Major Requirements

General Requirements 

PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 110: Intro Logic
PHIL 201: History of Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 202: History of Modern Philosophy
PHIL 393: Seminar for Majors
Five philosophy electives, meeting the following conditions:

  • At least three courses must be above PHIL 202.
  • At least one course in ethics (PHIL 102, 103, 118, 120, 135, 220-230, 308, 311, 312, 320).
  • At least one course from either logic and related courses (PHIL 211-219), or traditional philosophical disciplines (PHIL 242-249), or philosophy of science (PHIL 250-259).
  • At least one advanced philosophy course designated with a ‘W’, to indicate upper-level writing credit.  These courses are available with the permission of the instructor.
  • No more than three courses may be logic science courses (PHIL 110,199, 215, 216, 217, and 249)
  • A relevant course in an allied field may be substituted for one of the five Philosophy electives above, with the permission of the Philosophy Department's undergraduate advisor.

Students have the option of using their philosophy electives to major with an emphasis in law and ethics, history of philosophy, or logic and the philosophy of science. These tracks will not impact how your major is listed on your transcript.

Honors

Students who have at least a 3.7 GPA in a philosophy major and show promise of being able to complete an honors thesis are eligible to pursue a degree with honors. Honors in philosophy will be awarded to graduating concentrators who, after consulting with the undergraduate adviser and securing a thesis adviser, complete:

  • Four credit hours of PHIL 396: Honors Tutorial
  • Four credit hours of an PHIL 399: Honors Thesis, including passing an oral examination on the thesis
  • Four credit hours of a graduate seminar in philosophy or an undergraduate seminar approved for honors credit (This seminar can count as one of the ten courses required for the major)

The bachelor's degree with various degrees of distinction is offered on recommendation of the department and is based primarily on the grade-point average in philosophy 

(3.4 - distinction; 3.6 - high distinction; 3.8 - highest distinction). Performance in undergraduate seminars and in independent study is sometimes considered.

Majors with a Special Emphasis 

Concentrators wishing to emphasize a particular sub-field of interest may make use of the following optional guidelines, which offer potential plans emphasizing:

These plans do not affect how the philosophy major is listed on your transcript; the only official requirements are the general major requirements above.

Emphasis on Law and Ethics

PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 110: Intro Logic
PHIL 201: History of Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 202: History of Modern Philosophy
PHIL 393: Seminar for Majors
Five additional philosophy electives, meeting the following conditions:

  • At least three courses must be above PHIL 202.
  • At least four courses in law, ethics, or reasoning (PHIL 102-6, 118, 220-230, 311).
  • At least one course from either logic and related courses (PHIL 211-219), or traditional philosophical disciplines (PHIL 242-249), or philosophy of science (PHIL 250-259).
  • At least one advanced philosophy course designated with a ‘W’, to indicate upper-level writing credit.

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Emphasis on History

PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 110: Intro Logic
PHIL 201: History of Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 202: History of Modern Philosophy
PHIL 393: Seminar for Majors
Five philosophy electives, meeting the following conditions:

  • At least three courses must be above PHIL 202.
  • At least one course in ethics (PHIL 102, 103, 118, 220-230, 311).
  • At least one course from either logic and related courses (PHIL 211-219), traditional philosophical disciplines (PHIL 242-249), or philosophy of science (PHIL 250-259).
  • At least three courses in the history of philosophy from among PHIL 221, 260-269, 303, 318, 324.
  • At least one advanced philosophy course designated with a ‘W’, to indicate upper-level writing credit.

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Emphasis on Logic and the Philosophy of Science

PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 110: Intro Logic
PHIL 201: History of Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 202: History of Modern Philosophy
PHIL 393: Seminar for Majors
Five philosophy electives, meeting the following conditions:

  • At least three courses must be above PHIL 202.
  • At least one course in ethics (PHIL 102, 103, 118, 220-230, 311).
  • At least three courses in logic (211-219) or philosophy of science (250-259).
  • At least one advanced philosophy course designated with a ‘W’, to indicate upper-level writing credit.

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