What Is Philosophy?
Philosophy is the love of wisdom. Whether you are considering your professional, personal, or communal life, the skills learned in Buffalo State's philosophy programs will make you more thoughtful, reflective, and analytical. Philosophy is the only major (or minor) that will help you with any career path.
What You'll Learn
Philosophy Major
- Be more thoughtful and reflective
- Think analytically, critically, and logically
- Analyze beliefs and values, especially on controversial issues
- Examine and develop their own values
- Write and speak with greater clarity and persuasiveness
- Read and listen with a deeper understanding and appreciation
- Reason and argue with greater ease and authority
- Act and think with greater independence and self-motivation
- Recognize and examine multiple alternatives and perspectives
- Be open to similarities and differences
- Collaborate with others
- Resolve conflicts
Ethics and Philosophy Minors
- Enhance and broaden your studies and skills in other disciplines
- Navigate our ever-changing world with efficiency and success.
- Learn the founding discipline of many areas of research
- Acquire skills needed for successful friendships, relationships, and careers
Religious Studies Minor
- Deepen your understanding of courses in your chosen fields of study
- Find employment in areas requiring the ability to work with people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds
- Develop abilities to interact and communicate with individuals in various social environments
Program Assessment
Assessment Rubric
Assessment begins with a plan that clearly states learning outcomes for the program along with how and when these outcomes will be assessed on a continuous cycle.
Assessment Rubric (PDF) Major Program Assessment (PDF)Academic Roadmap
A curriculum map aligns these learning outcomes with required courses in the program that introduce, reinforce, and show mastery of the outcomes as a student progresses towards graduation.
Academic Roadmap (PDF)Where You'll Go
Career Preparation
The skills that you learn in Buffalo State philosophy classes will help you with any career choice, including the four or five that you are likely to make after graduation.
You will be equipped to perform the kind of complex thinking tasks that computers cannot perform, such as those that involve interactions with other humans (whether collaborating, persuading, or selling), or that require solving unexpected problems.
Career Options
Philosophy graduates find careers in a wide range of fields, some requiring only a bachelor’s degree while others require a graduate degree. Professional positions for philosophy degree holders include:
- Analyst
- Attorney
- Author
- Banker
- Business leader
- College or university administrator
- Film critic
- Filmmaker
- High school teacher
- Informational technology manager
- Journalist
- Librarian
- Lobbyist
- Marketing professional
- Minister
- Nonprofit administrator
- Paralegal
- Politician
- Philosophy professor
- Public relations specialist or director
- Psychologist
- Researcher
- Social worker