Welcome to the Philosophy Department Department Location & Phone Main Office: 337 Tillinghast Hall Phone: 508-531-1258
General Information Why Philosophy? Philosophy offers the opportunity for careful consideration of the fundamental questions of life. Since these are the hardest questions, with no “right” answers, philosopher teaches you to be comfortable with difficult topics, and better able to make sense of complex problems. More practically, the study of philosophy prepares graduates for a variety of careers. Are you considering pre-law? Nationwide, philosophy majors do better than anyone else on the LSAT. Planning on an MBA? Philosophy majors outperform business majors on the GMAT. Whether you are interested in rigorous yet flexible career preparation, or thoughtful analysis about reality, truth, meaning, and justice, philosophy has something for you. Philosophy majors sometimes pursue graduate study of philosophy and become academics, but more often they go into law, medicine, business, journalism, public policy, or government.
Programs and Concentrations The Major and Minor The Philosophy major requires 33 credits in Philosophy – concentration is required The minor in Philosophy requires 18 credits in Philosophy Available optional concentrations: Applied Ethics, History of Philosophy, Analytic Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy
Co-Curricular Opportunities Getting Involved with Philosophy • BSU Philosophy Club • Bridgewater Journal of Philosophy • BSU is host to the Massachusetts Eta chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, the international Honor’s Society for Philosophy • Pre-Law • Directed Research Opportunities with internationally-recognized scholars
How does advising work in this department? Individual Attention You will be assigned an advisor to get things started, but as you get to know our seven-member department, you will have the opportunity to select your own advisor if you prefer. Because Philosophy typically has a smaller number of majors than other departments, our faculty have time to get to know you and spend time learning about your current interests and future aspirations.
Recommended Courses for New Students Options Besides being a required Core course for all Freshmen, PHIL111 Foundations of Logical Reasoning is either a prerequisite or co- requisite for all other Philosophy classes (except 135/6 and 199), so definitely try to take that first. PHIL151 Introduction to Philosophy and PHIL 152 Contemporary Moral Problems are excellent places to start, but you can also consider the 200-level courses as they match your interests.
Recommendations for Transfer Students If you have taken Introduction to Philosophy or Ethics at your previous institution, that will count towards your Philosophy major here at BSU, but does not satisfy the Core requirement in Foundations of Logical Reasoning, so you need to take PHIL111 as soon as possible. See the Department Chair if you want to take that concurrently with 200- or 300-level courses you are interested in.
Overriding a Prerequisite If you want to enroll in an upper- level course without having the exact prerequisite, you must complete the following form, allowing you to enroll in the course.
Make sure you have the correct CRN numbers for registration ( noted in the yellow box on the sample registration form )
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