Undergraduate Research
Getting Started
Speak with a faculty member whose interests align with your own.
If you have are unsure about a topic, please consider one of the following:
Communal & Contemplative Forms of Life.
Subject areas: Philosophy of Religion, Socio-political philosophy, history of philosophy
The Problems of God and Evil.
Subject areas: Philosophy of Religion, Value Theory, medieval philosophy
Coming Unhinged: Intro & Problems in the Epistemology of Religion
Subject areas: Philosophy of religion, epistemology
If these topics interest you contact: Dr. Michael Hand and David Anderson
The Ethics of Deepfakes
Subject areas: applied ethics, philosophy of technology
Ethical Issues involved in taking a knee during the national anthem
Subject areas: applied ethics, socio-political philosophy
Reasons for and against capitalizing the ‘b’ in ‘Black’
Subject areas: applied ethics, philosophy of race
If these topics interest you contact: Dr. Menzel and Jared Oliphint
Philosophy in and out of the Classroom
Subject areas: Philosophy for Children (P4C), philosophy of education
If this topic interests you contact: Dr. Katz and Kenji Blum
Making Research Part of Your Degree Program
Each of these courses allows you engage in philosophical research.
PHIL 285. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 4. Directed studies in specific problem areas of philosophy. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.
PHIL 289. Special Topics in… Credit 1 to 4. Selected topics in an identified area of philosophy. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
PHIL 291. Research. Credit 3. Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in the department of philosophy and humanities. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: Freshman or sophomore classification and approval of department head.
PHIL 485. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 6. Directed studies in specific problem areas of philosophy. Prerequisite: Approval of department head.
PHIL 489. Special Topics in… Credit 1 to 4. Selected topics in an identified area of philosophy. May be repeated for credit.
PHIL 491. Research. Credit 3. Research conducted under the direction of faculty member in the department of philosophy and humanities. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification and approval of dean of college.
PHIL 497. Independent Honors Studies. Credit 1 to 3. Directed independent studies in specific philosophical problems. Prerequisites: Junior or senior classification either as Honors students or with overall GPR of 3.25; letter of approval from head of student’s major department.
Launch at TAMU https://launch.tamu.edu/About-Us LAUNCH provides high-impact educational experiences and challenges students in all academic disciplines to graduate from an enriched, demanding curriculum. The programs administered by the office bring together outstanding students and faculty to build a community of knowledge-producers, life-long learners, nationally-recognized scholars, and world citizens. Through LAUNCH, motivated students have access to Honors courses, co-curricular enrichment activities, scholarly engagement, and/or research programs that can be customized to enhance each student’s personal, professional, and intellectual development.
Where can you showcase your work?
You can present your work at an undergraduate conference, or have it published in an undergraduate journal. TAMU offers both options. Other universities issue calls for conferences and calls for papers. These are listed below.
Showcasing your work at TAMU
Aletheia, The Undergraduate Journal of Philosophy at Texas A&M
Regular Editions
Aletheia publishes at least two regular editions: A fall semester (Aug-Dec) edition and a spring (Jan-May) semester edition.
A call for papers typically goes out by the third week of each semester.
Special Editions
Aletheia publishes at least on special edition. It publishes the proceeding of the IvCUP each year. Additional special editions are at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.
Contact Dr. D. Raymond for information: Raymond@tamu.edu
IvCUP, International Virtual Conference for Undergraduate Philosophy
What is it? In the spring of 2015, TAMU partnered with the University of Stockholm (Sweden), and Western University (Canada) to host the first IvCup. Each of the three universities locally collected submissions, and each identified their top two submissions. The top six papers (two from each university) were then discussed during a virtual conference. Each paper was distributed to all registered participants prior to the conference. Since all six papers were read prior to the conference, each author was given 10 min to presented the main argument. In response, two commentators, each from a different university provided a commentary. Most of the time was spent discussing the arguments.
In Spring of 2020, TAMU partnered with St. Francis Xavier University to bring back the IvCup. With two universities, each university identified its top three papers for discussion at the conference.
Contact: Dr. Dwayne Raymond for information: raymond@tamu.edu.
Call for Papers Deadlines:
- Aletheia – October 29th, 2021 (Texas A&M)
- IvCup – March 18, 2022 (Texas A&M & St. Francis Xavier University)
- Theophron – January 17, 2022 (Princeton Theological Seminary)
- Ephemeris – February 1st, 2022 (Union College)
- Epistemai – February 1st, 2022 (University of Minnesota)
- American Philosophical Association– Various
- Canadian Philosophical Association – Various
Conference Registration Deadlines:
- Johns Hopkins University: 3rd Annual Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium – February 15th, 2022
- University of Texas: 2022 Compass Undergraduate Philosophy Workshop – December 15, 2021
Formatting Style Guides:
- APA Style 7th edition
- Chicago Manuel of Style
- MLA Style 8th edition
- Turabian
- AMA Style 11th edition