Philosophy is a quest for understanding the fundamental truths of life, such as the nature of right and wrong and the relationship between the mental and the physical. The university's philosophy faculty consistently rates among the nation's top six in schools that do not offer graduate studies in the discipline, according to the Philosophical Gourmet Report, the preeminent ranking of philosophy programs in the English-speaking world.
The department's strengths include faculty outstanding in their fields; small, discussion-based classes taught by these faculty members; close interactions between students and their professors; and a diverse range of courses and research opportunities. Faculty interests and courses range from metaphysics, medical ethics, feminism and philosophy of law to free will and determinism, Chinese philosophy and metaethics. Philosophy majors develop strong analytical, critical, written and oral communication skills — applicable to philosophy as well as other professions including law, medicine and public policy.
Phone: (802) 656-4042
Fax: (802) 656-3133
E-mail: philosophy.department@uvm.edu
Department Web Site:
http://www.uvm.edu/~phildept/
Graduate school: The department has an excellent record in placing students in top graduate programs of philosophy, including Cornell, Harvard and the University of Arizona.
Although most philosophy majors do not become professors of philosophy, alumni currently teach at the University of Wisconsin, Bowdoin College, California State University-Fullerton and the University of Akron.
Careers: Many philosophy majors pursue graduate degrees and careers in law, medicine, psychology, computer science and religion. Other alumni are working as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a software designer, a commodities trader, a minister, a secondary school teacher, an actor and an opera singer.
