AY24–25 Scholarships Competition

The Department of Philosophy is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships for the 2024–2025 academic year, including the annual Whittington and Friends of Philosophy awards. These scholarships have been made possible by the generosity of the Whittington family and past faculty of the Department of Philosophy.

Previous awardees have gone on to achieve a variety of educational and professional outcomes, including doctoral degrees both in philosophy and in other fields.

To apply please visit the Beach Scholarships page. (Unfortunately, the college and university have usurped control over department scholarship competitions; but an upshot is that it is possible to selectively apply for other additional awards besides.) For more information, including additional links, please visit the Department’s Scholarships and Awards page. The deadline for applications is Monday September 30th 2024.

Philosophy asks fundamental and interesting questions.

Philosophy attempts to answer such questions as: How should one live? What is the just society? What is knowledge? What is the human mind? How does language refer to the world? What is the nature of reality? Does God exist? What is science, and what makes it successful? Wouldn’t it be fun and interesting to seriously reflect on the answers given to such questions by some of the smartest people who ever lived? Our own Prof. Alexander Klein further explains the value of the philosophy major here.

Philosophy is great preparation for graduate and professional school.

There’s no single major whose students outperform philosophy majors on either the LSAT or the GRE. Philosophy students are also among the top-scorers on the GMAT (the business school entrance exam), out-scoring every business major. It’s probably not a coincidence that many legal, political, and business leaders have philosophy backgrounds! Our own Prof. Alexander Klein further explains the value of the philosophy major here.

Philosophy teaches critical thinking and analytical writing skills that are important for success in any career.

These skills are also highly valued by employers: the average mid-career salaries of philosophy majors are among the very highest of all majors, as this Wall Street Journal study indicates. Our own Prof. Alexander Klein further explains the value of the philosophy major here.