Why Major or Minor in Philosophy?

The best reason to major in philosophy is that you find the subject interesting and exciting. Philosophy IS the road less traveled, and it can make all the difference. Besides, what if the hokey pokey isn’t what it’s all about?

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A PHILOSOPHY DEGREE?

ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!

Is Philosophy practical?

YES! And it is an ideal major for smart, motivated people who have a vision of what they want to do in life. The philosophy major provides a true education, rather than mere training. Most on-campus interviewers are interested in interviewing “all majors.” This is because most employers seek smart people who are able to think critically and respond positively to changes and problems. More so than perhaps any other major, philosophy teaches skills and abilities that are practical and applicable to any career. These never go out of style:

• The ability to think logically.
• The ability to analyze and solve problems.
• The ability to assess the pros and cons of proposed solutions.
• The ability to write and speak clearly.
• The ability to persuade.
• The ability to conduct thorough research.
• The ability to ask the right questions.
• The ability to think creatively and imaginatively.

What careers do philosophy majors typically pursue?

Most majors offer only a few career possibilities, but with a philosophy major the possibilities are endless. The list of careers and career areas typically pursued by philosophy majors includes, but is not limited to: law, medicine, education, F.B.I., government, publishing, writing, research, consulting, social and community services, business, and computer programming.

How do philosophy majors score on standardized tests?

In short, philosophy majors score among the very best.

• If you want to go to Law School, you should know that nationally the mean score on the LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) for philosophy majors is higher than that for both political science and pre-law majors. Of all college majors, philosophy majors have the highest rate of law school admissions.
• If you want to go to graduate school in any field, you should know that nationally philosophy majors go on to advanced degrees in philosophy as well as nearly every other area of study. On the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) philosophy majors have the highest mean verbal score of all majors, the second highest mean analytic score of all majors, and the highest mean quantitative score of all humanities and social science majors.
• If you want to pursue an MBA, you should know that nationally philosophy majors have a higher mean GMAT score than business majors.
• If you want to pursue a career in medicine, you should know that many medical schools look very favorably on a philosophy major as long as the requisite science courses are taken as well. Philosophy majors actually have a significantly higher medical school acceptance rate than biology or chemistry majors.

What if I’m interested in philosophy but want to major in something else?

You should know that philosophy works very well as a double major or minor with any other area of study. The study of philosophy can provide you with highly valuable insight into the nature of literature and the humanities, psychology and the social sciences, chemistry and the natural sciences, and economics and business. You can earn a minor in philosophy by taking just four courses beyond the Core requirements.

I’ve never heard of anyone majoring in philosophy.

Yes, you have! Here are just a few of the philosophy majors you may certainly have heard of:

Business: Larry Sanger (co-founder of Wikipedia), Reid Hoffman (co-founder of Linkedin), Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal), Stewart Butterfield (co-founder of Flickr), Patrick Byrne (founder of Overstock.com), John Mackey (co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market), J. Paul Getty, Carl Icahn (CEO, TWA Airlines), Gerald Levin (former CEO, Time Warner, Inc.), George Soros (financier), Lachlan Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch, media magnate), Max Palevsky (co-founder of Intel), Carly Fiorina (former CEO Hewlett-Packard), Robert Greenhill (President of Morgan Stanley).

Government, Politics, and Law: Thomas Jefferson, David Souter and Stephen Breyer (Supreme Court Justices), Sheila Bair (Chair of FDIC), William Bennett (Secretary of Education and best-selling author), Patrick Buchanan (presidential candidate and political columnist), Jerry Brown (governor of California and presidential candidate), Raisa Gorbachev (former first lady of the Soviet Union), Fred Thompson (former Senator and presidential candidate).

Religion: Pope John Paul II, Martin Luther King, Jr., Madelyn Murray O’Hair (famous atheist).

Contemporary Writers: T. S. Eliot, Christopher Hitchens, Mary Higgins Clark, James Michener, Iris Murdoch, Alexander Solzhenitsin, Umberto Eco, M. Scott Peck, Ken Follett, Susan Sontag, Sam Harris, David Foster Wallace, Ayn Rand, Elie Wiesel, Nic Pizzolatto, Yann Martel, J.D. Vance.

Performers and Broadcasters: Juan Williams, Kennedy (MTV VJ and political commentator), Katy Tur, Harrison Ford, Susan Sarandon, Lana Del Rey, Dessa, Woody Allen, Richard Gere, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Jay Leno, Dennis Miller, Kim Thayill (Soundgarden), Stone Phillips, John Chancellor, Alex Trebek, Gene Siskel, Willard Scott, Jimmy Kimmel, Ricky Gervais (creator of The Office), Wes Anderson, Ethan Coen.

Sports: Bruce Lee, Phil Jackson, Michael McKaskey (Owner, Chicago Bears), Arian Foster (Houston Texans), Aaron Talylor (OT, Notre Dame and the Green Bay Packers).