Philosophy, B.A.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the history and development of significant philosophical views.

2. Demonstrate understanding of concepts and theories central to philosophy including specifically​:

• questions of value
• questions of knowledge and existence

3. Demonstrate critical thinking, reading, writing and discussion skills including:

• the ability to extract arguments in classic and contemporary philosophical texts and relate them to appropriate philosophical context
• construction of sound deductive arguments and strong inductive arguments to evaluate philosophical concepts, positions, and arguments
• engagement in dialectical discussion: to participate in sustained and coherent discussion of arguments including articulation of clarifications, objections, and responses
• the ability to present viewpoints/arguments that differ from or oppose one’s own fairly and charitably, and to respond to such viewpoints/arguments
• proficiency in oral discourse: to orally present philosophical arguments (whether one’s own or those derived from reading) clearly and to encourage other students to engage with those arguments
• reflecting upon the ways in which philosophical reasoning, argumentation, concepts, texts, etc. apply to everyday life, including personally, locally, socially, politically, nationally, globally, etc.

4. Engage proficiently in philosophical research and writing including:

• locating, evaluating, and interpreting scholarly philosophical sources
• producing one’s own philosophical research question(s) and pursuing primary and/or secondary source research, while properly crediting sources
• constructing original arguments in written form in a manner consistent with disciplinary norms concerning argumentative writing

General Education Requirements (30-40 Credits)

Prerequisite coursework may be required to satisfy certain General Education courses and will count as elective credit.

Total Credits Required to Complete Major: 33

Sample Course Map

For students who matriculated prior to Fall 2022: please select the bulletin year in which you entered the college (matriculated) at the top right of this page.

Curriculum Map  

• First Year
  • Fall - 16 Credits
    • WRTG 105 - Writing Seminar: (subtitle)  
    • PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy  
    • Natural Science with lab - Credit(s): 4
    • Global Society: CAI - Credit(s): 3
    • Global Society: DPP - Credit(s): 3
  • Spring - 16 Credits
    • PHIL 111 - Introduction to Logic  
    • World Language 101 - Credit(s): 4
    • Global Society: CGC - Credit(s): 3
    • Global Society: SST - Credit(s): 3
    • Elective - Credit(s): 3
• Second Year
  • Fall - 14 Credits
    • PHIL 300 - Ancient Philosophy  or PHIL 301 - Modern Philosophy  
    • World Language 102 - Credit(s): 4
    • Global Society: WCV - Credit(s): 4
    • Electives - Credit(s): 3
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • Value theory Elective - Credit(s): 3
    • PHIL Elective - Credit(s): 3
    • Electives - Credit(s): 12
• Third Year
  • Fall - 15 Credits
    • Alternative Voices - Credit(s): 3
    • PHIL Elective - Credit(s): 3
    • Electives - Credit(s): 9
  • Spring - 14 Credits
    • PHIL Electives - Credit(s): 3
    • Integrative and Applied Learning - Credit(s): 3
    • Electives - Credit(s): 8
• Fourth Year
  • Fall - 15 Credits
    • Core Area - Credit(s): 3
    • PHIL Electives - Credit(s): 3
    • Electives - Credit(s): 9
  • Spring - 15 Credits
    • PHIL 497 - Seminar: (subtitle)  
    • Electives - Credit(s): 12

Total Credits: 120

Note: Variation in the order of courses is possible, depending upon prerequisites. Consult course information in the bulletin or your academic advisor to customize your eight semester plan.  

Double Major

Students have found that by electing philosophy as a second major they can develop skills that will be invaluable throughout their careers. They learn to think, read, and write clearly, coherently, and critically. They learn to analyze and evaluate arguments. They learn the art of questioning, that is, how to inquire. Finally, they practice stepping out of a given framework when viewing a problem. Many seemingly unsolvable problems are unsolvable only because the solver is uncritically committed to certain assumptions.

KEY - Participation in a Global Society (PGS)

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