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Major Requirements
A major in philosophy requires nine courses in philosophy, or ten if the philosophy major is a candidate for honors.
Though students may take as many 100- and 200-level courses as they wish, no more than three such courses will count towards the completion of the major. The lone exception is PHIL 225 Logic I, which can count towards the major in addition to three other 100- or 200-level courses. Though not strictly required of all majors, PHIL 225 is nevertheless strongly recommended for all majors — especially for students contemplating graduate work in philosophy. Only one of the total number of courses may be an independent study.
Among the courses for the major, students must complete the following:
Value Theory (VT) Elective
Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of PHVTÂ in the course offerings.
At least one upper-level course from the following:
- PHIL 312Â -Â Contemporary Political Philosophy
- PHIL 329Â -Â Philosophy of Law
- PHIL 330Â -Â Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art
- PHIL 343Â -Â Metaethics
- PHIL 348Â -Â Well-being, Meaning, and Death
Metaphysics and Epistemology (M&E) Elective
Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of PHME in the course offerings.
At least one upper-level course from the following:
- PHIL 335Â -Â Contemporary Epistemology
- PHIL 340Â -Â Metaphysics
- PHIL 341Â -Â Philosophy of Mind
- PHIL 342Â -Â Philosophy of Language
- PHIL 380Â -Â Issues in Epistemology and Metaphysics
Major Figures (MF) Elective
Courses fulfilling this requirement have an attribute of PHMF in the course offerings.
At least one course from the following, which should be completed by the end of the junior year:
- PHIL 301Â -Â Ancient Philosophy
- PHIL 302Â -Â Modern Philosophy
- PHIL 303Â -Â Medieval Philosophy
- PHIL 304Â -Â Kant and German Idealism
Philosophy Seminar
At least one 400-level seminar course. Students are strongly encouraged to take more than one seminar.
GPA Requirement
To qualify for graduation, a minimum grade of C is required in all courses taken toward the major/minor.
Honors
A student who wishes to become a candidate for honors in philosophy (or who wishes to become a candidate for honors in philosophy and religion by writing on a philosophical theme) should begin researching and developing a topic for a thesis at the end of the junior year. In the fall of the senior year, interested students work with faculty advisors to develop a thesis proposal. Proposals are submitted to the whole department, and students are notified in December whether they have been approved to continue to honors. When a proposal is approved, a thesis advisor is assigned by the department. The student may then register for PHIL 490 with a view to qualifying for honors. PHIL 490 is an additional tenth course, beyond the nine courses required for completing the major.
The independent study should result in a senior thesis. Students writing a senior thesis will give an informal presentation of their work to students and faculty of the department. Students seeking honors must submit their theses to their advisers by the deadline set by the department. If a student's adviser judges the thesis to be of sufficient quality, the student will be invited to stand for honors. (Independent study students who are not invited to stand for honors will still be able to complete their senior theses.) Honors candidates will undergo an oral exam (the honors defense) conducted by the adviser and two additional faculty members during exam week. Ideally the honors defense becomes a forum for intellectual exchange between the student writer and the faculty readers. A student is awarded honors on the basis of both the quality of the written thesis and the conduct of the honors defense. A student should have a 3.67 GPA in the major to pursue honors.
Philosophy Department
For more information about the department, including Faculty, transfer credit, awards, etc., please visit the Philosophy departmentÌý³¦²¹³Ù²¹±ô´Ç²µÌý±è²¹²µ±ð.