Limiting your relationships to people like yourself can drastically inhibit your personal growth potential. If you want to learn more about yourself and the world you live in, try surrounding yourself with diverse people and viewpoints. Diverse universities offer just this opportunity—providing not just a formal education, but a perspective on your place in the world.
Whether you receive a traditional or online education for your bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, interacting with people who are different from you is an essential part of learning. Here are some reasons why.
Diversity makes you a better world citizen.
Until college, many people never attend schools outside of their hometown. Unless you’re from a diverse community, you may not have regularly interacted with people of different backgrounds. Often, college is the first setting where students have the opportunity to socialize with people from different racial, socio-economic, religious, and political backgrounds.1
Speaking to those with different upbringings can help you learn more about other cultures—and in turn, they learn more about yours. This cultural give-and-take can help you make sense of the world and better relate to others. It can better prepare you to understand and work in an increasingly global economy.2
Diversity prepares you for your career.
Ideally, college prepares you for your career, and not just in your particular field of study. Sharing unique perspectives with classmates is excellent training for expressing differing viewpoints with future colleagues, clients, administration, and others you meet in the working world.
Workplace diversity is on the rise. According to U.S. News & World Report, “the percentage of America's working-age population comprised of members of minority groups is expected to increase to 55% by 2050.”2 Learning to work closely with people who are different from you not only enhances your postsecondary education experience, but it readies you for the diversity of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.3
Diversity sharpens self-awareness.
When we reach college age, we usually have a pretty sufficient understanding of ourselves. However, there is still room for fine-tuning. Awareness of and contact with other cultures helps you better understand your own perspective, adding insight and nuance to your opinions.4
Diversity often promotes creative collaboration and helps build communication skills and empathy.
Interactions with people from diverse backgrounds can help you understand varying perspectives on important issues. Analyzing and combining the views of many can help you and your academic or work team develop entirely new approaches to problems. Working with diverse personnel is a way to expand your creativity and creative thinking skills.2
The more experience you gain working with others from unique backgrounds, the more perspective you’ll gain, increasing your empathy and ability to relate to others. You’ll also build important soft skills such as interpersonal communication, listening, teamwork, and problem-solving.4 Cultivating these skills can transform your career, long after you earn a degree.
If want to earn a degree at a diverse accredited university, Walden University offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs for students looking to explore social change in their curriculum and careers. Walden students earn their degrees online and interact with engaging faculty and classmates through challenging online courses in fields of study such as education, health sciences, management, psychology, social work, nursing, and more. With more than 53,000 students worldwide,* Walden’s population reflects a diversity of ages, education levels, career interests, and backgrounds.
Walden University is an accredited institution offering a variety of college degree programs online. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible learning platform that fits your busy life.
*Total enrollment as of December 31, 2018.
1Source: www.asanet.org/news-events/footnotes/nov-2016/features/value-diversity-higher-education
2Source: www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2009/08/12/why-does-diversity-matter-at-college-anyway
3Source: www.acenet.edu/Documents/BoardDiversityStatement-June2012.pdf
4Source: www.greatvaluecolleges.net/lists/5-advantages-to-diversity-on-college-campuses/
Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.