Philosophy
Undergraduate Major & Minor College of Liberal Studies
Bachelor of Arts
Philosophy Major Minute Transcription
[video: Prof. Sergia Hay sits in her office, posters on the wall behind her and shelves of books next to her.]Prof. Sergia Hay, Associate Professor of Philosophy: Hi, I’m Sergia Hay, Associate Professor of Philosophy. This is my Major Minute.
[video: Over the video of Prof. Hay, the header “Major Minute” slides in in white lettering. Following this, the screen turns charcoal grey with yellow accents and large numbers reading “3”, “2”, “1” count down the start of the minute.](video beeping)
[video: a pair of hands appear over Prof. Hay and clap to begin the minute.](timer ticking)
[video: return to Dr. Hay. To the left of her appears a translucent yellow stopwatch, which counts down a minute.](countdown beeps)
Prof. Hay: Philosophy is the study of huge and enduring questions like what is justice? What does it mean to be human? Do we have free will? What is the purpose of art? What kinds of ethical commitments should we make to ourselves, to others, and the environment? It’s an exciting, and I would say necessary time to study philosophy because we are experiencing massive social changes, political division, global crises, and misinformation. So we need people who know how to think carefully and well, question assumptions, consider opposing views, and sort truth from falsehood. Our department has strengths in political and moral philosophy, including applied ethics, like environmental ethics, business ethics, and biomedical ethics. Our grads go on to do work with nonprofits, tech companies, the arts, and local and state governments. Others go on to graduate school in philosophy, law, education, medicine, including public and global health. We’re proud of the wide range of career and graduate opportunities available to our students.
(buzzer blares) (Prof. Hay laughs)
Prof. Hay: All right!
About
The study of philosophy is fundamental in pursuing the most important questions regarding one’s understanding of oneself, others and the world in which they live. As a PLU philosophy student, you’ll engage in a systematic and sustained examination of the basic concepts of life, such as justice, knowledge, goodness, and the self. By scrutinizing methods, assumptions, and implications, you’ll be able to explore lifelong questions of meaning, thought, and action. Through this study you’ll sharpen your skills in critical thinking, problem- solving, research, analysis, interpretation and writing. It’s not unusual for philosophy students to double major and/or have additional minors, and philosophy majors work in a wide range of careers – some have gone on to become philosophy professors themselves. Others have been successful in seminary; in medical, dental or law school; in graduate programs in social justice or environmental studies; and even as a technical writer for Microsoft!
Graduates from the last 5 years: Their jobs
- Public Health Preparedness Fellow, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Legal Intern, Office of the New York State Attorney General
- Tax Associate, Grant Thornton LLP
- Recruiter, American Workforce Group, Inc.
- Research and Development Software Engineer, Microsoft
Graduates from the last last 5 years: Their graduate programs
- Master’s in Global Health, Duke University
- Law School, Gonzaga University
- Law School, Pace University
- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Syracuse University
- Master of Business Administration, Pacific Lutheran University
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