Learning is enhanced at Illinois Wesleyan by the high quality of individualized instruction students receive from our faculty. Philosophy classes typically have no more than 25 students. It is our view that students should be doing philosophy, rather than merely learning what famous philosophers have said. Philosophy develops in the give and take of arguments and so requires an environment in which students and faculty can engage in discussion. Frequent papers and other writing assignments will enable students to polish their critical analysis and communication skills. The philosophy faculty is committed to working closely with students, answering their questions in and out of class.

Other special educational opportunities include:

• Independent Study: Independent Study provides students with the opportunity to explore areas or topics in philosophy outside the regular curriculum. In the last several years philosophy majors and minors have pursued independent study projects on topics such as the moral status of animals, medical paternalism and environmental ethics.
• Rsearch Honors: Research Honors provides students with the opportunity to pursue a project of original research in philosophy during their senior year. Students typically first take an independent study during the spring term of their junior year in the area in which they will write a research paper. After spending a term reading books and articles relevant to their research area and honing their thesis topic, they write their research thesis during the Fall term of their senior year. Students work in close collaboration with their faculty supervisor. In recent years students have written research papers on topics such as intentionality and the nature of consciousness.

• Internships: Philosophy students may also elect to participate in the internship program. Students have held positions at the Hastings Center (a medical ethics think-tank), the U.S. State Department in Washington, a New York City publishing firm and the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Chicago.

• Study Abroad: An increasingly large number of our philosophy majors elect to study abroad for either one semester or a whole year. Many of our students study at one of the British Universities, for example, St. Peter’s College, Oxford or King's College in London. Students gain the invaluable experience of living and learning in a different cultural setting.

• May Term: The philosophy department offers special courses during the May term. Courses offered recently include one on environmental ethics and another jointly taught by faculty members from philosophy and English on truth and meaning.

• Course Exchange: The department maintains a course exchange agreement with the Illinois State University Philosophy Department. One philosophy/biology major, for example, is working with a professor from ISU on a research project that straddles both philosophy and biology. Contact the Illinois Wesleyan Philosophy Department to register for classes taught on the ISU campus.

• IWINK: Philosophy students and faculty are active participants in IWINK (Wesleyan Intelligent Network on Knowledge) a long-term interdisciplinary, student-faculty research project whose primary aim is to establish an undergraduate curriculum in cognitive science. Student/faculty teams are constructing an "artificial person" (Shelley) with extensive AI and robotic capabilities. They are also creating an interactive, research-oriented cognitive science on-campus Web site. In addition, there is a monthly student/faculty interdisciplinary reading and discussion group. IWINK also has an active listserv in which students and faculty from a wide variety of disciplines discuss issues in cognitive science. If you are interested in participating in the IWINK project, or would like to get on its listserv, contact one of the members of the philosophy department.

• Double Majoring: A high percentage of our philosophy majors pursue a major in another discipline. Recent philosophy majors have pursued majors in chemistry, business, music, political science, anthropology, and English. If you are interested in a joint major in philosophy and another discipline, the philosophy faculty will work with you to tailor your philosophy courses to your other disciplinary interest.

• Philosophy Club: The Philosophy Club runs numerous events each semester. Contact the department chair, William Morris for more information.