Why Study Philosophy?

The faculty, staff, and students majoring in philosophy invite you to consider joining one of the most rigorous, challenging, and stimulating academic programs on the UVU campus—one of the most practical ones, as well. Although it may sound like a cliché to say so, one can do almost anything with a degree in philosophy. Philosophy teaches you how to think, and to express yourself, clearly, critically, and analytically—how to examine and evaluate information, to separate weak, unsubstantiated views and ideas, from strong, logical, coherent ones.  In short, and to risk another cliché, philosophy is the discipline that—arguably more than any other—teaches you how to evaluate and solve problems, to think independently and outside of the box, to question assumptions and pursue innovative solutions. So what does this mean, from a practical perspective? Well, to begin with, philosophy majors consistently score higher than any academic discipline on the law school admissions test (LSAT), and receive the highest composite score on the graduate record examination (GRE). Philosophy majors outperform students in almost all disciplines—including economics, finance, accounting and statistics—on the graduate management admissions test (GMAT) required by almost all graduate business schools in the United States. Studies repeatedly show philosophy majors at the very top of the list of medical school acceptance rates. Philosophy majors are equipped to think critically and excel in almost any discipline or pursuit you can imagine. From Law to Business to Medicine and beyond—now that’s flexibility! Not surprisingly then, philosophy majors compete very favorably—including with majors in so-called “STEM” disciplines—in measures like mid-career median salaries.

Students in our program take advantage of participating in the UVU Philosophy Club, Sophia—our undergraduate philosophy journal—the annual G. Lawrence Anderson Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, and the Philosophy Honors Society, Phi Sigma Tau. Some of our top upper division philosophy majors also earn valuable experience and monetary stipends working as graders and teaching assistants for philosophy classes, and research assistants for faculty.