Philosophy

Major / Minor

The Philosophy major teaches students to read and think critically, analyze complex arguments, and clearly express themselves in thinking and writing, as they explore questions of existence, knowledge, and value. These abilities are also critically important to a wide range of careers. Because of the multifaceted nature of the discipline, our Philosophy program is designed in a way that offers students a great deal of flexibility in choosing classes. This makes Philosophy a strong second major for students who wish to become better critical thinkers and communicators.

More information about the Philosophy program can be found in the Course Catalog.

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Careers After W&J

The study of philosophy opens doors to many post-graduate opportunities, and in addition to entering graduate and doctoral programs our alumni enjoy careers in law, business, journalism, medicine, social work and numerous other fields where they are making an active, positive difference in the world.

As a public health data strategist, Andrea Fletcher ’10 has worked with teams of international health workers and technologists to battle Ebola, malaria, HIV and, most recently, COVID-19. Fletcher credits her hybrid undergraduate degree in bioethics – combining biology and philosophy – along with her desire to help others as the catalysts for her career success. After graduating from W&J she went on to earn a Master of Public Health in Global Health from Emory University, and is working on her Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Population Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

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Beyond the Classroom

Our philosophy students have a wide array of opportunities for learning and networking beyond the classroom that give them an advantage to prepare for life after W&J. This includes membership in the Phi Sigma Tau national honor society, participation in undergraduate and professional philosophy conferences, opportunities to author pieces for undergraduate philosophy journals, and summer programs in philosophy through prestigious national universities. In the summer of 2020, for instance, Jessica Wensus took part in the Summer Program for Women in Philosophy at the University of California San Diego and Kahdija Charpentier was a participant in the Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy at Rutgers University.

W&J also provides unique programs that allow students to thrive in this field. Caitlyn Brenner took advantage of W&J’s Magellan Project, which provided funding for her to spend the summer of 2019 in Africa studying the effects of implicit bias within the medical field. Caitlyn, a chemistry and philosophy double major, became interested in this topic after taking a bioethics class offered by the Department of Philosophy.