<p>I was accepted to northeastern as a political science major but recently changed my major to philosophy: law and ethics and plan to go pre-law. (I see law school in my future). Philosophy is a fairly new major at Northeastern... </p>
<p>(these can all be your opinion)
does anyone have any helpful information about the major in general?
who are some good teachers?
what are good philosophy classes to take?
how difficult is it? what are some books philosophy majors commonly read?</p>
<p>Philosophy isn’t exactly marketable. If you really want to do it, then go for it by all means. But if you are doing it because you think it might help you get into law school then I’d caution against it. If in two years you decide to not do law school (very very possible), then you may regret your decision.</p>
<p>As for the major here, the only person I know in philosophy is also another major (not sure if dual or double), and she focuses on that other one way more. Look up the class requirements for philosophy on the registrar’s website and see if the classes interest you.</p>
<p>i was planning on a duel major with prelaw. plus it’s philosophy with a concentration in law and ethics. but thank you!</p>
<p>I don’t think prelaw is a major? And even if it was, it wouldn’t be a good idea. Major in something real. I know neu’s “premed” is just basically an advising group that you “declare”, but it’s not like you do anything for it, you don’t take “premed” courses or get any kind of degree for it. I assume pre-law is the same. Honestly, philosophy is not one of neu’s stronger majors. I think a better idea would be to major in something with a stronger department and then take philosophy on the side or double major. Like neuchimie advised, try going on the neu registrar and reading about major requirements and course offerings. And if you still love the philosophy major, go for it.</p>
<p>Like neuchimie, my only real liberal arts friend duals her liberal art major with economics. I totally believe in majoring in what you love and what interests you intellectually, and if that’s liberal arts, then go for it. But kids, at northeastern tend to be more practically minded (maybe to a fault, in my opinion). Especially with co-op, we become aware very early on of what we want to do after graduation and the steps we need to take to get there. It’s great to plan on law school, but also good to not put all your eggs in one basket. (I had wanted to be a doctor since I was 5 up until junior year of college. now… I’m definitely never being a doctor, no way ever. plans change.)</p>
<p>So that’s a sidetrack, I actually know nothing about philosophy as a major, all I can say is that I’ve have heard that a few of the intro philosophy courses are pretty good…</p>
<p>Prelaw isn’t a major, it’s an advising group.</p>
<p>This is a Northeastern alumnus who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at Princeton, not sure if he was a philosophy major though. You may want to email him.</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University Department of Philosophy](<a href=“Philosophy”>Philosophy)</p>
<p>i know prelaw isn’t a major. im just saying that i think im going for my major in philosophy while taking a lot of classes related to law. i’m probably going to minor in something… maybe political science. i’m just extremely interested in philosophy and i have researched the curriculum and some of the books they read. </p>
<p>i’m very interested in liberal arts and i don’t think i would be happy or successful if i pursued something like an economics major just because it’s “marketable”. i want to go to college to learn and to prepare myself for law school. philosophy/law and ethics has co-ops with very big law firms in the area which would be perfect for me!</p>
<p>thank you tomofboston. i just emailed him! hopefully he can give me some insight!</p>
<p>Yeah, if its what you want to do then that’s great. You’ll be the one taking the classes, not us. </p>
<p>We’re just a little cynical, like Emily said. Northeastern’s co-op system (for better or for worse) does tend to turn a lot of people into forward-planning nutcases that have every scenario covered for the next five to ten years. I choose math and economics because I like the subjects AND because they can branch off into a million different things AND because they are both marketable. But if you’ve looked at the co-ops and what classes to take, etc (which you obviously have since you just said that) then go for it. I was just worried you were one of the thousands of people every year who decide to be a particular major purely because they think it’ll help them get into law school or med school or get an mba, without actually thinking about what they’d be studying.</p>
<p>no i completely understand you and to be honest, i was a little afraid of choosing philosophy as my major but i do think it’s what i want to do and i do think just as a safety i will double major in something. not sure what yet. </p>
<p>tomofboston, i have to thank you again. jack woods and i have exchanged several emails about philosophy and he has really put my mind at ease. </p>
<p>like i said i’m not sure what i’m going to dual major in… i’m passionate about the liberal arts and obviously law… i think a pre-law major would just be repetitive for law school. perhaps psychology? i’ve always been interested but i haven’t researched it too much though…</p>
<p>you have time to decide exactly what to major/dual in, so don’t stress too much. You’ll definitely get a better feel of what kinds of courses interest you and what you want to focus on once you’re at school and in classes, so you don’t have to decide now. I think philosophy is a fine place to start, and you’ll have the chance to take a random interesting elective or two over freshman year that will help you figure out what to do. </p>
<p>(i suggest Denise Horn’s international affairs class if you’re interested in social studies… just saying…)</p>
<p>I find it comical that both Northeastern and Northwestern go by “NU.”</p>
<p>i definitely go with NEU when i remember lol</p>
<p>also, thanks emily as always</p>
<p>(I second Emily’s recommendation of Denise Horn’s Globalization & International Affairs… most inspiring course I’ve taken here, and I’m not just saying that because I’m an IAF major… my engineering roommate is very disappointed that she’s co-oping in the fall and will thus probably never be able to take Globalization with Prof. Horn.)</p>
<p>Northeastern has been moving away from NEU in recent years. I don’t believe they go by it officially anymore. I think they prefer NU or Northeastern, likely the latter.</p>