Department of Philosophy

https://www.uvm.edu/cas/philosophy

The Philosophy Department offers undergraduate instruction in all major areas of philosophy, including historical and contemporary approaches to the discipline. In addition to an understanding of substantive philosophical issues, a philosophy education provides a student with strong analytical skills, the ability to read complex material critically, and the ability to express oneself clearly, both orally and in writing.

Philosophy is a quest to understand the fundamental truths of life, such as the nature of right and wrong and the relationship between the mental and the physical. The University's Philosophy faculty consistently rates among the nation's top six in schools that do not offer graduate studies in the discipline, according to the Philosophical Gourmet Report, the preeminent ranking of philosophy programs in the English-speaking world.

The Department's strengths include faculty outstanding in their fields; small, discussion-based classes taught by these faculty members; close interactions between students and their professors; and a diverse range of courses and research opportunities. Faculty interests range from metaphysics, medical ethics, feminism, and philosophy of law to free will and determinism, Chinese philosophy, and metaethics. Philosophy majors develop skills applicable to professions such as law, medicine, public policy, teaching, business, journalism, politics, and many other fields.