Q: What are the different programs you offer in Philosophy at McGill?
A: We offer four different programs in Philosophy: Major, Minor, Honours, and Joint Honours. The minor is 18 credits (6 courses). The major is 36 credits (12 courses altogether). The honours is 60 credits (20 courses), while joint honours is 36 credits (12 courses).
Q: What makes the Philosophy program at McGill distinctive? What are your strengths?
A: The Philosophy Department at McGill is a pluralistic academic community with professors in a wide range of subfields of Philosophy. This allows students to take a diverse range of courses in Philosophy, with impressive breadth. Students can take courses with internationally renowned professors in areas that include: history of philosophy (ancient to modern), ethics, social and political philosophy, phenomenology, analytic philosophy, continental philosophy, feminist philosophy, and critical philosophy of race. Each of our programs, whether the major, minor, or honours, is structured to include a breadth of courses, so that students can become familiar with different areas of philosophy. Our program also allows a depth of specialization, already in the undergraduate degree. We do this by permitting students a substantive choice of complementary courses within their program. Thus, once students have become familiar with different areas of philosophy, they will also be able to take more courses in areas that they like in the form of upper-level undergraduate courses and seminars.
Q: How are your Philosophy programs structured?
A: Our programs are structured to emphasize both breadth of areas of philosophy and the possibility of depth within a desired area. Hence, each of the Major, Honours, and Joint Honours programs has a breadth requirement (a certain number of courses across areas), but also allow for a way of focusing and taking higher-level courses within areas of interest for students.
Q: What are former students doing now after they received their degrees in Philosophy at McGill?
A: There are a wide range of careers possible for graduates in philosophy from McGill. We have a substantial number of students who go on to study law. We also have students who go into Nursing, Social Work, public policy, and a diversity of other fields. Philosophy tends to be a versatile field that prepares students for interdisciplinary studies, as well. And our students are well prepared and positioned for graduate studies in philosophy, placing in highly ranked PhD programs across North America and Europe.
Q: How do you go about structuring your schedule as a first-year student in Philosophy?
A: This depends on the program you are registered in and whether you come into McGill from high school or from CEGEP. If you opt for the Major in Philosophy, for example, and you have come from CEGEP, you will have 12 courses to complete over three years. You might therefore want to aim to take 2 courses in philosophy per term during your time at McGill, but this could vary, according to the semester and to when courses are offered. You would want to begin with some introductory courses and then build up your program.
Q: How does the course numbering work at McGill?
A: Introductory courses in philosophy are usually numbered as 200-level. This is the lowest course number we offer. 300-level courses are intermediate, although some do not have prerequisites and hence could be taken in your first year. 400-level courses are advanced-level undergraduate courses and involve more sustained in-depth discussion of concepts and texts. We also offer seminars (600-level courses) that are graduate courses on more focused topics or philosophers, but which final year philosophy students can also request to take.
Q: Are there opportunities for students to learn applied research skills at the undergraduate level, in an Honours Philosophy Program?
A: Yes! There are lots of opportunities to learn research skills. Students might cultivate research skills by (1) working on a final project/paper for an upper-level course, (2) taking an independent research course with one of our professors, or (3) working as an undergraduate research assistant on a project for which one of our professors has a grant.