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.