1. Educational Objectives

Philosophy seeks wisdom and aims at systematic answers to such fundamental questions as; "How should we live?" "What kind of world do we live in?" and "How do we know these and other things?". By thinking such fundamental questions through as thoroughly as possible, and also by studying and learning the history of western philosophy, students in our department can expand their intellectual horizons and enrich their imaginations.

The main objective of our department is to ensure that students develop into mature human beings both intellectually and morally, by getting a broad and yet thorough education in philosophy. Our department will also make sure that students acquire analytic and synthetic skills, which are required in many areas of the information age. Philosophical training is the best way of acquiring these critical skills.

Moreover, our department will ensure that students receive proper training in order to become highly sophisticated people of culture, by offering high-quality courses in Philosophy of Culture and Philosophy of Art. We expect that our graduates will become leaders in academic and non-academic areas.

2. Courses and Curriculums

3. Course Description

The major in Philosophy at SKKU, which leads to a B.A. in Philosophy, is flexible enough to meet the needs and interests of a wide range of students. This department offers three specialized tracks to meet the different demands of students seeking varying goals:

• students seeking an academic career
• students seeking a non-academic career
• students seeking a double major

Track (i) is for students who plan to attend graduate school outside the country. For those students, this department offers a variety of advanced courses from Ancient Philosophy to contemporary American and European Philosophy. In addition, the department offers various courses by which students can learn to read original philosophy texts including Greek, Latin, and French texts.

Track (ii) is for students who seek non-academic careers after finishing their undergraduate studies. For those students, this department offers various courses which train students to acquire analytic and synthetic abilities, which are highly required in many professional areas such as Business and Law. Since argumentation skills and good writing skills are highly regarded in many professional fields, students seeking a non-academic career will highly benefit from this track. In particular, law schools expect their students to be capable of careful analysis and deductive reasoning. Thus this track is quite suitable for those who plan to enter law school. Besides, in the business world, employers value articulation, clarity of expression, logical rigor and analytical skills: again, skills which students sharpen in philosophy courses.

Track (iii) is for students seeking a double major. Our department highly recommends students to have a double major, as students can have an advantage in getting high-paying jobs. Our department is flexible in accommodating various needs of students seeking a double major. Those students can tailor their studies in philosophy so as to generate more synergy in line with other majors.

4. Graduate Program

The Department of Philosophy at SKKU offers rigorous and competitive graduate programs which train students in many core areas of philosophy, as well as some applied areas. We have a very strong focus on contemporary Anglo-American Philosophy and Contemporary European Philosophy. Especially, we are proud of being one of Korea's top-notch programs in Contemporary Anglo-American Philosophy.

Students can receive a first-rate education in this area including Contemporary Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Logic and Metaphysics. But we continue our tradition of offering excellent programs in areas such as Phenomenology, Philosophy of Art, and Ancient Philosophy. Moreover, the philosophy program at SKKU is structured to give students a high degree of independence in shaping their studies to their interests.

1. Vision and Career

By studying philosophy, students can acquire important analytic and synthetic skills. These skills include the ability to ask intelligent questions, to define issues precisely, to construct and criticize arguments, to expose hidden assumptions; to develop open-mindedness toward ideas other than one's own, and to write and speak with precision, coherence, and clarity. This kind of philosophical training is relevant to any career in which analytic and synthetic skills are required. By virtue of these critical skills, graduates from our department are now making successful careers in a great variety of academic and non-academic fields. Many of them are working as professors or teachers, and others are making their careers as journalists, business managers, or government officials. Since analytic and synthetic skills are useful in a lot of important areas, our graduates are making important contributions to a lot of fields.

2. International Engagement

Currently, our department, has two foreign faculty members teaching Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Analytic Philosophy in English, as well as some Korean professors also offering such courses (Thus, our department offers many courses taught in English). By taking such courses, students can acquire critical skills and abilities for engaging in philosophical discussions and exchanging valuable ideas with people internationally. Our department expects that more students will pursue academic and non-academic careers on an global level.

3. Reputation

The Department of Philosophy has ranked between 101-150th in Departments of Philosophy, evaluated by QS World's Top Universities. The rank is the second highest among departments in Korea, following behind Seoul National University, who ranked between 51-100th.

4. Student Society

Mountain Climbing of Seongcheol Alpine Club

• Date : April and October every year, right after the midterm tests.
• Participant Target : Graduate and undergraduate students, teachers and professors of Department of Philosophy
• Program Overview : Seongcheol Alpine Club was launched in May, 2014 by Professor Lee Han-Koo. Mountain climbing is held every semester with the participation of all the students and teachers to strengthen our department further. Participants have a simple meal together after climbing.

5. Support for Students

Students are provided with scholarships such as ‘Shimsan’. Graduate students can work as assistants or tutors in some college lectures such as ‘General Logics’ or ‘Symbolic Logics’.