I notice that the philosophy major at Chicago is 1000 units, which is less than many of the other majors I saw. Does this make it an easier major to double up on time was or does the rigor of the courses balance it out? Also how is philosophy at Chicago?
My son is not a philosophy major but everyone needs 4200 credits to graduate (plus pass foreign lang test or take a year of foreign lang). Major plus electives has to equal 2700 so since philosophy has less major classes it is easier to double major or take a lot of interesting electives. A number of majors will also let you take graduate level classes too so that is a possibility if they don’t want to double major but have completed enough major classes.
Philosophy has several tracks for students depending on the amount of rigor they are looking for. Students looking to philosophy as a complement to their primary major are probably doing it for interest’s sake and will complete the minimum requirements. However, for those seeking to pursue future, graduate level study in philosophy, they are highly encouraged to pursue the “intensive track” which has more emphasis on individual scholarship and seminars.
Keep in mind that many students will dabble in philosophy without being a philosophy major. The small size of these majors serves as a way to attract these students who would not give up their primary major (econ, biology, physics, etc.) but would happily do a little more work for the distinction of also being a philosophy major. This is a strategy employed by several of the smaller, more niche departments in the humanities and some social sciences. It also allows for more interdisciplinary work in the humanities, as most students who major in philosophy as their primary major would also like to bring their philosophical insight to fields such as literature, sociology, and the many culture-oriented majors.
The small size of the major in no way reflects a lack of rigor; rather, I would argue that it reflects increased rigor since the small number of required courses still pack quite a punch. I have friends double majoring in philosophy at other reputable institutions with 4.0 GPAs in the major; this is unheard of at UChicago.
While not relevant to the major, I would also add that UChicago is a philosophy students’ dream given that nearly every undergraduate is exposed to philosophy to varying degrees in the Core. This contributes to much interest in discussing philosophy among the student body, even including those students who will never take a philosophy (much less a humanities) class after completing the core. This is definitely not the case at our peer institutions.
Students who enter as philosophy majors are encouraged not take a philosophy-heavy HUM sequence (such as Philosophical Perspectives or Human Being and Citizen) given that they will cover many of the readings at a deeper level in the major. Instead, it is better for philosophy majors to try one of the HUM sequences in literature as they require a similar amount of reading and complement, rather than overlap, with the student’s future studies.
Yeah most people I know who are philosophy majors are also majoring in something else as well. Our schedule just generally makes double majoring pretty doable, and it’s even easier with philosophy
Philosophy is tied for the shortest major in the college; it’s one of the most difficult humanities majors grading-wise, though. Our department is decent, exceptional in some areas but not across the board - everything you need to know about the strengths of the department is on this website (the discipline has a very good ranking service determined by votes of faculty across the world):