We’re pleased to announce that the Department of Philosophy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was ranked in the top 50 departments in the United States by the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR). The PGR rankings are based on peer assessments of overall faculty quality and this year were decided on by a panel of 192 philosophers. The department received the highest overall score for faculty quality it has received since the inception of the PGR ranking system. The department was also recognized for its strengths in applied ethics; decision, rational choice, and game theory; feminist philosophy; history of analytic philosophy; philosophy of action; philosophy of law; and philosophy of race.  

The Department of Philosophy at Illinois is home to 16 core and 14 affiliated faculty. We pursue research and scholarship that advances knowledge and understanding across a wide range of philosophical disciplines— moral, legal, and social philosophy, philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, philosophy of computation, technology, artificial intelligence, metaphysics, epistemology, rational choice theory, feminist philosophy, theories of justice, philosophy of mind and cognition, philosophy of economics, moral psychology, and philosophy of race, sex, and gender. We seek to ensure that philosophy serves as a critical, constructive hub for foundational thinking that connects disciplines from the humanities to the sciences and produces ideas critical for the public good.  

“I’m incredibly proud of the PGR ranking,” said department head Rob Kar. “Though we never defer to external conceptions of excellence at Illinois Philosophy, this ranking shows that the nation can tell that we have an incredibly dynamic faculty and program. That dynamism is reflected in our recent growth and hiring, innovative curricular developments, and many recent accomplishments of our world-class faculty and student body. I am so proud to be associated with such an astonishing group of people, with such a clear sense of mission.”