Philosophy asks the questions that sit underneath everything else. What makes an action right? What counts as knowledge or evidence? What makes someone a person? Can an artificial intelligence be conscious? When may a physician override a patient's wishes?
At ASU, philosophy has popular programs, drawing students who want to grapple with these foundational questions while building the analytical and communication skills that last a lifetime. Housed in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, the program offers a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy along with two focused concentrations —Philosophy (Morality, Politics and Law) and Philosophy (Science, Nature and Mind)—as well as a master's and doctoral program for those who wish to pursue philosophy at the highest level.
What makes philosophy at ASU distinctive is not only what we study but how we study it together. We are, above all, a warm and welcoming community of students and scholars united in the pursuit of knowledge. Students and faculty think alongside one another, argue hard and generously, and treat disagreement as an act of shared inquiry. That spirit shows up everywhere from one-on-one undergraduate research with faculty to the weekly Philosophy Club, where students of every perspective gather to debate over a home-cooked meal. Our faculty are accomplished scholars — supported by funders such as the John Templeton Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, recognized by The Philosopher's Annual, and writing for wide audiences from leading academic journals to The New York Times.
Philosophy is also, perhaps surprisingly to some, one of the most practical degrees a student can earn. Studying philosophy trains you to read difficult material, construct and dismantle arguments, write and communicate with precision, and reason your way through hard problems — exactly the durable, transferable abilities employers prize. The results speak for themselves: philosophy majors are consistently among the very top performers on the exams for graduate schools including the GRE, LSAT (law), and GMAT (business), and their earnings, even for those who do not pursue graduate school, climb faster over a career than almost any other major. Graduates go on to thrive in law, business, medicine, journalism, technology, public policy, education and beyond — often using the major as a springboard to graduate and professional study.
Whether you are a first-time student drawn to life's deepest questions, someone preparing for law school or a career in policy, or a scholar aiming for a PhD and a life of research and teaching, you will find a home in philosophy at ASU: a rigorous, welcoming community where learning to think well is the beginning of everything else.