Philosophy Major

Major Requirements

A major in philosophy requires nine courses in philosophy, or ten if the philosophy major is a candidate for honors. Only one of the total number of courses may be an independent study. 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 - Logic I , is nevertheless strongly recommended for all majors — especially for students contemplating graduate work in philosophy.

Among the courses for the major, students must take at least one upper-level course from the department’s offerings in Value Theory (VT): PHIL 312 , PHIL 313 , PHIL 329 , PHIL 330 , PHIL 343 , PHIL 345 , or a similar course approved by the chair and at least one upper-level course from its offerings in Metaphysics and Epistemology (M&E): PHIL 320 , PHIL 335 , PHIL 340 , PHIL 341 , PHIL 342 , PHIL 380 , PHIL 381 , or a similar course approved by the chair. In addition, students must take at least one course from our offerings in Major Figures (MF): PHIL 301 , PHIL 302 , PHIL 303 , PHIL 304 , or two courses if they are pursuing honors. Majors in philosophy should plan to have completed their Major Figures course by the end of their junior year. At least one 400-level seminar in philosophy is also required for the major, though students are strongly encouraged to take more than one seminar.