Because you want to think.

Philosophy majors want to understand human nature, right and wrong, good and bad; the nature of mind and its relation to the body; the structure of reality and the structure of our concepts – and how they might connect; how people intend, and words mean; the fundamental nature of the cosmos and our place in it; how persons live together, what they owe each other, and the meaning of the concepts that pervade our shared discourse: autonomy, authority, individual, freedom, play. Our students will do all of this in concert with the most influential of minds that have tried to do the same – with Plato and Nāgārjuna, Kumārila and Xunzi, Zhu Xi and Kant.

Philosophy at Yale-NUS

It is the hallmark of Yale-NUS Philosophy to recognise that philosophy happens all over the world, at all times. Moreover, we recognise that everything can be approached philosophically, and any number of pursuits can nourish one’s philosophical acuity. The result is a Philosophy major unlike any other.

Outstanding faculty: Philosophy is deeply infused into Yale-NUS’s Common Curriculum. Hence, Yale-NUS has one of the largest collection of philosophers at any liberal arts and sciences college in the world. Our professors are devoted teachers who are always ready to talk philosophy with you, whether during office hours, at the dining hall, or during a stroll around campus. At the same time, they regularly release books with major presses, publish articles in leading journals, and win prestigious fellowships. Hence, you will have plenty of opportunities to engage closely with your professors’ research.

Cross-cultural exploration: In most English-speaking universities, philosophy courses almost exclusively emphasise the Anglo-American and European traditions. While all our faculty are fully conversant in these traditions, our programme also includes leading experts in other traditions, including Indian and Chinese traditions. And all our faculty teach thinkers from these traditions as well. Thus, in Yale-NUS Philosophy seminars, you will come across ideas that you will not find anywhere else.

Accomplished students and graduates: In this environment, our students engage in innovative work that makes them highly sought after in the competitive world of graduate admissions. Our students are also setting themselves apart in other ways, in fields ranging from consulting to leadership development.

The major: The highly distinctive structure of our major has no required courses, but requires instead that your Philosophy courses jointly satisfy requirements along two dimensions:

1. Skills – including textual analysis, logical analysis, problem solving, applications
2. Traditions – study materials from at least two distinct philosophical traditions

Opportunities with a Philosophy Degree

With its training in thinking in the broadest sense, drawing on several of the world’s great philosophical traditions, the Philosophy major at Yale-NUS prepares you for intellectual life in any number of adjacent fields (classics, linguistics, political theory, psychology, and the law). Our Philosophy alumni have gone on to pursue graduate studies in the  :

• New York University, USA
• Johns Hopkins University, USA
• University of Toronto, Canada
• University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, USA
• University of California, Riverside, USA
• City University of New York Graduate Center, USA
• Columbia University Law School, USA
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, USA
• Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore
• Singapore Management University Law School, Singapore

Studying philosophy opens doors outside of academia too: It is recognised by employers as excellent preparation for careers in, for instance, management consulting, business, law, journalism, medicine, or computing. Its discipline in thinking systematically and independently also paves the way to various forms of entrepreneurship. Our Philosophy alumni have landed rewarding positions in a wide range of organisations and industries, including:

• McKinsey & Company
• Impart
• OCBC Bank
• Enterprise Singapore