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Welcome to the Department of Philosophy

The mission of the Department of Philosophy at
the University of Rhode Island is:

 

(1) to provide undergraduate majors with a superb education in Philosophy that will provide a solid basis for post-graduate study or professional life;
(2) to make a significant contribution to the university's General Education program;
(3) to foster interdepartmental and intercollegiate collaboration by engaging in interdisciplinary teaching and research projects; and
(4) to encourage outreach by faculty to the extramural community as public intellectuals.

 

our chair, Galen Johnson
Galen Johnson, Chair

CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER

 

It is our Pleasure to Announce the 2013 Winners of our Department Awards:

Emma Kilbane

2013 University Excellence Award
Emma Kilbane

Hannah Travaglini

2013 Donald Zeyl Prize
Hannah Travaglini

Justin LeBlanc

2013 Lynn Pasquerella Prize
Justin LeBlanc

And, of Course, Congratulations to our Graduating Seniors

A few of our 2013 graduates strike a pose during our dept BBQ

 

Faculty
Our faculty includes 1 Kennedy Center/Sondheim Inspirational Teacher (Cheryl Foster '13), 2 winners of the URI Foundation Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (Cheryl Foster '97, and Galen Johnson '06), 1 winner of the College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Award (William Krieger '11), and 1 winner of the University College Faculty Advisor Award (Cheryl Foster '13).
Click the Faculty link to take a look at our faculty webpages.

Courses
The URI Philosophy Department offers a range of courses in several subject areas including: History of Philosophy, Epistemology, Ethics, Existentialism, Philosophy of Science, Logic).  In addition, the department offers four 100-level courses in Religious Studies.  It does not offer a Religious Studies Major.
The Philosophy Major
Majoring in philosophy is a challenging and enriching endeavor. Nationally, philosophy majors (as a group) score the highest mean scores on the GRE Verbal sections. And philosophy majors are the only group to average five percent or more above the mean on the LSAT (law), GMAT (graduate management), GRE Verbal and GRE Quantitative examinations. This suggests that philosophy provides an excellent foundation for critical thinking skills to help students succeed in a range of career options.

Minoring in Philosophy
Minoring in philosophy is a way for students to benefit from taking a variety of courses in philosophy while pursuing a degree in another discipline.

Faculty Projects
Members of the Department are involved in a variety of projects. Check back regularly to see what we are up to
Links
Links of special interest to philosophy faculty and students.

 

THINK (SHE'S) INSPIRATIONAL?
WE DO

URI Philosophy Professor and Assoc Director of Honors Cheryl Foster Named Kennedy Center/Sondheim Inspirational Teacher
(for a link to URI's article, click her photo)


 

Philonymous

 

Interested in doing some philosophy in your spare time? Philonymous wants YOU. Click HERE for more information on our (in)famous student group. PhilonymousPhilonymous members -Will Robertson; Ryan Scullin; Bill Wilson (president); Brian Stack (past president); Jake Monaghan