- Five full-time faculty teach in the rapidly growing department, and all hold the Ph.D. ? three from universities considered to be among the nation's top ten graduate programs in philosophy. As philosophical subjects are essential to a strong liberal arts foundation, the faculty also tend to teach courses within the college's general education studies program.
- Augustana's program approaches the study of philosophy in three ways: by topics, texts and tools. Each of these ways provides philosophy students with a starting point for deeper investigation of the central aspects of philosophy -- the nature of reality, thought, experience and value -- and also promotes a broader and deeper perspective for any student of the liberal arts. All students, whether they are philosophy majors/minors or exploring philosophy to enhance their education, can become familiar with critical texts and develop their techniques of reasoning to serve them well in their liberal arts undergraduate studies, post-graduate work or professional programs.
- Many of the philosophy students at Augustana have double majors, combining their interests in the bigger and more abstract questions of human life with specialized studies in other disciplines such as the sciences, mathematics, studio arts or literature.