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Mission Statement
Department of Philosophy
Texas A&M University
The mission of the Department of Philosophy and Humanities is to provide excellent instruction, advice, guidance, and service to the current and former students of Texas A&M University. The Department pursues this mission through its curricular programs, its colloquium and public events series, its research and professional activities, its contributions to the shared governance of the University, its outreach efforts, and its relations with former students.
Philosophy seeks to establish standards of evidence, provide rational methods of resolving conflicts, and create techniques for evaluating ideas and arguments. An education in philosophy develops the capacity to see the world from the perspectives of other individuals and other cultures; it enhances the ability to perceive the relationships between and among various fields of study; it deepens one’s sense of the meaning and variety of human experience; it stimulates personal, spiritual, and intellectual growth; and it prepares one to assume positions of leadership.
The undergraduate program in Philosophy is designed to provide students from all majors and colleges of the University with the critical skills needed to appreciate more fully the central concerns of human existence. The typical student of Philosophy may expect to become proficient at some or all of the following tasks: thinking critically; solving problems; analyzing arguments; understanding difficult concepts and complex theories; communicating clearly and effectively; engaging with new, challenging, and disconcerting ideas; exposing prejudice, hypocrisy, and injustice; appreciating foreign and novel perspectives; writing forcefully and persuasively; constructing demonstrations and proofs; identifying fallacies; revealing pretexts and ulterior motives; clarifying values; and discerning truth, beauty, and justice. Completion of the BA program in Philosophy will prepare students to succeed in any venture, enterprise, or field of endeavor they choose to pursue. Philosophy majors from Texas A&M have gone on to enjoy successful careers in law, politics, ministry, scientific research, art, military service, publishing, sales, medicine, criminal justice, academics, business, management, public service, and entrepreneurship.
The graduate programs in Philosophy are designed to provide qualified students with advanced training leading to the MA or PhD degree. The MA program is structured with three constituencies in mind: 1) students who wish to prepare themselves to enter elite PhD programs in North America and abroad; 2) professionals and advanced students from other disciplines who wish to acquire philosophical expertise pertinent to their fields of specialization; and 3) students who wish to enrich themselves by pursuing philosophical questions at an advanced level. The PhD program is structured to serve students who place a premium on interdisciplinary teaching and research. All candidates for the PhD degree are required to complete a complementary MA (or equivalent degree) in a related field or discipline. This requirement reflects the Department’s commitment to training doctoral candidates who will teach and conduct research at the intersections of Philosophy and other fields of study. Thus far, all graduates of the PhD program at Texas A&M have secured rewarding positions at US universities and colleges.
