THE PHILOSOPHY DEGREE UTRGV
T H E P H I L O S O P H Y D E G R E EU T R G V
• Philosophy has a MAJOR, MINOR, and 2nd MAJOR program
But why choose philosophy? Here are four reasons you should do it.
• REASON 1 • Philosophy gives you a better life.
• In philosophy…
• You grapple with life’s hardest questions.
• The nature of reality and our place within it.
• Deal with complex social, ethical, and political issues.
• Philosophy lets you see more deeply into life and plot a better course through it.
Reason 2: Philosophers’ average mid-career salaries
show long-term success!
I N W H AT K I N D O F J O B S W I T H A B . A . ? A D V E N T U R O U S O N E S
• Foreign Service: working for embassies abroad.
• Peace Corps & Americorps: 2 years abroad doing service
• Teach for America: teach school at an underserved community in the U.S.
• Non-Profit Administration: environment, women, education, poverty
• Some entry level work and entry-level salaries you can get with just a philosophy major/B.A.:
• Editorial Assistant: Median pay, $36,000
• Public policy: Median pay, $57,000
• And many other positions… Government work, Sales, Lobbyist, Political Aid, Speech Writer, Biomedical Ethics Research, Legal Researcher, Paralegal, Technical Writer, Archivist, etc.
• Business is actually the most underemployed major. Philosophy is the 10th most employable.
A N D I N T E R E S T I N G O N E S
R E A S O N # 3 G R A D S C H O O L
• Philosophy is the premier way to prepare for graduate and professional school.
• We have had graduates go into all these fields:
• Law School (J.D.), Lawyer
• Medical School (M.D.), Doctor
• Therapy (physical, speech, occupational, etc.), Therapist
• Marketing (M.A. & PhD), Marketer, Professor
• Business (M.B.A.), Businessperson
• Humanities (M.A & PhD English, History, etc.), Professor and High School
• Non-profit and government work (M.A. & Certificate), Founders and Administrators
• Psychology, Researchers, Therapists, Life Coaching, Human Performance
• Library Sciences (M.A.), Librarian
P H I L O S O P H E R S C R U S H G R A D U AT E T E S T S C O R E S A N D A D M I S S I O N S• Business: On the GMAT, philosophers score 2nd highest: 574. Business: 547.8.
• Recently we had a student accepted to University of California Irvine for her Ph.D. in Marketing on a full ride.
• Law: On the LSAT, philosophers score 2nd highest of all majors: Philosophy: 157.4 versus Pre-law: 147.4.
• We have students at UT Austin, Cornell (Ivy League), and other schools of law on significant scholarships (over $30,000).
• Medicine: On the MCAT, philosophers outscore biology majors.
• Philosophers have the highest acceptance rate to Med School-over 50%. Biology is at 35% acceptance.
G R A D U AT E T E S T S C O R E S A N D A D M I S S I O N S
• All other graduate programs require the GRE!
• The American Physical Society (physics professional society) headline read: ”Best majors for the GRE in 2013: Philosophy Dominates.”
• We have placed students in nationally ranked (some top 10!) graduate programs: Emory, Oregon, A&M, University of Memphis, Cornell, Temple, St. John’s, UT Austin, etc.
R E A S O N # 4 F L E X I B I L I T Y• 47% of college graduates do
not work in their field of study.
• People change careers several times in their lives—not just jobs.
• It is key to have strong skills like critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and independent learning so that you can adapt to new fields.
• Philosophy provides core skills for leaders in any field.
P H I L O S O P H Y A N D H A P P I N E S S• Philosophers consider the big issues: flourishing, politics, society, religion,
ethics, truth, and more.
• It gives them a grounding and understanding of what is important that is beyond monetary value.
• It makes them purposeful and happy people, whose long term employability also just happens to be 98.9%, mid career salary of $81,000.
TA L K T O A P H I L O S O P H Y P R O F E S S O R A B O U T A M A J O R , 2 N D M A J O R , O R M I N O R T O D AY.
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