Even in 2026, ask around for advice on liberal arts degrees in India and it rarely takes long before remarks like “It’s too general” or “Isn’t that risky?” surface, followed by the inevitable “What job will you get?”
That familiar scepticism intends to come from a practical place — students and their families want certainty, and they want a degree to translate into a first pay cheque without detours. At the same time, the very forces that make certainty appealing have also made it harder to promise. Work keeps changing. Teams are increasingly cross-functional. Tools evolve quickly, and people are expected to work with data, write clearly, learn fast, and make decisions that hold up under pressure. The question should grow beyond simply asking which discipline is “best”, perhaps. What kind of training travels well across roles, sectors, and time?
At FLAME University in Pune, Prof M A Venkataramanan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, frames liberal arts as a way of building mental range before students commit to a more defined path. “What liberal education gives you is a broad view of how the world works. Students can choose a path that fits them, and build a strong mental model of business and society. It widens thought, and helps them handle uncertainty. With AI as the big elephant in the room, they need well informed judgement,” he says.
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