As a student in the philosophy department, you will work with a dynamic and productive community of scholar–teachers dedicated to undergraduate and graduate teaching, academic research, and professional training for future philosophers. You will join a lively intellectual community, an academically rigorous, critical, intellectually diverse department committed to teaching and research in Continental philosophy and the history of philosophy.
We understand the two elements of the scholar–teacher model as equally valued, intrinsically connected and mutually reinforcing. For that reason, we foster high-quality scholarship by faculty, graduate students and advanced undergraduate majors, providing a context within which the necessary resources are available.
General Education
We serve the general undergraduate community through the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum and the university-wide Bridges Common Learning Experience in order to form intellectually deep, civically engaged, globally aware and ethically minded students who accept the challenge to be distinctive, thoughtful, skilled and service-oriented critics of society and agents of change as they faithfully pursue justice and peace in their individual lives, communities and the world.
Engage deeply in the history of philosophy. We serve our majors and minors by providing an intensive course of study through which
they rigorously engage in logical analysis, conceptual interpretation and critique
of texts, arguments and ideas. We help them develop a broad competence in the history
of philosophy and a thorough understanding of diverse philosophical positions, so
that they may reflectively pursue whatever path in life they choose. Our graduate programs are central to the mission of the department and to our vision
of its future. As part of our Ph.D. program, you will be immersed in advanced philosophical training
and pursue high-quality independent research under the mentorship of faculty. You’ll
be equipped to become an independent member of the international philosophical community
and to find full-time academic employment or a satisfying career beyond the professoriate. If you have a strong background in philosophy or allied fields, our M.A. program will
prepare you to obtain admission to more advanced degree programs (especially doctoral
programs in philosophy and related areas) or to launch a career in other fields. We are committed to cultivating a welcoming, inclusive and just community. The Department of Philosophy—its staff, faculty and graduate students—is committed
to cultivating a welcoming, inclusive and just community that supports all its members
regardless of sex, gender, gender identification, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity,
caste, nationality, citizenship, religion, political opinion, age, socioeconomic background,
marital or family status, disability or military service. We recognize that bias, whether overt or concealed, is an obstacle to justice, inclusiveness
and productivity in philosophy as a discipline, and we attempt to combat it in the
composition of our department, the courses we teach and the events we organize and
sponsor. This includes recruiting students from underrepresented groups to join our department,
training graduate students in the design of inclusive syllabi, offering courses each
year on non-Western philosophy and gender studies at both the undergraduate and graduate
levels and scheduling talks each year on minority issues. In addition, the department
will continue to take concrete steps to address issues of justice and inclusion.Undergraduate Programs
Graduate Programs
Justice & Inclusion