Philosophy Major (B.A.) Spotlight

Why did you major in philosophy? I transferred to UNH from Manchester Community College with a different major, and first took a philosophy class as an Honors Program offering. I immediately loved it, and had switched majors by the end of that first semester. I felt like I was connected…

Why did you major in philosophy? I was “undeclared” when I started at UNH and took all kinds of different liberal arts courses. Philosophy courses were my favorite. I enjoyed reading the texts, analyzing the arguments, and discussing the substance in class. Interesting stuff you did as a…

Why did I major in philosophy? I picked up philosophy in my sophomore year to complement my software engineering degree. At the time, I figured it could strengthen my logic toolkit and maybe help me better understand history. But wow, did it give me so much more. Philosophy taught me how to…

Why did you major in philosophy? I made the shortsighted choice to pick my major based on an article I read showing which majors were best suited for preparing for law school. Don’t let my blind success in this narrow regard fool you—I had no idea what I was doing! I declared before…

Why did you major in philosophy? I majored in philosophy because it was the only discipline where we could explicitly tackle certain meta-level questions that don’t get addressed elsewhere. For instance, what is science and how do we differentiate it from other disciplines? Why is quantum…

Hometown: Colebrook, Conn. What made you choose UNH? I attended a summer camp at UNH for several years during high school called the Future Leaders Institute. The camp was led by the amazing professors Nick Smith of philosophy and Scott Smith of classics and focused on the philosophic and…

Why did you major in philosophy?

Why did you major in philosophy? I grew up in the Philosophy Department (quite literally — my father is Professor deVries)! Philosophy has always been part of my life, I learned at a young age how to argue and question, (with very solid logic) both to the benefit and chagrin of my Dad. However, I…

Why did you major in philosophy? As a first-generation undergrad at UNH, I had limited insight regarding my career path. I wanted to “help people” but didn’t particularly know who or how to do so. Choosing first semester freshman year classes was intimidating, and my strategy was fairly random. “…

What are you currently doing for work and how did you get to this point?

Why did you major in philosophy? I had this crazy idea after high school that I wanted to be a professional rock climber. I never got close to good enough, but devoted a lot of time to training and weekend trips to Rumney. It was awesome and I don't at all regret my time in the mountains, but it…

Why did you major in philosophy? Philosophy's appeal lay in both the topics it addressed, and the way it addressed them. It promised to help me understand big questions and ideas in a clear, consistent and methodical way. The idea of becoming a clear thinker was enormously attractive. What are…