Student Research

Philosophy affords ample opportunities to do independent research on almost any topic you can imagine.  Topics of recent independent projects have included:

• Climate change and 'Green Authoritarianism'
• Truth and fiction: how language works in fictional contexts
• The ethics of genetic engineering and prosthetics
• The ethics of commercializing public land
• The philosophy of education
• The role of agential thinking in evolutionary biology
• How the embodied mind hypothesis helps us understand trauma
• The relationship between reason and emotion
• The ethics of comedy
• Food deserts and racial discrimination
• The ethics of incarceration

You have a few options for pursuing an independent research project:

Writing an Honors Thesis: eligible students are able to do a two-semester independent project in their senior year.  This fulfills the SYE requirement for the Philosophy major.

Pursuing a Summer Fellowship: students are able to apply to be a SLU Summer Fellow.  If your project is approved, you would be paid to live on campus for the summer, working on your own research project with a faculty member!

Tanner Fellowships - an opportunity to plan and conduct an independent project anywhere in the world over the summer.

McNair Scholars Program - if you are from an underrepresented population and are hoping to pursue doctoral studies, you may qualify for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Award Program.