Philosophy, B.A.

General Education Requirements - 43 Credit Hours

 Philosophy majors must meet the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements  as set out in General Education Program .

One course must be selected from each of the following lists of Global Studies and Social Science courses.

• Global Studies Requirement: The Philosophy department suggests that philosophy majors take PHL 1053 - Asian Philosophy   to satisfy the Global Studies requirement. (If taken to satisfy the Global Studies requirement, then it will not count toward PHL degree requirements.) Asian Philosophy is offered every fall.
   
• Social Science Requirement: The Philosophy department suggests that philosophy majors take PHL 1103 - Foundations of Social Science   to satisfy the Social Science requirement. (If taken to satisfy the Social Science requirement, then it may not count toward PHL degree requirements.) Foundations of Social Science is offered every spring.

School of Arts and Sciences: Additional Natural Science Requirements - 5 Credit Hours

Five additional hours of natural science: 1 lab to accompany the course taken for general education [BIO 1043 , BIO 1023 , ESC 1043 , OCY 1043 , PHY 1033  or PHY 1063 ], and one additional natural science course and accompanying lab. The two natural sciences must be in different areas (both cannot be in biological sciences). In sum, you are required to take a minimum of 8 hours of natural science courses: two natural science courses (in two different areas) along with the labs associated with each.

Foreign Language Requirement

Philosophy majors are required to fulfill the Philosophy Department language requirement. Philosophy majors are required to successfully complete (with a grade of “C-” or higher) two semesters of language in a single language at PBA in French, German, Greek, Hebrew or Spanish. The Philosophy Department recommends that the language requirement be satisfied prior to the senior year. If foreign language courses are taken to fulfill the Global Studies requirement, then those courses also count toward Philosophy Department language requirements.

No CLEP, AP, IB or transient study credits may be used to fulfill this requirement.  Students may take elementary or intermediate language courses or a combination of both.

Required Philosophy Courses - 15 Credit Hours

• PHL 2003 - Creative Thinking and Effective Reasoning
• PHL 3133 - Formal Logic Systems
• PHL 4703 - Senior Seminar

Philosophy Electives - 15 Credit Hours

Select any 5 options from the following list, not repeating any course from the above requirements

• BIB 3143 - Philosophy of Religion
• PHL 1053 - Asian Philosophy
• PHL 1103 - Foundations of Social Science
• PHL 3083 - Epistemology
• PHL 3103 - Selected Topics in Philosophy
• PHL 3153 - The Culture Critics
• PHL 3163 - Metaphysics
• PHL 3173 - 20th Century Philosophy
• PHL 3183 - Existentialism
• PHL 3193 - Ancient Philosophy
• PHL 3203 - Modern Philosophy
• PHL 4003 - Aesthetics
• PHL 4143 - Ethics
• PHL 4753 - Philosophy of Mind
• PHL 4813 - Independent Project
• PLS 3093 - Western Order: The Christian Contribution
• PLS 3123 - Classical & Medieval Political Thought
• PLS 3153 - Christian Political Thought
• PLS 3313 - Political Thought
• PLS 4173 - Seminar: Seminal Political Philosophers
• PLS 4313 - Modern Political Thought

*Additional Required - 34-37 Credit Hours

This meets the 120-credit-hour requirement and the 42-upper-level requirement.

Note:

Undergraduates who major in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) are required to take multiple philosophy courses. PPE majors may count the following courses toward the requirements for a philosophy major or philosophy minor:

• PHL 1103 - Foundations of Social Science 
• PHL 3153 - The Culture Critics 
• PHL 3133 - Formal Logic Systems 

Sample Degree Plan

Philosophy Degree Plan