Could liberal arts colleges become America's finest export?

One feature of US higher education that has struggled to catch on abroad is the concept of small, campus-based, liberal arts colleges.

These tiny private institutions may seem vastly different from Britain's typically large, research-intensive, state-funded universities. But with its focus on both teaching and research, holistic admissions processes and flexibility for students, the liberal arts model is catching on all over the world.

Swarthmore College is a classic example - highly selective, expensive and set on an idyllic campus just outside of Philadelphia. Jim Bock, its vice-president and dean of admissions, says: "It's a college education where you get to study a mixture of humanities, social sciences and the natural sciences. "It's traditionally for 18- to 22-year-olds who want a bachelor's degree in arts or in science. We don't have a graduate school."

The term "liberal arts" does not relate to either politics, or arts. Instead it refers to the range of subjects students study - in the first year they take three humanities modules, three social science modules and three natural science modules.

"Typically, liberal arts colleges do not offer technical subjects or pre-professional qualifications such as business or medicine," Bock says. "Most don't offer engineering, but Swarthmore has done since the 1880s because when the college was set up, they thought it would be good to have engineers who are well rounded."

So what are the benefits of such a diverse roster of subjects? For the many 17-year-olds who don't know exactly what they want to do, the approach keeps their options open. And even for those who do have a career path in mind, Bock says, liberal arts offer a wider educational grounding and development of critical thinking skills.