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What Can You Do with a Master of Liberal Arts?

The world around us is undergoing profound transformations, and organizations of all kinds are being compelled to adapt.

A Master of Liberal Arts, can help position you for leadership roles in almost any sector, business, nonprofits, government, and even law enforcement. The degree builds the critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills organizations need to navigate complex change, from remote work and AI adoption to climate pressures. Graduates apply the humanities and social sciences to make sharper decisions and lead people more effectively.

In recent years, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies have all been forced to adjust to dramatic transformations.

Leaders face complicated, high-stakes questions such as:

These aren’t questions with straightforward, one-size-fits-all answers. However, leaders are better prepared to tackle complex challenges when they’re equipped with a broad base of knowledge, robust decision-making frameworks, and strong skills in communication and collaboration.

A Master of Liberal Arts cultivates these skills and habits of mind, making it possible to thrive even in periods of uncertainty. In this article, we’ll outline some of the ways an MLA degree can help you achieve your goals.

How can you benefit from a Master’s in Liberal Arts?

A liberal arts education synthesizes concepts from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to help people to better understand the world, to engage with complex ideas, and to make simultaneously strategic and ethical decisions.

Whereas many graduate degrees instill technical abilities that are tied to specific jobs and industries, an MLA program presents broadly applicable approaches for thinking and communicating about complex issues. Students build skills that are instrumental to success in leadership positions, including critical thinking, communication, problem solving, and adaptability to change.

A liberal arts master’s program furthers your personal and professional growth by giving you opportunities to:

Why do today’s employers value liberal arts skills?

The competencies you hone in an MLA program, such as communication and critical thinking, are often described as “soft” skills since they’re not associated with specific technical applications. But there’s a growing recognition in professional environments that these capabilities are even more vital to an organization’s long-term success, especially when managers must marshal cooperation among teams working remotely.

For example, a recent McKinsey Global survey suggests that even as AI reshapes the workplace, businesses face a growing need for human-centered capabilities. Demand for social and emotional skills is projected to rise by 11 percent in Europe and 14 percent in the United States, driven by increasing need for roles that require empathy, judgment, and leadership.  In the wake of these shifts, some observers have even suggested a rebrand, referring to soft skills instead as “power” skills.

The intellectual frameworks garnered from the liberal arts make a significant difference in keeping organizations and communities progressing toward their goals. University of Chicago Associate Professor of English Mark Miller teaches in the MLA program and he has seen firsthand how graduates go on to apply their education in a variety of professional contexts.

“I’ve talked to a number of MLA students who have found direct career benefits from this program,” Miller said. “Learning to think in more creative and analytical and critical ways opened up their imaginations, taught them problem-solving skills, and nurtured an intellectual creativity that they were then able to bring back to their work.”

With that intellectually creative mindset, professionals are better able to look at challenges from fresh perspectives, seeking and evaluating possible solutions.

How does a liberal arts education benefit organizations? 

Studying the liberal arts reveals practical opportunities for organizations to strengthen productivity, collaboration, and innovation. Through rigorous analysis and sustained discussion, leaders learn to translate broad, interdisciplinary insight into action, applying transferable skills and cross-functional knowledge in ways that move organizations forward.

That need is becoming more urgent. In the LinkedIn 2025 Workplace Learning Report, more than half of career development leaders (55%) and nearly half of all respondents (48%) identified internal mobility as a top priority for the year ahead, emphasizing that collaboration and adaptability are now central to organizational success.

Meeting that moment requires leaders who can think proactively, connect ideas across domains, and inspire others. For Felix Quayson, who already holds both a PhD and an EdD, the Master of Liberal Arts offered a natural extension of that commitment. The program, he explains, creates space to explore how the liberal arts can help individuals navigate a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

“It provides a conceptual mindset that helps us think through the complexities of many interdisciplinary studies,” he said, describing how the curriculum allows him to examine the intersection of forces across communities, careers, and educational systems.

Felix recalls a moment that clarified the stakes. After seeing a claim online that liberal arts education no longer mattered in the age of AI, he found himself strongly disagreeing. “That moment reinforced for me that the liberal arts are precisely what help us think critically, ask big questions, and understand what it means to be human, even as technology changes the world around us,” he said.

His work reflects a broader concern about the future of skills. “Many people have degrees but do not necessarily have the capabilities employers are looking for,” he noted. His research moves beyond theory, offering practical approaches to help individuals navigate the future of work and build meaningful careers.

For Felix, this kind of inquiry reflects what defines the University of Chicago: a commitment to rigorous, cross-disciplinary thinking in the face of complex questions. “The MLA strengthens my ability to think across disciplines and to consider how education, technology, and society intersect,” he said. As part of his lifelong pursuit of learning, the program allows him to continue asking deeper questions, while contributing to evolving conversations about education, work, and human–AI collaboration.

How does a Master of Liberal Arts prepare you for what’s next?

By engaging with influential texts and talking about complex issues that will shape our future, you can become a more reflective, empathetic, and effective leader.

UChicago’s online Master of Liberal Arts provides a fertile environment for professional and personal development, with a community where 30% of students work in executive leadership roles and 59% already hold graduate degrees. Courses are built around open, respectful discussion, giving this diverse community of accomplished learners ample opportunities to exchange insights based on their own experiences and discover nuances in their own arguments.

If you’re seeking new opportunities to apply your skills as a leader, communicator, and collaborator, UChicago also offers an array of career support resources to help. Our global alumni network of more than 193,000 people includes numerous industry leaders, many of whom are eager to help others reach their professional objectives.

In our dynamic, tech-driven world, it’s more important than ever for leaders to stay flexible and consider how their efforts affect the big picture for their organizations and communities. Contact us to learn how earning an MLA will prepare you to become an active, persuasive participant in leadership conversations and excel in a rapidly evolving professional landscape.

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