Advisors help students choose a suitable program of study and declare a major.
Once you have declared a program of study in philosophy, we recommend that you meet with your advisor at least once a year to go over your individual course selections and ensure you will meet the program requirements.
You should also communicate with an advisor about any transfer credit questions.
You can use this form to declare a major or minor in Philosophy or to get a release for a Philosophy degree program.
Follow this link to make an appointment with one of our advisors. You will be able to specify which format you prefer and enter the relevant information.
If you have a quick question for a Philosophy faculty advisor, send an email to philadvising@umich.edu.
Peer Advising
Philosophy peer advisors are philosophy majors who help other students enrolled in philosophy classes. The nature of this help can vary widely; it can include advice about class choices, or address questions about a difficult passage in a text or a difficult philosophical argument. This service is a supplement—not a substitute—for meetings with the department’s faculty advisers, with course instructors, and with people in the Sweetland Center for Writing. If you have a question that would be better addressed by someone else, you will be directed to the appropriate place.
You can get advice from peers via email or in person.
The email address is phil.peer.advisors@umich.edu. Please put “peer advising” in the subject, and someone will answer your question as quickly as possible. Advisors may choose to remain anonymous or identify themselves.)
If someone using this service has any questions about it, please contact Judith Beck at phil-ug-coord@umich.edu.
Tutoring
Undergraduate students may contact the Philosophy Department at philosophy.staff@umich.edu or visit 2215 Angell Hall to indicate needs in conjunction with a specific Philosophy course. The department will send an e-mail message to its graduate students to see if anyone is interested in tutoring for a fee. The department does not provide the undergraduate’s name in any such message. The names of willing graduate students are provided to undergraduates seeking tutoring services.
Graduate Work
If you are considering graduate study in philosophy, you need to know how to prepare for it. Because there are different styles of philosophy, your optimal undergraduate program may well be affected by what sort of philosophy you aim to pursue in your graduate work.
The most important way to begin preparing is to talk to members of the faculty about the kind of work you are interested in doing and get their advice about which graduate programs you should be considering and what kind of preparation they require. Faculty members are by far the best sources of this sort of information. Too many students fail to seek advice until it's too late to devise an optimal course of study. Even if you are not sure that you might want to do graduate work, it's important to seek advice early. Each fall the Department has a meeting to discuss issues about graduate education with students who are considering making an application.
The guide books you find in book stores will probably not be very helpful to you. Things change too quickly for them to remain in date. But you should consult the internet resources linked to the UM Tanner Library web site, including the Philosophical Gourmet Report and the American Philosophical Association's Grad Guide.
