How is the philosophy department at Swarthmore?

<p>Any phenomenal professors? Good classes? I'd imagine the honors program works particularly well for philosophy coursework. </p>

<p>Or, a "good but not the best" department? Limited in breadth of course offerings, maybe?</p>

<p>Is there much influence from the institutional trademark of ethical justice and Quaker-ness? How much?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>I’ve never actually taken a class in the philosophy department (which is a small regret), but all of my friends who did–both majors and non-majors–have been very happy with their experiences. One friend is doing an honors major in philosophy and I expect him to get Highest Honors or something; the “philosophy model” of honors involves writing independent long papers, and there’s a lot of room to excel. </p>

<p>With respect to courses, certainly some professors are more beloved than others–I don’t recall any particular names, but if you visit, any philosophy student will be able to direct you to the best courses. Two other good friends took a philosophy class last semester with little to no prior background in the subject (but are seniors and proficient in academic writing) which they both enjoyed immensely.</p>

<p>I don’t know of any particular Quaker influence on the philosophy department, but again, I only have secondhand knowledge.</p>

<p>Hmm. I wonder how convenient it is to use the offerings of the consortium. If it is, I don’t need to worry too much about the quality of Swarthmore’s philosophy dept.</p>

<p>Swatties tend to take courses at Penn rather than at the Bi-Co because the Tri-Co van schedule is… sub-optimal.</p>

<p>I hear amazing things about a professor named Schuldenfrei.
He’s on the faculty pages, but I found an article saying he retired??</p>