Seton Hall’s College of Arts and Sciences has released a new Philosophy and Law (PhiLaw) major for undergraduate students starting in Fall 2025.
This new major seeks to provide students with an interest in legal-adjacent professions the ability to gain an understanding of the law during their undergraduate years.
Studying philosophy has gained popularity amongst students interested in legal studies. Previous studies have shown that philosophy students tend to score higher than students in other majors on the LSAT [Law School Admissions Test], making it a popular choice of undergraduate degree for pre-law students. Yet, the philosophy department’s newest major is designed not just for potential law school candidates, but for all students with an interest in logic and law.
Dr. Travis Timmerman, chair of SHU’s philosophy department, spoke about the appeal of the major for students who are considering career paths other than law school.
“It’s not just for students that want to go to law school,” Timmerman said. “Its unique advantages [are] for students that want to gain legal knowledge as an undergraduate in addition to gaining the skills they would by taking philosophy courses.”
The new PhiLAw major was developed by Timmerman alongside philosophy professor Heinrik Hellwig (J.D.). Both Timmerman and Hellwig have interests in the intersection of law and philosophy and collaborated to bring the new program to life. Once Hellwig joined the philosophy department in 2022, the two began to develop the new major.
Hellwig added his experience from his time at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and their Society and Law program to create a base for the Philosophy and Law major.
While at UCR, Hellwig “noticed that many students in the ‘Law and Society’ courses genuinely enjoyed learning about the legal system.
At some point, I formed the opinion that a lot of colleges and universities could benefit from a program like that,” Hellwig said.
“Coincidentally, Dr. Timmerman had a similar opinion,” Hellwig added. “He had been thinking about how to create a new major—one that would give students an opportunity to get a rich education in philosophy while also learning about law and related subject matters.”
The new major aims to combine intrinsic skills such as reading comprehension and analytical thinking with specialized knowledge of legal structure.
“You get all the benefits of the philosophy major,” Timmerman said. “The only difference is that there’s a little more focus on having to give a certain number of law-oriented courses.”
The official curriculum requires students to take all of the mandatory classes for a philosophy degree, as well as five foundational law courses ranging from Introduction to Legal Research to Common Law. Students must also choose a specialization from four different pathways going into their junior year: Technology and Privacy, Business and Finance, Health and Human Services, and Sports and Gaming and Entertainment.
The program is designed to prepare students to enter the workforce upon graduation rather than going to law school.
“One thing we took seriously when designing this major is the fact that many students have a strong interest in learning about law, even if they don’t plan to go to law school,” Hellwig said. “Not everyone wants to be a lawyer, and law school is typically very expensive.”
Timmerman added that the major “can help students not only if they want to go to law school, but also if they want to work in some law-oriented career that requires some highly non-trivial understanding of the law: that can be a very valuable asset.”
Dr. Jonathan Farina has recently been appointed as the newest dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. While stepping into his position, he emphasizes the value of the new philosophy and law major to study multiple disciplines during a student’s time in college.
“One of my strategic focuses for the college is what we’re calling integrated or applied humanities,” Farina said. “People need to be fluent in numbers and technology, but they also need to be fluent in what makes us human: being creative, having good judgment, understanding what makes life worth living.”
The PhiLaw major aligns with Farina’s goals to encourage students to develop skills across disciplines.
“What I like about this is it does put together two related fields,” Farina said. “One professional and applied and one complete liberal art: philosophy.”
As a product of doubling majoring in both finance and English, Farina is an advocate for studying across colleges during a student’s time at SHU.
“Combining multiple different types of disciplines will set people up for long-term success,” Farina said.
Amelia Olson, a sophomore diplomacy major, began to develop her interest in studying philosophy through the University Honors Program.
To Olson, the subject began shaping the next steps she plans to take in her career.
“I know that I want to do something that’s hopefully helping people,” Olson said. “And I think philosophy has just made me realize that more people should be trying to do that as well. And that’s also inspired my want to go to law school.”
Upon learning about the new PhiLaw major, she expressed how studying philosophy intersects with her current study of diplomacy.
“I think philosophy just gives a really good background and it makes you think in a lot of different ways,” Olson said.
Julia Knight, senior philosophy major and co-president of SHU’s Philosophy Club, emphasized the importance of a well-rounded philosophy pathway for any student.
“I think the people who are in philosophy and stay in philosophy are because it’s all critical thinking,” Knight said. “You’re building arguments in a way that leads you to conclusions about just about anything.”
She added how her philosophy professors make a point to emphasize that modern employers now “want someone who can think about problems and reason their way through problems and philosophy can do that in any situation.”
“It doesn’t have to be academic or law,” Knight said. “[Philosophy] is absolutely a toolkit that you can employ to be a really good problem solver.”
Avalon Swanson-Reid, a senior philosophy major and Knight’s co-president, built upon this idea.
“Once you’ve had to pick your way through something like Kant, or something like Hegel, or these really, really intensive thinkers’ other texts, you’re really prepared to attack and understand things,” Reid said.
A philosophy and law major combines the practical benefits of direct legal knowledge with the fundamental critical thinking skills akin to the philosophy major. As a result, the major aims to create a new workable and intellectual pathway for SHU’s students.
Alexa Haidacher is a writer for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at alexa.haidacher@student.shu.edu.
