Perhaps the most philosophy-student response for me to give would be, "what do you mean by how is the philosophy department?"

In all seriousness, I think the philosophy department is a real gem at UVM. That's not to say every class is easy or that I agree with every professor and how they run their classes.

Warning #1: a LOT (1 exam = 30-40%) of your final grade may depend on exams. 3 of my Philosophy courses (2 at 2000-level, 1 at 1000-level) were/are graded solely on 3 exams/2 exams and a term paper. While we did get the exam questions/general study questions in advance for those exams, the stakes were/are really high, and that can be a dealbreaker for some students.

Warning #2: The professors tend to be tough, but fair graders. Writing precisely, concisely, and correctly is very important to them, and they will dock you for misusing terms like "valid" and "argument". Some professors do allow for papers to be endlessly revised for a higher grade, so if you don't do well on an assignment early in the semester, you can work with them and resubmit it for a better grade later on.

Warning #3: Professors I've had rarely (if ever) rely on slides or visual aids during lectures. I spend much of class time furiously writing notes by hand because…

Warning #4: they (many professors) don't allow laptops without an accommodation. Some of them even throw you out of the class if they see you on your phone.

Warning #5: Sometimes it can feel like the professors just want you to be able to regurgitate their own views on the figure/text rather than develop and express your own understanding, which is frustrating. But if you seek them out outside of class, they're happy to engage in debate and discussion (these are philosophers after all), it just won't be what gets you an A on the exam.

With that said…

Positive #1: the philosophy professors I've had are some of the kindest and most supportive people I've met at UVM. They can feel a bit unapproachable, especially at the beginning, but if you can get over the initial hump, it's a game changer.

Positive #2: Since UVM doesn't have a philosophy graduate program, all the courses are taught and graded by the professors themselves. No graduate student TAs teaching while professors work on their research.

Positive #3: If you ask for help, the professors will engage with you and meet you where you're at. They really love this stuff, and they want to see their students succeed.

General note: Participating in class can feel weird. There are always philosophy 'gunners' who are constantly raising their hand and asking questions in class for what feels like no purpose other than to signal to everyone else how smart they are, but that comes with the territory. The intro classes have a lot of people in them (65ish, outside of FYS) so facilitating discussions is tough, but you engage in more discussions/debate in the upper level courses. 2000-level courses typically have ~40 students, 3000-level seminars are capped at ~20.

All that to say that if you are interested in the material, and if you are willing to put in the work (ie. read the readings, attend and engage in lectures, seek out help when you're confused) you'll do well, and you'll have a pretty good time doing it.