Philosophy Concentrations
Philosophy Major
Building upon the core courses in ethics and theory of knowledge, students majoring in philosophy go on to complete a total of 36 hours of course work. This includes a course in symbolic logic plus eight electives which are distributed between courses in the history of philosophy (four courses) and free electives (four courses). In addition, majors will also take a specialized course in metaphysics restricted only to students who have declared a major or minor in philosophy. Majors are required to complete study of at least one foreign language through reading competency.
Students who intend to go on to graduate school with an interest in ancient or medieval philosophy will find a reading knowledge of Greek and Latin necessary; those who intend to concentrate on modern or contemporary philosophy should look to French or German.
The major program culminates in the preparation of a thesis during the student's final year. Majors work closely with a mentoring faculty member to prepare a lengthy research project to demonstrate the student's mastery over the discipline. An oral defense of the thesis and a written comprehensive examination complete the requirements for the major program. The major leads to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.
The following is an outline of a typical course sequence for philosophy majors. Schedules will be tailored to students' specific academic plans and interests.
Freshman Year
| First Semester | Semester Hours | Second Semester | Semester Hours |
| HISTORY I | 3 | HISTORY II | 3 |
| FOREIGN LANGUAGE Elective |
3 | FOREIGN LANGUAGE Elective |
3 |
| SCIENCE Elective |
3 | SCIENCE Elective |
3 |
| THEOLOGY 111 Theological Foundations | 3 | PHILOSOPHY 100 Ethics as Intro. to Philosophy | 3 |
| SOCIAL SCIENCE Elective | 3 | ENGLISH 101 or 115 English Composition or Rhetoric | 3 |
| Total | 15 | Total | 15 |
Sophomore Year
| First Semester | Semester Hours | Second Semester | Semester Hours |
| MATH Elective |
3 | MATH Elective |
3 |
| FINE ARTS Elective |
3 | SCIENCE Elective |
3 |
| PHILOSOPHY 290 Theory of Knowledge |
3 | PHILOSOPHY 301or 304 Ancient Philosophy or Early Modern Philosophy |
3 |
| LITERATURE Elective |
3 | ENGLISH 205 Literature & the Moral Imagination |
3 |
| CULTURAL DIVERSITY Elective |
1 | General Elective | 3 |
| THEOLOGY Scrip/Hist or Christ Sys Elective |
3 | ||
| Total | 16 | Total | 15 |
Junior Year
| First Semester | Semester Hours | Second Semester | Semester Hours |
| PHILOSOPHY 311 Symbolic Logic | 3 | PHILOSOPHY 340 Metaphysics | 3 |
| PHILOSOPHY 302 or 309 Medieval Christian Philosophy or Medieval, Islamic/Jewish Philosophy |
3 | PHILOSOPHY 306 or 308 Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy or Late Modern Philosophy |
3 |
| GENERAL Electives |
6 | SOCIAL SCIENCE Elective |
3 |
| PHILOSOPHY Elective |
3 | THEOLOGY Ethics or Rel/Cult Elective |
3 |
| GENERAL Elective |
3 | ||
| Total | 15 | Total | 15 |
Senior Year
| First Semester | Semester Hours | Second Semester | Semester Hours |
| PHILOSOPHY 300 Origins of Philosophy |
3 | PHILOSOPHY 399 Thesis Review |
3 |
| PHILOSOPHY Seminar |
3 | PHILOSOPHY Elective |
3 |
| GENERAL Electives |
5 | GENERAL Electives |
6 |
| E/R&S FOCUS Elective |
3 | ||
| Total | 16 | Total | 12 |