Philosophy Department Introduces Option to Minor

Starting this year, Reed’s Philosophy Department now offers an option to minor in philosophy. The minor requires two units at the 200 level and three at the 300 or 400 level, with a requirement for a minimum of one unit from any two of these areas: epistemology, ethics, logic, metaphysics, ancient or modern philosophy, and history of philosophy. 

Paul Hovda, the chair of the Philosophy Department, says, “The new philosophy minor officially acknowledges students with other majors, but who take a significant amount of philosophy at Reed. Philosophy is great for students who want to pick up critical and creative thinking skills that can be useful in any intellectual endeavor, while at Reed or later, including addressing foundational issues in other majors."

When I began college, I started as a philosophy minor as opposed to major at first. Eventually, I chose to change from an English major to a philosophy major after discovering that the philosophy program was a better fit for me. Even if you aren’t looking to major, taking at least one philosophy class during your college career can be beneficial no matter your field. Philosophy is a diverse discipline, and classes look extremely different depending on the subject. Classes like Environmental Ethics or Philosophy of Biology, for example, have STEM tie-ins that might interest environmental studies or biology majors.

For students interested in going to law school in the future, having a background in philosophy can give you an advantage. Graduate school tests such as the GRE or LSAT often require that the taker have an understanding of logic, which is offered here at Reed at the introductory and higher levels. The critical thinking skills learned in philosophy courses are beneficial for many careers, and having a minor in philosophy will help you show this to future employers. Minoring, as opposed to majoring, is also a great alternative for students who are interested in studying philosophy but may not want to incorporate philosophy into their thesis or would find it difficult to create an ad-hoc interdisciplinary major plan with their primary discipline.