Philosophy Major

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 , which can count towards the major in addition to three other 100- or 200-level courses. Though not strictly required of all majors,  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 PHVT in the course offerings.

At least one upper-level course from the following:

• PHIL 312 - Contemporary Political Philosophy
• PHIL 329 - Philosophy of Law
• PHIL 330 - Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art
• PHIL 343 - Metaethics
• PHIL 348 - 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 335 - Contemporary Epistemology
• PHIL 340 - Metaphysics
• PHIL 341 - Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL 342 - Philosophy of Language
• PHIL 380 - 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 301 - Ancient Philosophy
• PHIL 302 - Modern Philosophy
• PHIL 303 - Medieval Philosophy
• PHIL 304 - 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  with a view to qualifying for honors.  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  catalog page.