About the Department


Students chatting in a classroom

The Department of Philosophy at The University of Kansas is home to a diverse and distinguished community of philosophers. Faculty members in the department are supportive and dedicated teachers who offer a wide range of courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. KU offers BA, MA, and PhD degrees in philosophy. The Department has an active group of students with a lively undergraduate philosophy club, graduate student conferences in philosophy, and Auslegung, a graduate-student run open-access journal of philosophy. Philosophy students from KU have gone on to pursue highly successful careers in business, law, academia, and government.

Faculty in the Department of Philosophy at KU are engaged in world-class research and publication in many areas of the discipline. While the Department is committed to excellence in core areas of philosophy, it is also dedicated to the solution of some of the most pressing problems facing humanity. The discipline of business ethics began at KU with the pioneering work of Richard De George and KU Philosophy remains a department that is engaged with pressing social and political concerns. Feminist philosophy, social and political philosophy, and moral philosophy are among the highlights of current research and teaching in the Department.

The Department offers an active visiting lecture series and hosts the famous Lindley lectures. The Lindley lectures have brought some of the world’s greatest philosophers to Kansas over the decades and are the centerpiece of the intellectual life of the department each year. These lectures are open to the public and are freely available in electronic form. A vibrant visiting-lecturer series, scholarships, and awards for students are made possible by the generous support of friends and alumni of the department.

The Department is dedicated to providing access to the world’s best philosophy to all and welcomes you to join us for any of the upcoming public presentations and events. Please explore these pages for more about philosophy at KU, for details of upcoming activities, and for news about faculty research.

Dale Dorsey
Professor and Chair
Department of Philosophy
The University of Kansas