Officials say the new SEAL degree – the only one of its kind in Texas – supports President Welsh’s goal of promoting student citizenship.
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Texas A&M University’s philosophy department is starting the fall semester with a new major: Society, Ethics, and Law (SEAL). Previously a concentration in university studies, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in June approved a proposal to revise the degree, upgrade the concentration to a major, and move it to the philosophy department.
Dr. Kristi Sweet, associate professor and chair of the philosophy department at Texas A&M University, said that while the SEAL program was originally designed for law students, it is also a good fit for students who want to work in nonprofits, fundraising, community service, government or religious fields, for example.
Dr. Mark J. Zoran, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the new degree – the only one of its kind in Texas – also supports Texas A&M President Mark Welsh’s goal of strengthening students’ civil rights.
“We believe this degree is not only an excellent pathway to law school, but also a destination degree for a broad range of students interested in key civic issues such as ethics and social justice,” Zoran said.
The precursor to the new philosophy major — the SEAL concentration in university studies — was first offered in 2017. Dr. Linda Radzik, professor of philosophy and director of undergraduate studies, credits the development of the SEAL concept to her colleague Dr. Dwayne Raymond, associate professor of philosophy. Raymond, she said, suggested that the multidisciplinary nature of a university degree program might align with the American Bar Association’s (ABA) recommendations for students interested in law and related professions. Philosophy department faculty created a set of course requirements with broad parameters that gave students a general understanding of philosophy, politics, economics and history. The program also encouraged students to pursue experiences and opportunities that reflected the ABA’s recommended competency profile: problem solving, critical reading, writing and editing, oral communication and listening, and research.
Concentrated and multidisciplinary
The degree was attractive to students like Daniela Villasenor-Ramos (Senior ’25), a senior from McAllen who was one of 120 students majoring in the University Studies in SEAL program last year.
“When I started my undergraduate studies in my first year, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in law,” Villasenor-Ramos said.
But she also knew that her plans could change in four years.
“I looked at the list of majors and tried to see if there was anything that would give me more options if I decided against a career as a lawyer,” she said. “I came across the SEAL major in university studies and liked that it would give me a lot of opportunities to try different things. It prepares me for more than one career.”
Radzik said that while the new SEAL degree will require students to take more specific courses such as ethics, social philosophy, political philosophy and legal philosophy, rather than the current broader range of philosophy courses, the multidisciplinary nature of the degree will be maintained. Some requirements will be met by courses in the departments of communications and journalism, sociology, political science and history, for example.
Radzik said that after revising the multidisciplinary SEAL program, the philosophy department agreed that streamlining requirements and tying the program more closely to the faculty would benefit students in many ways.
“It can be more focused, it can still be multidisciplinary, it can be more responsive to students’ actual interests, but it can also build a community among them and move them toward what they want to do professionally,” she said.
Mentoring opportunities and academic advising would also be improved, she added.
Villasenor-Ramos said she plans to switch to the new SEAL major rather than fulfilling college graduation requirements.
“I’ve taken philosophy of law, philosophy of mind and contemporary moral issues — courses that were related to the law, even though they weren’t required,” she said. “With this new major, I see that many of those courses are prerequisites, so it should work out perfectly for me.”
Although other disciplines typically come to mind when thinking of a legal undergraduate degree, Sweet said philosophy students are among those who score the highest on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). With the SEAL major, Texas A&M students are even better prepared for law school.
“A philosophy major can be beneficial for a student who wants to develop critical thinking, high-quality writing, and excellent communication skills, especially with regard to communicating with people who do not already share their ideas,” Sweet said. “Philosophy can help you hear, understand, and conceptualize things that you do not already hold as your own views. The Society, Ethics, and Law major is very well suited to students who want to use these skills in areas where their goal is to change society for the better.”
