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 MinorThe 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 StudentsOptions

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 )