Philosophy
About Our Program
Today’s biggest questions are complicated and intertwined, and our program empowers you to tackle them with multiple perspectives and approaches. You’ll become a better producer and consumer of ideas, and your ability to harness diverse viewpoints will serve as a guide as you consider everything from environmental philosophy to the role of truth in contemporary political debate, to ethics in the medical field.
You’ll develop close relationships with professors who will invest in your academic pursuits as you branch out and discover the questions that fuel your curiosity. Your ability to conduct thoughtful research and construct thorough arguments will give you a leg up after graduation—whether you’re considering graduate school, law school, or entering the job market.
Learning Experiences to Prepare for Your Career
As a philosophy major, you’ll use multiple tools and lenses to consider the world around you. When you venture forth after graduation, you’ll continue challenging conventions and posing better solutions to the complex problems facing businesses, communities, organizations, and governments today.University Fellowship Program
Spend your summer on campus further investigating the questions that captivate you in class. You’ll receive funding to live on campus while you work closely with a faculty member on a topic that inspires and challenges you. Past summer fellows have looked at the ethics of climate change, considered the morality of genetic engineering, and compared public and alternative schooling models.
Explore Research Opportunities
Senior Honors Thesis
You can also dedicate your senior year to a faculty-mentored senior honors thesis—a culmination of the close relationships you’ve built and the research passions you’ve discovered.
- What does it mean to live a good life?
- Are we free?
- What is the self?
- What is the nature of reality?
- How are individual and community related?
- What is justice, and can we create a truly just society?
- How should humans interact with the natural world?
- What is knowledge?
- What can be known and what is just a matter of opinion?
Apply your learnings in the classroom to the fabric of the St. Lawrence community to enrich your understanding of both. In a course like Biomedical Ethics, you’ll gain insight into specific health needs of the North Country while considering ethical dilemmas affecting modern medicine at large.
Our breadth of approaches to philosophy, paired with your high-caliber research experience, will ensure you’re well prepared should you choose to apply to graduate school. Our majors have gone on to study at a number of well-regarded institutions, including:
- Brown University
- Boston College Law School
- University at Buffalo
- University of Wisconsin Law School
- University of Maryland
- Syracuse University College of Law
- Northeastern University
Study Abroad
Choose from more than 30 semester-long programs in more than 20 international locations, including Australia, Vienna, and Thailand.
Among the 150+ clubs and organizations at St. Lawrence, you’ll find many that involve the outdoors, wildlife and environmental advocacy, including:
- Philosophy Club
- The Hill News
- The Laurentian Magazine
- Men in Color
- Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy Honor Society
- Environmental Action Organization
- The Finer Things Cheese and Turophile Society
- The L.I.G.H.T. House
- Divestment Club
- SLU Legal
- The Underground
Why St. Lawrence for Philosophy
of St. Lawrence philosophy majors are employed or enrolled in graduate school within a year of graduation.
Prepare for Law School
Hone your analytical thinking skills. Learn to construct stronger arguments. If you're interested in law school, your philosophy degree (plus personalized advising from faculty mentors) will set you up for success.
Recent Graduates Employed by:
- Fulbright Program
- Condé Nast
- Charles Koch Foundation
- Teach for America
- The New York State Assembly
- American International School, Salzburg
- Tax Foundation
- The New York Times
Diverse Perspectives in Coursework
- Africana Philosophy
- Philosophy of the Environment
- Asian Philosophy
- Political Theories of Violence and Nonviolence
- Feminist Philosophy
- Philosophy of Peace
Environmental Studies Combined Major
Passionate about environmental issues? Dig deeper into questions about climate change, sustainability, preservation, and more when you combine your philosophy major with environmental studies.
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Program Requirements & Courses
Explore philosophy major requirements, as well as electives and combined study options.
Complementary and Related Programs
Philosophy makes an excellent double major, and students often pair it with the following programs.
Philosophy Faculty
“Philosophy majors tend to have a fairly high mid-career salary compared to other majors, suggesting they're moving up quite a bit over the course of their careers. I suspect it's because of their ability to grasp new skills, think about the best way to approach them, and come up with novel, but also effective, ideas and solutions.”
Jeffrey Maynes
Dr. Jennifer L Hansen
Richard Lauer
Timothy Murphy
Laura Rediehs
Supportive Faculty
When you major in philosophy, you’ll immediately gain a close-knit support system of faculty who prioritize meeting you wherever you are on your academic and personal journey.
A Multifaceted Major
Philosophy makes an excellent double major, because it helps you ask better questions about just about any other discipline. Harness your philosophy coursework to investigate ethics in health care for your biology major, or ask questions about media bias to enrich your performance and communication arts studies.
A Course for Every Interest
Our faculty are experts in a range of topics and approaches within the study of philosophy, which means if you’re curious to explore a specific field—be it language, chemistry, modern art, or political science—you’ll find a mentor who shares and encourages your passions.
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We’re excited to learn more about you, tell you more about our interdisciplinary academic programs, show you around our beautiful campus, and help you navigate your college search.
Apply to St. Lawrence
We’re looking for curious students who are eager to make a difference. We take a holistic approach to reviewing applications and consider all aspects of your application and what we learn about you.