The combined major programs in the Department of Philosophy provide students with a strong foundation in philosophy along with one of the following: economics, political science, history and philosophy of science, or cognitive systems (mind, language and computation stream).
These combined majors will build skills for potential careers in economics, philosophy, law, government, science, environment, public policy, economic development, community and social work, investment and finance, consulting, journalism and communications, to name a few.
The combined major in philosophy and economics is designed for students who want to pair economic analysis with philosophical insight. This major might be a good choice if you are interested in topics such as markets, rational choice, social welfare and broad political themes such as justice and fairness.
Admission into the philosophy and economics combined major is by application only through the Vancouver School of Economics.
The combined major in philosophy and political science is designed for students who want to pair political analysis with philosophical insight. This major might be a good choice if you are interested in topics such as political systems, institutional design, political representation, political and social justice, equality and comparative politics.
Admission into the philosophy and political science combined major is by application only through the Department of Political Science.
The combined major in history and philosophy of science is designed for students interested in the nature and development of science, along with its many roles in contemporary society and culture. This major is for those interested in topics such as scientific evidence, scientific explanations, causal inference, scientific communities, science and values, and the evolution of scientific ideas within a social context. It might also be a suitable second major for science students with humanistic interests.
For admission into the history and philosophy of science combined major please speak with the undergraduate program advisor.
Cognitive Systems (COGS) is a multidisciplinary undergraduate program involving four departments: Computer Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology.
The program provides students with a grounding in the principles and techniques used by intelligent systems both natural and artificial. It emphasizes the study of existing systems (e.g., perception; linguistics), the design of new ones (e.g., machine vision; machine intelligence), and the design of interfaces between different forms of intelligent agents (e.g., human-computer interfaces).