哲学学位可以帮助学生理解越来越多的可用事实的重要性，以及以最高的人类水平处理这些事实的智慧。在VIU的“哲学”计划中，小班授课形式允许进行深入的讨论，而学生可以在新的实习计划中运用自己的学习知识并获得工作经验。哲学是对整个人类活动范围内基本假设的批判和系统研究。它涉及对现实的本质，人类知识，道德和科学推理，艺术与社会的探索。哲学研究增强了批判性和创新性思维，以逻辑方式进行交流，解释和评估许多学科中的核心概念和理论以及表达合理理由的能力。这些能力对于蓬勃发展的民主国家的公共话语至关重要，在法律，医学，商业和
Philosophy is the critical and systematic study of the fundamental assumptions at play in the entire range of human activity. It concerns itself with explorations into the nature of reality, human knowledge, moral and scientific reasoning, art and society. The study of philosophy fosters the ability to think critically and innovatively, to communicate in a logical manner, to interpret and evaluate core concepts and theories in a number of disciplines and to articulate well-reasoned arguments. These competencies are vital to public discourse in a flourishing democracy and are particularly useful in such professions as law, medicine, business and public administration. Recent studies have demonstrated that students who have completed a program in philosophy score significantly higher than all other humanities and social sciences students on standardized tests for admission to graduate and professional study.<br><br>The program's first-year courses are designed to introduce students to philosophy and to assist them in the development of analytical skills. Second-year courses apply these skills to historical and contemporary issues. Upper-division courses allow for some narrowing of focus, either in the direction of applied ethics and political philosophy or in the direction of traditional problems of epistemology and metaphysics. Students may include specified courses from political studies or liberal studies in their program of study.