SSLA: THINK. EVOLVE. EXCEL.
THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE
CURIOUS
India is consistently marching towards being a country that offers tremendous opportunities to
create jobs not just in the existing employment sectors, but also in the ones that have not been
thought of yet. While the industry requirements are getting specific, it is important to nurture the
skills which can help students fit into job roles that are on offer. Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts
(SSLA) aims at moulding students to be employable and critically conscious citizens with a sound
balance of personal & professional lives. Established in 2011, SSLA was set up as the first liberal arts
undergraduate four-year degree Programme under the aegis of Symbiosis International (Deemed
University)
While the structure and ideology of Liberal Arts education is American in origin, SIU has been the
pioneering visionary in bringing it to the country. Liberal Arts education in India has adapted to the
needs of the Indian society, economy and industry. The foray into liberal arts started with the setting
up of a three-year diploma in liberal arts at the Symbiosis Centre for Liberal Arts in 2006. Based on
the experiences gathered at the centre, feedback from students, parents and all other stakeholders,
and a two-month stay at the DePaul Liberal Arts College in the USA, SIU decided to launch a four-
year programme in liberal arts.
Today, in contrast to the traditional teaching-learning and assessment methods, SSLA promotes and
encourages creative pedagogy which is beyond didactic and rote learning. Students are expected to
participate in classroom discussions and encouraged to question the knowledge imparted for
experiential self-learning. The assessments are bifurcated into Continuous Assessment to promote
ongoing learning and the Semester End Evaluations for a conglomerated learning experience. In a
nutshell, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts strives to assess students through the visual, auditory and
tactile faculties.
Diversity of Courses for Distinctive Careers SSLA offers three kinds of courses - core courses that are
taught to all students; courses for specializations that are taught to students depending on the major
and minor they have selected; and electives that can be taken by students irrespective of their
specialization. There are 12 specializations offered as majors and 22 specializations as minors. The
wide range of courses offers students a chance to go beyond the traditional curriculum. For instance,
a student with a major in English and a minor in Law or Sociology, who applies for a position at a
leading newspaper, will walk in with a larger toolbox of skills, knowledge
Opening New Window of Opportunities There is only so much that you can do unless you are given
more opportunities. Instead of confining education within the narrow fields of specialization and
domain expertise where students are restricted to certain disciplines, Symbiosis School for Liberal
Arts ensures that every student undertakes a curriculum of subjects that is spread across a large
range of the academic spectrum. The institute has adopted the ll-established international ideology
of liberal arts education and tailored it to meet the Indian scenario. Thus, SSLA students graduate
with two specializations, but at the same time are introduced to compulsory courses from several
disciplines and choose from a basket of electives beyond their chosen majors and minors.
