While many students who major in philosophy discover the subject while they are in college, often by happenstance through a general education course, Zach McClure came to the University of South Carolina in 2021 already committed to double majoring in philosophy and political science.
Both of those majors are known for preparing students for law school, and that was certainly part of McClure's plan. But as the 2025 graduate prepares to attend Yale Law School this fall, he says his main concerns were combining his interest in politics with his passion for deep learning and debate, to learn how to think critically and expansively, and to defend his beliefs with hard evidence.
“I've always enjoyed thinking about the big questions,” he says. “It’s a bit cliche, but I've always cared about the foundational things that shape the way that we think and live. Coming into college, I really had the goal of, ‘I am going to figure it out’. I was going to take these specific classes and come out with this great understanding of the world and my place in it.”
I would say I’ve learned a lot, but I’ve learned more so how to learn, how to think—and that’s what’s really been valuable to me in my time here.
Rather than certainty about the world and his beliefs, what McClure found was even more valuable: an education that taught him to embrace complexity and uncertainty. In his classes, he says it was never about professors handing down conclusions or telling students what to believe. Instead, they modeled open dialogue and relentless questioning, fostering students’ ability to engage with the subject matter on a deeper level.
“They really do work on teaching you how to think and how to debate,” he says. “I would say I’ve learned a lot, but I’ve learned more so how to learn, how to think—and that’s what’s really been valuable to me in my time here. Because I’ve also realized there’s so much more to learn.”
McClure’s senior thesis for the Honors College gave him a chance to merge his two disciplines and examine politics through a philosophical lens. Under the guidance of his political science professor, Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod, McClure explored credibility and trust in the judicial system, and how the public and legislators measure judges’ integrity against our constitutional framework. In particular, he studied the difference between judges running in partisan versus nonpartisan elections, hoping to discover whether party labels affect judges’ credibility. The deeper he dug, the more layered the subject became, revealing that judicial credibility can be interpreted in multiple ways. He came away from his thesis with more thoughtful questions than simple conclusions.
“At the end of my defense, people asked me, ‘Are you saying this is the answer?’ But really, I barely scratched the surface. These things are complex. There’s always more to it than meets the eye.”
Beyond the classroom at USC, McClure studied abroad in London, completed multiple internships at the South Carolina State House just blocks from campus and built lasting relationships along the way. These experiences weren’t simply items to check off a list. As a Columbia native, he had always planned to expand his worldview. USC gave him the platform to do just that.
Now as a graduate of the class of 2025, McClure is preparing for his next chapter. This fall, he will attend Yale Law School—an achievement that once felt out of reach but now feels like the natural continuation of the journey he began at USC. His coursework and the intellectual discipline it demanded helped him prepare for the Law School Admissions Test, especially in areas like logic and argument analysis. But it was the relationships he made—with faculty, mentors and peers—that gave him the push he needed. Watching friends go on to prestigious careers and graduate schools using their humanities degrees showed him what was possible.
McClure has a few ideas for what he’d like to study at Yale but hopes to soak in all that the Ivy League law school has to offer before deciding on one track. His priority for where he hopes it will take him is more concrete, though: “I’m very clear on the impact I'd like to make. I’m motivated by advocating for people who have no one else to stand up for them and fighting to uphold their constitutional rights.”
With his passion for learning outside the box, McClure emphasizes that peers and mentors shaped the way he thought as much as any classroom experience. “I think you can really learn from everyone. Every conversation is a learning experience, and I think that’s really valuable coming out of college.”