Why Major in Philosophy?

WHY NOT?

The only really good reason to major in philosophy is that you love the subject.
The only really good reason not to major in it is that you don't.

OK, BUT WHAT CAN I DO WITH A DEGREE IN PHILOSOPHY?

First, remember that there is a huge difference between getting a degree and getting a job.

If you think that philosophy isn't a practical major, consider the following: 

• Philosophy majors do exceptionally well on the GRE. According to a study of GRE scores from 1988-1991:
  • Philosophy majors had the highest mean verbal score of students in all majors.
  • Philosophy majors had the second highest mean analytic score of students in all majors.
  • Philosophy majors had a higher mean quantitative score than all other humanities and social science majors.

• A 1998 study shows that Philosophy majors excel on the LSAT.
  • The mean LSAT score for Philosophy majors is the second highest for all disciplines. (The highest is physics/math.)

• You might also be surprised at how well Philosophy majors do on the GMAT. The following information is for tests administered from 1991-1996.

• The mean score on the GMAT is higher for Philosophy majors than for any type of Business major (Accounting, Finance, Mangement, etc.).
• Outside of the natural sciences, Philosophy has had either the first or second highest mean score on the GMAT each year.
• Including the natural sciences, the mean GMAT score for Philosophy majors is fourth or fifth highest of all majors.

None of  this proves that if you major in Philosophy you will ace these exams, but it gives you good reason to think it won't hurt! You might wonder why is it that philosophy majors do so well on such a wide range of tests.  The simple answer is that the things you will learn and the  skills you will master studying philosophy will be useful no matter what you do.

• Skills gained by philosophy majors are useful in almost any career.
  • The ability to think logically. o The ability to analyze and solve problems.
  • The ability to assess to pros and cons of proposed solutions.
  • The ability to write and speak clearly, attending to details.
  • The ability to ask the right questions.

Skills such as these allow a person with a background in philosophy to take on new responsibilities and to adapt to new careers more readily than those whose training has been tightly focused on very narrowly defined career goals. To get the best of both worlds, a number of our majors minor in fields more obviously connected to the careers they intend to pursue.