A group of students focusing and taking notes in class.

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

Explore systems of beliefs and values to identify and challenge the foundations of both your own and society’s beliefs and values.

As a philosophy student at WSU, you’ll learn about fundamental intellectual questions and discuss both classical and contemporary attempts to address them.

  • What makes for a morally right act or a just society?
  • What sorts of things can we really claim to know?
  • What is mind, and what is its relation to matter?
  • Are we capable of free choice or is the future determined by past events?

Along with critical thinking and communication skills that are in high demand and central to success in all professions, you’ll develop an intellectual foundation for careers in law, government service, education, ministry, and many other fields.

Your Academic Advisor

Diane Scott
Johnson Tower 801
509-335-2545
scottdj@wsu.edu

My goal is to assist you in your academic career and support you through to graduation.

Make an appointment using my online Outlook calendar or send a request via email.

Your degree options in philosophy:

Sculpture of Plato.

General

Offers a broad and well-balanced grounding in the field of philosophy. An excellent option if you are interested in going on to graduate school.
A bronze cast Lady Justice.

Pre Law

Designed for students preparing for legal studies, this option incorporates more ethics, more writing, and a foundation in political science. In addition, the pre-law option supports a broad study in liberal arts.

Admission to the major

Meet with an academic advisor, complete the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affair’s declaration of intent, and select an option for your degree.

Coursework to earn your degree

Courses at WSU include the history of philosophy, logic, metaphysics, philosophies of religion and science, and a series of courses in applied philosophy spanning biomedical, business, and environmental ethics.

Student must complete 30 credits of coursework in philosophy and complete a capstone course. Review the WSU Catalog schedule of studies for specifics:

Preparing for graduate school?

A philosophy degree is excellent preparation for graduate school. Philosophy majors, as a group, generally outperform students from almost all other disciplines when it comes to graduate entrance exams such as the GRE (a general exam for graduate school applicants), the LSAT (the Law School Admission Test), and even the MCAT (the Medical College Admission Test).