Why Wooster?

› Philosophy is practiced best within a friendly community, such as our department at Wooster, where discussions and interactions extend beyond the classroom. For example, one of the long-standing traditions of our program is The Philosophy Roundtable. Each week, students and faculty meet to debate questions of current concern or topics of recent research. In these lively sessions, students can explore ideas informally and debate with invited speakers. Furthermore, the small college atmosphere of Wooster provides students with many opportunities to engage directly with visiting scholars and the faculty, as well as with their companions.We regard these opportunities as essential to the intellectual development of our students.

› The department has about 30 new majors each year, many of whom pursue a double major with another department, which permits interesting interdisciplinary learning. We have had double majors with departments as diverse as art, biology, economics, English, history, mathematics, and political science.

› This breadth of interest is also reflected in our curriculum. In addition to courses that are central to the discipline of philosophy, such as the study of language and knowledge, we also teach interdisciplinary courses, such as the philosophy of education and law, as well as more topical courses, such as biomedical and environmental ethics.We also offer courses in non-Western traditions, including African, Chinese, and Indian philosophy.

› Many of our majors also study overseas for a semester, most frequently at programs in Scotland, England, France, and Greece.

Life After Wooster

The study of philosophy has proven to be useful in many ways, from the formation of healthcare policies to the development of computer languages. It can be the foundation for graduate study in almost any field. Philosophy majors at Wooster have gone on to successful careers in law, business, computer programming, teaching, social work, ministry, journalism, publishing, and medicine. For example, Kathleen Dean Moore ’69 chairs the Department of Philosophy at Oregon State University; Solomon Oliver ’69 is a U.S. District Court judge; Margaret Plews-Ogan ’77 is a physician and professor at the University of Virginia medical school; Tom Hetrick ’84 works as a special agent for the FBI; Richard Crouse ’88 is a vice president at Ohio Savings Bank; Emily Lyons ’93 is a research biologist with her Ph.D. from Cambridge University; and Pandora (Clark) Cunningham ’96, is a teacher for the Garfield Heights Schools; Corey Hershhorn ’97, is a manager at JPMorgan Chase; Alyssa Wilmot ’00 is a dancer, educator, and choreographer; and Kyle Abraham ’01 is a Judge Advocate.

In addition, recent philosophy majors have gone on to study philosophy in graduate school at Boston College, Duke, Ohio State, Bowling Green, Miami (Coral Gables), Princeton, and University of London.