Why Major in Philosophy?

What skills will I develop?

The study of philosophy develops many skills, such as:

  • Critical thinking
  • Clear written communication on complex topics
  • Reasoning and argumentation
  • Consideration of many different perspectives on a single subject
  • Consideration of ethics and values in public and private spheres

See the article published in Salon, Be Employable, Study Philosophy

What can I do after completing a degree in Philosophy?

Some students go to graduate school, including law school and medical school:

Philosophy majors are traditionally among the highest scorers on the GRE and LSAT. Philosophy majors rank the highest of any discipline on both Verbal Reasoning and Analytical Writing sections of the GRE, and the highest among majors in the humanities on the Quantitative Reasoning section of the GRE. Philosophy majors also tend to rank among the highest in scores on the LSAT. Finally, the acceptance rate of Philosophy majors to medical schools is actually the highest of all disciplines.

See the statistics published by ETS

…and the Law School Admission Council
…and the American Medical Student Association

But many others do other things:

Business Insider published a list of “9 Famous Execs Who Majored in Philosophy”

…and the Huffington Post published an article, “The Unexpected Way Philosophy Majors Are Changing the World of Business”

There are several other paths that students pursue

What kind of salary can I expect with a degree in Philosophy?

Philosophy ranks second among majors in the humanities in median starting salary

…and their salary increases over their careers rank the highest among all majors

Willard-DiLoreto Hall, Willard 304

Contact Information

Audra King
Associate Professor, Department Chair
Philosophy
Coordinator
Social Justice Minor
Coordinator
International Studies: Global Studies | BA
Willard-DiLoreto Hall
W30410
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