WHY MAJOR OR
DOUBLE-MAJOR
IN PHILOSOPHY?
BAILIE PETERSON, PHD – DEPT OF PHILOSOPHY
MYTHS ABOUT PHILOSOPHY MAJORS
• Here are some unfortunate myths about philosophy:
– Philosophy majors have few marketable skills
– Philosophy majors are unprepared for professional careers in anything but
teaching philosophy
– Philosophy is useless in today’s modern economy
– Philosophy majors will earn low salaries unless they go to law school?
2
THE TRUTH: CAREER POSSIBILITIES
• While no major guarantees you a good-paying job,
Philosophy actually gives you a better chance of a high
salary than most other majors.
3
THE TRUTH: CAREER POSSIBILITIES
• Furthermore, philosophy forms a solid background for
many diverse career paths, and helps you discover how to
best direct your life according to your plans.
4
THE TRUTH: SALARY
• According to PayScale and the Wall Street Journal, philosophy majors have a
mean starting salary of $39,900 and a median mid-career salary of $81,200.
In addition, philosophy majors rank in the top-10 in all majors with the highest
salary increase from start to mid-career.
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THE TRUTH: SALARY
• Philosophy major’s median mid-career pay is higher than accounting,
marketing, business management, nutrition, and nursing.
• Philosophy major’s median mid-career pay is comparable to many
STEM graduates (chemistry's mid-career salary is $79,900; Civil
Engineering's mid-career salary is $90,500)
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THE TRUTH: SALARY
• Philosophy majors also have a lower unemployment rate than the
national average.
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CAREER BENEFITS OF PHILOSOPHY:
• “Many successful companies—especially those in the tech world—
don’t see a philosophy degree as impractical at all. Instead, they
seek out those candidates with broader, big-picture skills, who can
think critically, question assumptions, formulate and defend ideas,
develop unique perspectives, devise and evaluate arguments, write
effectively, and analyze and simplify complicated problems. And
these competences are abundant in people with a philosophy
background.”
- Stich and Donaldson, “Philosophy.”
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THE TRUTH:
PHILOSOPHY AND GRADUATE EXAMS
• According to data from the Law School Admission Council and
Educational Testing Service, philosophy majors do remarkably well
on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Law School
Admissions Test (LSAT) and Graduate Management Admission Test
(GMAT).
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THE TRUTH:
PHILOSOPHY AND GRADUATE EXAMS
• For example, philosophy majors tie economic majors for the
highest scores on the LSAT.
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THE TRUTH: LSAT SCORES
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THE TRUTH:
PHILOSOPHY AND GRADUATE EXAMS
• Philosophy majors score higher than all other majors on the verbal
reasoning and analytic writing sections of the GRE. The overall
average scores are higher, comparably, than other majors.
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THE TRUTH:
GRE SCORES
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THE TRUTH:
PHILOSOPHY AND GRADUATE EXAMS
• Philosophy majors score higher than most other majors on the
GMAT, with the exception of Math, Physics and Engineering.
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THE TRUTH:
GMAT SCORES
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THE TRUTH: PHILOSOPHY HELPS YOU
BECOME A BETTER CITIZEN
• By studying philosophy, you are able to understand, analyze
and respond to key issues in debates about moral, legal and
political values, as well as meaning more broadly. This
makes you a better informed citizen and can lead to
deeper civic engagement.
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THE TRUTH: PHILOSOPHY CAN HELP YOU
BECOME A BETTER PERSON
• The same skills are applicable in helping you lead a self-
directed life, discover an appropriate career, and even
improve arguments in contexts like negotiating with your
boss about salary, or even arguing with your partner about
who should wash the dishes.
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THE TRUTH: PHILOSOPHY CAN HELP YOU
BECOME A BETTER PERSON
• Philosophy helps you to build foundational skills for life, and
can help you find ways to understand and respond to the
challenges we all encounter.
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PHILOSOPHY AT UNC
We have two major tracks and two minors to help you navigate your interests:
• Philosophy B.A. – Liberal Arts (general)
• Philosophy B.A. – Ethics and Public Policy Emphasis
• Philosophy Minor – Liberal Arts
• Philosophy Minor – Ethics and Public Policy Emphasis
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DIRECT CONNECTION TO OTHER
MAJORS AND FIELDS
Our courses connect directly to other majors and intended career paths.
- Medical Ethics (Nursing)
- Philosophy of Science (Sciences)
- Formal Logic I & II (Mathematics and Law)
- Philosophy of Law (Law)
- Social and Political Philosophy (Law; Politics)
General philosophical background is applicable to nearly every major!
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TAILORED TO YOUR INTERESTS AND
NEEDS
Our major is designed to help students succeed.
- 30 credit major, with many elective options.
- If needed, students can finish the major in just a few semesters.
- Range of faculty specializations
- Religion, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics, Disability,
Law
- Responsive to student feedback
- We take student feedback into account when designing courses, planning events, and teaching
courses.
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OPPORTUNITIES TO DOUBLE-MAJOR
- It is one of the most flexible majors on campus, allowing you to
easily add a second major or minor.
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OPPORTUNITIES TO DOUBLE-MAJOR
Current and Recent double-majors include:
- Alec, Business Administration and Philosophy - Daniela, Sociology and Philosophy
- Zach, Gender Studies and Philosophy - Annika, Chemistry and Philosophy
- Maddy, International Affairs and Philosophy - Vanessa, Math and Philosophy
- Luke, Special Education and Philosophy - Kamri, Art and Philosophy
- Amelia, Psychology and Philosophy - Nate, Spanish and Philosophy
- Jacob, Computer Science and Philosophy - Tom, Journalism and Philosophy
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A SAMPLE OF CAREER PATHS FOR
PHILOSOPHERS
• Business
• Computer Science
• Counseling
• Education
• Environmental Leadership
• Law
• Medicine and Medical Ethics Consulting
• Public Policy Work
• Politics
• Public Service
. . . really, the options are endless and applications are everywhere!
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UPPER LEVEL OPPORTUNITIES
Our department offers other exciting opportunities for further learning:
- Rocky Mountain Regional Ethics Bowl
- Internship Credit
- Recent topics include Philosophy in K-12 Education; Sci-Fi and Philosophy; Volunteering with CASA
Child Advocacy Services, Greeley Dream Team, and other organizations
- Directed Study
- Senior Seminar (topic changes annually; recent topics include Philosophy of Disability, and
Modal Metaphysics (aka, Possible Worlds– what has to be and what could be))
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL ETHICS
BOWL
Coach Peterson leads one to two teams of UNC students in a regional ethics competition each
November.
- Teams from Colorado and surrounding states meet to debate about compelling contemporary
ethical issues.
- Students hone critical thinking skills and ethical understanding as well as teamwork and
collaborative skills.
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL ETHICS
BOWL
We rejoined the region in 2017, and have been gaining momentum each year.
Here are some highlights:
- In 2018, we won the Spirit Award for Team Work and Professionalism.
- In 2020, we qualified for and competed at the National Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl in Atlanta,
GA
- UNC Bears are currently ranked 20
th
in the Nation!
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ETHICS BOWL – REGIONALS AND
NATIONALS
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ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL ETHICS
BOWL
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WHO MAJORS IN PHILOSOPHY?
Knowing what you now know, it may not surprise you
that many important and interesting people have
majored in Philosophy.
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IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS
Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Civil Rights
Leader
IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS
John Lewis, Civil
Rights activist,
US House of
Representatives
IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY MAJORS
Carly Fiorina,
business-person
and political
figure
(Chief Executive
of Hewlett
Packard)
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IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY
MAJORS:
Angela Davis,
Activist
IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY
MAJORS:
Stewart
Butterfield,
cofounder of
Flickr and Slack
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IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY
MAJORS:
Sheila Bair, 19
th
Chair of the
FDIC
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IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY
MAJORS:
Larry Sanger,
co-founder of
Wikipedia;
Internet
project
developer
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IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY
MAJORS:
Damon Horowitz,
entrepreneur and
in-house
philosopher at
Google
(watch his tedTalk
on Philosophy in
Prison)
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IMPORTANT
PHILOSOPHY
MAJORS:
George Soros,
investor,
philanthropist
and business
magnate
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MANY ARTISTS AND CREATORS
STUDIED PHILOSOPHY, TOO :
Wes Anderson,
filmmaker and
screenwriter
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ARTISTS AND CREATORS WHO STUDIED
PHILOSOPHY
Mary Higgins Clark,
novelist
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ARTISTS AND CREATORS WHO STUDIED
PHILOSOPHY
Rashida Jones, actor
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ARTISTS AND CREATORS WHO STUDIED
PHILOSOPHY
Matt Groening, creator
of The Simpsons and
Futurama
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ARTISTS AND CREATORS WHO STUDIED
PHILOSOPHY
Lana Del Rey, singer,
songwriter
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PHILOSOPHY’S INTRINSIC BENEFITS
• Perhaps the biggest benefit of philosophy, and the main reason it
has had lasting appeal throughout recorded history, is that
philosophy can help us consider and ask questions about meaning,
value, and existence.
• Philosophy helps us understand what’s true, and real, and valuable.
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PHILOSOPHY’S INTRINSIC BENEFITS
“Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many
questions as we could wish, has at least the
power of asking questions which increase
the interest of the world, and show the
strangeness and wonder lying just below the
surface even in the commonest things of
daily life.”
― Bertrand Russell,
The Problems of
Philosophy
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SOURCES AND RESOURCES
• American Philosophical Association, “Who Studies Philosophy?”
http://www.apaonline.org/?whostudiesphilosophy
• Bestcolleges.com, “Best Careers for Philosophy Majors,” 2017, http://www.bestcolleges.com/careers/philosophy-
majors/
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Philosophy, “Why Major in Philosophy?”
http://philosophy.unc.edu/undergraduate/the-major/why-major-in-philosophy
• University of California, San Diego, Department of Philosophy, “What Can I Do with a Philosophy Degree?”
https://philosophy.ucsd.edu/undergraduate/careers.html
• Forbes, “That ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech’s Hottest Ticket”, 29 July 2015,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2015/07/29/liberal-arts-degree-tech/#5fb6d740745d
• World Economic Forum, “These Degrees have the Highest Salaries in the US.”
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/which-college-degrees-get-the-highest-salaries
