Major

While getting a bachelor's degree in philosophy is not for everyone, it is morethan just for those who want to teach college level philosophy. Studyingphilosophy, aside from the considerable intrinsic pleasures it affords,prepares students for a wide range of careers.

Is majoring in philosophy right for you? Aftergraduating do you want to:
go to law school ?
go to business school?
go to graduate school?
stop going to school and get a job ?

The data below are all collected overa specified time period and in some cases covering relatively few testtakers. Drawing broad conclusions on the basis of what is provided belowmay not be warranted.

Philosophy as preparation forlaw school.

According to data from the LawSchool Admission Council (unpublished, 1999, the most recent data available) there were 71,726 applicantsto at least one of the American Bar Association (ABA) approved law schoolsnationwide for the application year of 1997-8. Their average Law SchoolAdmission Test (LSAT) score was 151.4 and 70.1% of them were admitted toat least one law school.

Below are the figures for the five majors withthe largest volume of applicants for that year.
 

Major	# of Applicants	Average LSAT score	Rate of Admission
Political Science	12,737	151.4	73.5%
History	4,988	154.1	80.1%
English	4,854	153.8	78.4%
Psychology	4,062	151.8	73.8%
Criminal Justice	3,283	145.0	56.7%

Compare the numbers above with those of philosophymajors below.
 

Philosophy

1,570

156.9

82.4%

The Graduate ManagementAdmission Council (GMAC), the administrators of the Graduate ManagementAdmission Test (GMAT), in their latest Five-Year Summary (1997-2002), providethe following data for 2001-2002 (the most recent year available).
 

Major	Score
Physics	612
Mathematics	590
Engineering	582
Philosophy	573
Government	571
Chemistry	564
Economics	561
History	561
English	554
Biology	554
Statistics	553
Computer Sci	551
Anthropology	548
Law	539
Languages	536
Political Science	535
Humanites--Other	534
Architecture	533
Finance	532
SocialSci--Other	523
Science--Other	518
Int'lBusiness	515
Psychology	514
Op Mgmt	508
Accounting	507
Sociology	504
Business Ed	502
Fine Arts	501
Mgmt Info Sys	497
Management	489
Education	484
Business--Other	482
Marketing	477
Hotel Admin	472

According to data from Educational Testing Service(ETS), the administrators of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), philosophymajors did better  between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2004on the combined GRE score than students with every other major except physics/astronomy and mathematics. Compared to other majors, philosophy majors had the highest verbal scores, the highest analytical writing scorces, and the highest quantitative scores of any humanities major. (The data is from the ETS.)
 

Major	Verbal	Quant	V + Q	Analytic
Physics/Astronomy	534	738	1272	4.5
Mathematics	502	733	1235	4.4
Philosophy	589	636	1225	5.1
Engineering--Materials	494	729	1223	4.3
Engineering--Chemical	485	727	1212	4.3
Economics	504	706	1210	4.5
Engineering--Other	490	714	1204	4.4
Engineering--Mechanical	467	723	1190	4.2
Engineering--Electrical	461	728	1189	4.1
Business--Banking	476	709	1185	4.3
Computer Science	469	704	1173	4.2
Chemistry	487	682	1169	4.4
Engineering--Civil	457	702	1159	4.2
Arts & Humanities--Other	558	594	1152	4.8
Engineering--Industrial	440	710	1150	4.1
Earth Sciences	495	637	1132	4.4
Biological Sciences	491	632	1123	4.4
Religion	538	583	1121	4.8
Political Science	522	589	1111	4.8
English	559	552	1111	4.9
Arts, History	538	571	1109	4.7
Antropology	532	571	1103	4.7
Foreign Lang & Lit	529	573	1102	4.6
History	543	556	1099	4.8
Architecture	477	614	1091	4.3
Natural Sciences--Other	482	603	1085	4.4
Library Science	533	540	1073	4.5
Education--Secondary	486	577	1063	4.5
Business--Other	450	609	1059	4.1
Agriculture	461	596	1057	4.2
Arts, Performance	489	554	1043	4.3
Sociology	487	545	1032	4.6
Education--Higher	465	548	1013	4.6
Psychology	470	543	1013	4.5
Business--Accounting	415	595	1010	3.9
Education--Curriculum	462	548	1010	4.4
Communications	470	533	1003	4.5
Business--Administration	439	562	1001	4.2
Health & Med Sciences	447	552	999	4.2
Social Sciences--Other	465	528	993	4.4
Education--Eval	451	534	985	4.4
Education--Elementary	443	527	970	4.3
Education--Other	437	531	968	4.2
Public Administration	452	513	965	4.3
Education--Administration	427	523	950	4.2
Education--Special	432	502	934	4.2
Home Economics	435	498	933	4.2
Education--Counseling	428	500	928	4.2
Education--Early Childhood	418	495	913	4.1
Social Work	428	468	896	4.1

According to an article in the New York Times by Winnie Hu (" In a New Generation of College Students, Many Opt for the Life Examined," April 6, 2008, Education section), the popularity of philosophy as an undergraduate major is increasing. One of the reasons is, according to Matthew Goldstein, the City University of New York chancellor, "philosophy is really the mother ship from which all of these disciplines [humanities or political systems or sciences in general] grow.”

Another article from Atlanta-Journal and Constitution by Laura Raines (" Think Your Liberal Arts Degree Won't Get You a Real Job? THINK AGAIN!" May 4, 2007) discusses job prospects for liberal arts majors, such as philosophy majors.

Consultation

The department's primary means of communication with philosophy majors is the philosophy majors listserv. All philosophy majors must subscribe to this listserv. Other interested individuals are welcome to subscribe.

FAQ: What is a listserv?

A listserv is a similar to a copier. When one sends a message to a listserv, it is copied and sent to everyone who is a subscriber to the listserv.

FAQ: How do I subscribe to the philosophy majors listserv?

Messages will go to the address from which subscribe so you need to resubscribe every time you change e-mail addresses.

Area B Recommendation

The Department strongly recommends that students take Phil 1010, Critical Thinking, in Area B.

Area F Courses Appropriate to the Major

In an effort to assist majors in planning their schedules, the department offers certain high-demand courses on a regular schedule. While the department cannot guarantee that the schedule below will always be followed, the department will do everything humanly possible to follow it.

Phil 1010, Critical Thinking (Formerly Phil 2410)--Fall, Spring and Summer Semesters
Phil 2010, Great Questions of Philosophy--Fall, Spring and Summer Semesters
Phil 2050, Philosophical Thinking--Fall and Spring Semesters
Phil 3010, History of Western Philosophy I, Ancient and Medieval--Fall, Spring and Summer Semesters
Phil 3020, History of Western Philosophy II, Modern--Fall and Spring Semesters
Phil 4100, Epistemology (Formerly Phil 4420)--Fall Semesters
Phil 4300, Metaphysics (Formerly Phil 4600)--Spring Semesters
Phil 4520, Symbolic Logic--Fall Semesters
Phil 4700, Ethics--Spring Semesters
Phil 4820, Philosophy of Law--Spring Semesters