Major Requirements
Ten courses in philosophy, including:
History of Philosophy: 105 and 106
Reasoning: 102 or 200
Ethics: 215
Senior thesis and colloquium: 450 and 451
Four additional courses numbered 102 or above
(Note: Reason and Argument taken under the old number of PHI 101 will, for the purposes of the major, be counted as PHI 102.)
Minor Requirements
Five courses in philosophy, including 105, 106, and three additional courses numbered 102 or above, at least one of which is numbered 200 or above.
(Note: Reason and Argument taken under the old number of PHI 101 will, for the purposes of the minor, be counted as PHI 102.)
Honors
Majors who maintain through the end of the senior year at least a 3.2 average overall and at least a 3.5 average in philosophy, and who receive at least an A- in PHI 495 are awarded “Honors in Philosophy”.
Majors who maintain through the end of the senior year at least a 3.5 average overall and at least a 3.75 average in philosophy, and who receive an A in PHI 495 are awarded “High Honors in Philosophy”.
Rationale for Course Numbering
100-level courses serve as entries into the discipline. They tend to cover a broad range of topics and are less technical than the upper-level courses. 110 is a survey of philosophical problems, but any 100-level course can serve as an introduction to philosophy. 105, 106, and 107 focus on a major period of philosophy’s history. 102, 120, 130, and 140 analyze applied topics. 160 introduces philosophy through the work of a single philosopher.
200-level courses are also appropriate as entries into philosophy, but they tend to be more narrowly focused than 100-level courses. And with a few exceptions, 200-level courses are primarily concerned with contemporary philosophy rather than philosophy’s history.
Some 300-level courses (350-353) are discussion seminars, usually on a single topic, text, or figure. Other 300-level courses are not seminars, but they are numbered in this range because their topics and readings are more specialized than those in the typical 200-level course. Students and advisers should check with the instructor to see if a given 300-level course is appropriate for those without prior experience in philosophy.
400-level courses are usually limited to senior philosophy majors. 450 and 451 form the capstone of the major. 495 is for seniors writing an honors thesis.
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