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Happenings

There are lots of Activities and Opportunities for philosophy students, faculty, and curious onlookers!

Ongoing Events include:

  • Student-Led Philosophy Club - weekly philosophical discussions in the student-center.  Sometimes there are movies.  Sometimes there is food.  Fall 2009:  Joanna Fassett and Joe Chiarenzelli are facilitating the meetings:  Mondays, 9:00 pm, one of the rooms upstairs in the Student Center.
  • Philosophy Colloquia - philosophy faculty and advanced students share what they are working on in their research.  Sometimes we have visiting guests from other institutions share their research, and sometimes we invite philosophically-inclined faculty from other departments at SLU.  These happen about once a month.
  • The Philosophy Department organizes the annual Mackay Lecture every other year.  (The years that Philosophy does not organize it, Religious Studies does.)
  • Phi Sigma Tau (Philosophy Honorary Society) inductions (once per semester), elections (once per year), and other meetings as needed.
  • Philosophy Lunch - philosophy faculty get together for lunch once per week in Dana.  Students and faculty from other departments are welcome to join us!  An opportunity for informal philosophical discussion.

Opportunities include:

  • Honors in Philosophy - if you are a strong student and wish to receive honors in philosophy, you should plan to do an honors thesis in your senior year.  Discuss this with your advisor in your junior year.
  • Mackay Award - awarded to an outstanding senior philosophy major on Moving Up Day each year.
  • Phi Sigma Tau - This is the philosophy honor society.  You do not have to be a philosophy major to join.  You cannot apply for this honor.  You just mysteriously receive a letter inviting you to join if you qualify.
  • Phi Beta Kappa - not limited to those who study philosophy: a high honor for general academic excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.  The Greek letters "Phi Beta Kappa" are initials for the motto:  "Love of wisdom, the guide of life"; and "SP" for "Societas Philosophiae" is stamped on the back of the key.  This too is not an honor you can apply for -- you receive a letter from the university inviting you to join if you are elected.
  • SLU Fellowships - an opportunity to get paid to live on campus during the summer working on a research project!
  • Tanner Fellowships - an opportunity to plan and conduct an independent project anywhere in the world over the summer.
  • McNair Scholars Program - if you are from an underrepresented population and are hoping to pursue doctoral studies, you may qualify for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Award Program.
  • Study Away - Participating in off-campus study is an excellent enrichment of a philosophy education.