Department of Philosophy — Requirements & Recommendations for Majors

Standard Philosophy Major

Standard philosophy majors are required to take:

PHIL 100 (Introduction to Philosophy)
PHIL 120 (Introduction to Logic)
PHIL 310 (Ancient Philosophy)
PHIL 312 (Modern Philosophy)
Six additional courses in philosophy, including at least five numbered 300 or higher.

Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy Major

Requirements for the ethics and social and political philosophy major are PHIL 100 (Introduction to Philosophy), and nine additional courses. Of these, five must be distributed among the three distribution areas listed below, and must include at least one from each area. Five of the nine courses must be at the 300 level or higher.

Distribution Areas

1. History of Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy. This area includes

PHIL 213 (19th Century Philosophy)
PHIL 216 (The History of Ethics)
PHIL 218 (Major Social and Political Thinkers),
PHIL 465 (Kant’s Moral Philosophy and its Major Critics)

2. Theory of Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy. This area includes

PHIL 207 (Civic Education)
PHIL 209 (Individual and Community)
PHIL 290 (The Philosophy of Law)
PHIL 295 (Egoism and Altruism)
PHIL 318 (Race & Racism)
PHIL 333 (Ethical Theory)
PHIL 335 (Utopian Justice)
PHIL 337 (Third World Political Philosophy)
PHIL 380 (Social and Political Philosophy)
PHIL 410 (Feminist Legal Theory)
PHIL 450 (Rights)

3. Problems in Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy. This area includes

PHIL 108 (Moral and Social Problems)
PHIL 265 (Sanity and Madness)
PHIL G104 (Justice, Punishment and Reparation)
PHIL G105 (Contemporary Moral and Social Problems)
PHIL G106 (Justice and Money)
PHIL G107 (Self and Society)
PHIL G109 (Moral Debate in Society)
PHIL G110 (Equality and Justice)
PHIL G130 (Privacy)
PHIL G 201 (Morals and the Law)
PHIL G 205 (The Idea of a Nation)
PHIL G 207 (The Meaning of Life)
PHIL 200 (African Philosophy)
PHIL 210 (The Philosophy of Education)
PHIL 215 (Philosophical Foundations of Public Policy)
PHIL 220 (Environmental Ethics)
PHIL 222 (Moral Issues in Medicine)
PHIL 230 (Philosophy and Feminism)
PHIL 232 (Philosophy, Race and Multiculturalism)
PHIL 287 (Equality)
PHIL 307 (Technology and Values)
PHIL 323 (Mental Health: Law and Public Policy)
PHIL 388 (Moral Issues)

Other Courses

The following courses often count toward the ethics and social and political philosophy major.

In Area 1:

PHIL 310 (Ancient Philosophy)
PHIL 227 (Existentialism and Phenomenology)
PHIL 351 (Plato)
PHIL 357 (Kierkegaard)
PHIL 452 (Aristotle)
PHIL 455 (Hegel and German Idealism)

A student may petition to count one (but only one) course in another department or interdisciplinary program toward fulfillment of the ethics and social and political philosophy major requirements. The course must bear a close relation to the concerns and methods of the major.

Philosophy and Public Policy Major

In order to complete the major in philosophy and public policy students must take 12 courses, of which at least three are philosophy courses at the level of 300 or above (not including the Senior Directed Study), in accord with the following stipulations:

1. Three courses which must include

PHIL 100 (Introduction to Philosophy) or 108 (Moral and Social Problems) or 209 (Individual and Community)
PHIL 215 (Philosophical Foundations of Public Policy)
PHIL 450 (Rights)

2. At least one of the following applied philosophy courses:

PHIL 207 (Civic Education in Liberal Democratic States)
PHIL 210 (Philosophy of Education)
PHIL 220 (Environmental Ethics)
PHIL 222 (Moral Issues in Medicine)
PHIL 230 (Philosophy and Feminism)
PHIL 232 (Philosophy, Race and Multiculturalism)
PHIL 265 (Sanity and Madness)
PHIL 287 (Equality)
PHIL 307 (Technology and Values)
PHIL 323 (Psychiatry, Law, and Public Policy)
PHIL 380 (Social and Political Philosophy)

3. Two policy-related cognate courses offered by other departments and programs from a list including but not limited to

AFRSTY 320 (Problems in Urban Education)
POLSCI 203 (Public Policy)
POLSCI 347 (Politics, Social Choice, and Public Policy)
SOCIOL 250 (Social Policy)
WOST 330 (Women and Public Policy)
POLSCI 335 (Law and Public Policy)

4. At least two courses from the following offerings in the history and theory of social philosophy:

PHIL 216 (History of Ethics)
PHIL 218 (Major Social and Political Thinkers)
PHIL 290 (The Philosophy of Law)
PHIL 295 (Egoism and Altruism)
PHIL 318 (Race and Racism)
PHIL 333 (Ethical Theory)
PHIL 351 (Plato)
PHIL 380 (Social and Political Philosophy)
PHIL 395 (Global Ethics)
PHIL 410 (Feminist Legal Theory)
PHIL 452 (Aristotle)
PHIL 465 (Kant’s Moral Philosophy and Its Critics)

5. Senior directed study (to be undertaken in the final year as a semester-long, 3-credit independent research project supervised by a faculty member of the Philosophy Department).

Optional internships will be arranged for those majors wishing to experience public policy making at state, city, or local levels of governments.