Opportunities

  1. Office & Department Directory
  2. Philosophy Department
  3. Opportunities

There are lots of Activities and Opportunities for philosophy students, faculty, and curious onlookers!

Ongoing Events include:

  • Philosophy Colloquia - philosophy faculty and advanced students share what they are working on in their research.  Sometimes we have visiting guests from other institutions share their research, and sometimes we invite philosophically-inclined faculty from other departments at SLU.
  • The Philosophy Department organizes the annual Mackay Lecture every other year.  (The years that Philosophy does not organize it, Religious Studies does.)

Opportunities include:

  • Honors in Philosophy - if you are a strong student and wish to receive honors in philosophy, you should plan to do an honors thesis in your senior year.  Here is more information. Discuss this with your adviser in your junior year.
  • Mackay Award - awarded to an outstanding senior philosophy major on Moving Up Day each year.
  • Phi Sigma Tau - This is the philosophy honor society.  You do not have to be a philosophy major to join.  You cannot apply for this honor.  You just mysteriously receive a letter inviting you to join if you qualify.  But you can strive for this by trying to earn high grades in all of your philosophy classes (and a strong overall GPA).  Inductions are usually held once per semester, and elections are conducted once per year.  Student members ideally organize other meetings and activities as well.
  • Phi Beta Kappa - not limited to those who study philosophy: a high honor for general academic excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.  The Greek letters "Phi Beta Kappa" are initials for the motto:  "Love of wisdom, the guide of life"; and "SP" for "Societas Philosophiae" is stamped on the back of the key.  This too is not an honor you can apply for -- you receive a letter from the university inviting you to join if you are elected. And this too is an honor you can strive for by working hard to earn high grades in all of your classes.
  • Gaining Teaching Experience in Philosophy - if you are considering trying to become a philosophy professor yourself some day, or for any other reason you would like to gain teaching experience, there are two ways to do this.  You can apply to become a Peer Tutor (with this option you get paid), or you can arrange to be a teaching assistant for a class via the Philosophy Tutorial option (and receive mentoring and course credit).
  • SLU Fellowships - an opportunity to get paid to live on campus during the summer working on a research project!
  • Tanner Fellowships - an opportunity to plan and conduct an independent project anywhere in the world over the summer.
  • McNair Scholars Program - if you are from an underrepresented population and are hoping to pursue doctoral studies, you may qualify for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Award Program.
  • Study Away - Participating in off-campus study is an excellent enrichment of a philosophy education.