the department offers courses and programs in philosophy designed to satisfy the needs of both those who wish to major in philosophy and those whose main interests lie in other areas upon which philosophy has some bearing. additionally, the department offers a variety of courses which may be used to satisfy the philosophy and religion (humanities) distribution requirement, the college oral communication-logic requirement, the college non-western culture requirement, and various requirements of other degree programs in the college and some of the professional schools.

in studying philosophy, students will learn what others have thought about life's big questions. they will also learn to challenge those views, and to develop their own thoughts in a precise, logical manner. philosophy will help students develop critical thinking skills, enabling them to analyze the underlying logic and assumptions in arguments about a variety of topics. this is a skill that generalizes to virtually every area of life.