Careers

• Careers
• Graduate Study in Philosophy
• Professional Degree Options

Professional Degree Options

For All Seeking a Professional Degree

• Join the URI Honors Program early in your studies and try to design a senior Honors project that connects to your professional aspirations.
• Consider adding to your Philosophy degree a minor relevant to your career goals. See below for specific suggestions.

“I would credit my study of philosophy with allowing me to gain a sufficient appreciation for ethics and logic that allowed me to achieve getting into medical school.”

Matthew Boisvert, '16

Law School

• For general advice consult with the Pre-Law support program.
• To prepare for the very important Law School Admission Test (LSAT) check out the Law School Admissions Council web site. This excellent resource provides practical information about the preparation and application process but also explains what to expect in the testing arena.
• Take PHL 101 and PHL 205 as soon as you can in your philosophy major, in order to solidify your critical reasoning skills (essential for the LSAT).
• Develop a cohesive set of academic, extra-curricular and practical experiences that demonstrate your commitment to a specific area of law. To this end, consider joining a student organization, volunteering, working on campus, or finding an internship related to your values and legal interests.
• You can meet with a Career Education Specialist to help you explore these and other ways to gain valuable experience within a specific area of the law.
• Add an interdepartmental minor to your philosophy degree that fits well with your legal interests. Here are a few suggestions:
  • Interested in environmental law? Pursue a Sustainability minor, or a Global Water Resources minor.
  • Want to work for the FBI? Consider a Forensic Science minor.
  • All about race, equity and institutional fairness? Try an Africana Studies minor, or a Non-Violence and Peace Studies minor.
  • More of a nuts and bolts process and policy person? There is a Community Planning minor, or a Justice, Law, and Society minor, or an International Development minor.
  • Want to legislate for death and dying? Try a Gerontology minor, or a Thanatolgy minor.
  • And for you business types headed for the intersection between law and commerce? Consider Public Relations minor, or a Leadership Studies minor.

Medical School

Because of its emphasis on ethics, critical thinking and dealing with ambiguity, philosophy prepares one at a high level of competence for clinical medicine. By pairing philosophy with a pre-medical course of study (which involves completing specific courses rather than a specific major), you can qualify for medical school and perform well on the Medical School Admission test.

• The first stop at URI for aspiring medical students is the Pre-Health office and advisement team.
• Take PHL 212 (Ethics) and PHL 314 (Ethical Problems in Society and Medicine), as well as either or both of PHL 215 (Science and Inquiry) and PHL 452 (Philosophy of Science). Having a grasp on issues in Bioethics and Philosophy of Science comes in very handy during the interview process for medical school.
• Find a research position on campus. Check out the opportunities at the INBRE Biomedical Research network. You can also consider the College of Arts and Sciences Student Fellows Program.
• Volunteer for a medically related organization like URI’s Emergency Medical Services for hands on training.

Business and Management School

Studying philosophy serves as an excellent foundation for a business career because philosophy majors acquire skills that allow them to remain flexible and innovative, and to keep learning for life. Most applicants to selective programs work for a year or two before applying for the MBA, so be sure to check out our advice on careers as well.

• Stay up to date with the College of Business News and Events.
• Add a minor to your philosophy degree. here are a few suggestions:
  • If you are quantitatively oriented, consider a minor or double major in Economics, or Mathematics, or General Business Administration.
  • If you want to lead a company some day, think about a minor in Leadership Studies, or Psychology , or Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship.
  • If you see yourself working on the technical or marketing side of business outreach, try Communication Studies, or Public Relations, Film Media, Computer Science, or Business of Digital Media .
  • If you’re more artistic, and want to write copy, design images or compose music for advertising, look at Writing and Rhetoric, English, Art and Art History, or Music.
  • If you like fashion, consider Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design, or Theatre (for a minor with an emphasis on costume or set design).
• Learn a Language, spend some time studying abroad using the language, and/or do an internship or volunteer work abroad.
• Consider a Business Internship.
• Take on leadership roles – being President of a student society or Greek organization, captain of a team, chair of an event or initiative.
• Be entrepreneurial. Found a new student organization, write a grant for a project, start your own business, design your own minor, function as the manager for a band. Raise money for a cause.
• Prepare for the GMAT and GRE.