uni, Campion College, situated in Toongabbie, in Sydney’s west, which opened in 2006.
If liberal arts degrees are new to you, here’s how Campion describes the course:
We celebrate the humanities at the heart of the Western intellectual tradition — literature, philosophy, theology, history, and the study of languages and culture. These disciplines are not simply subjects to be learned; they are the foundations of a rich education that shapes the whole person and has guided human flourishing for centuries.
I’ve heard it said liberal arts degrees are for those interested in everything, but nothing in particular.
This is sort of thing no longer desirable? University courses catering for people with broad interests, rather than something more focused? It would be unfortunate if that were so, and was resulting in the closure of places such as Hampshire College.
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