Philosophy
What is our place in the universe? How does one determine good versus bad? Where did it all begin, and what is reality anyway? The Department of Philosophy can give you the tools to try to sort it all out. You will improve your reasoning, analytic, and judgment skills, and you’ll enhance your ability to develop and defend positions. Your philosophy courses will do more than just help you understand what it’s all about; they’ll prepare you for a wide range of careers—in law, business, finance, management, and technology—by cultivating your abilities to think critically and creatively about complex problems, and to express yourself with confidence and clarity.
Degrees
Registration Information
Faculty Advisers, Tutoring, and Transfer Credits
We have advisers for our majors/minors as well as for pre-law to help you keep track of your progress toward completing your major and/or minor. Here you’ll find their office hours and contact information, as well as checklists for each major and/or minor, information on tutoring, and transfer credit policies, and more.
Career Opportunities for Philosophy majors
Studying philosophy will teach you to think clearly and critically, and to communicate complex ideas effectively both orally and in writing. Philosophy will prepare you for a wide range of careers, earn more than any other humanities major, and transform you into an engaged and responsible citizen.
Course Descriptions
We have compiled a list of course descriptions composed by the professors who will be teaching these classes. We hope that this will give you more insight into what will be taught in these classes. If you have further questions about a specific course, we encourage you to contact the instructor directly.
Transfer Credit Evaluators (PDF)
Refer to the Philosophy Department Transfer Credit Policy for specific transfer credit policies.
Applying to Philosophy M.A. and Ph.D. Programs
View our graduate school information page.
Meet Our Faculty
An important and vital part of the Philosophy Department is our highly qualified faculty.
News
Faculty Honored With CUNY Academy Research Awards
Yoon‑Joo Lee and Dena Shottenkirk celebrated for influential academic work.
Faculty Recognized by Peers From Across CUNY
Matthew Lindauer, Ana Gantman, Yoon-Joo Lee, and Dena Shottenkirk lauded for groundbreaking research by assistant and associate professors.
Serene Khader Wins Award for “Faux Feminism”
Work recognized by the North American Society for Social Philosophy.
Featured Alumni
Recent graduates Andre Howell, Rayan Mamoon, and Angela Sierra, who led the Philosophy Society in 2022–23, are moving on to higher studies. Howell will pursue a master’s in industrial and organizational psychology at Brooklyn College, Mamoon is going to medical school at SUNY Downstate, and Sierra is getting her master’s in cognitive neuroscience at the CUNY Grad Center.
Philosophical Responses to the Pandemic
The Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities hosted an engaging conversation based on Associate Professor Anna Gotlib‘s edited book, Responses to a Pandemic (Rowman and Littlefield, 2022). Philosophers from around the world reflected upon the human, social, and political experiences brought about by the pandemic.
Contact Information
3308 Boylan Hall
P: 718.951.5311
F: 718.951.4675
Mailing Address
Brooklyn College
Philosophy Department
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210
Department Chair