Interest in studying philosophy begins with the desire to engage life’s greatest questions: finding the meaning of human existence, making sense of reality and our place in the cosmos, giving systematic form to our ethical and political intuitions, explaining the history of human ideas, and other equally significant problems. Often students wonder how the study of philosophy can provide the foundation for successful and meaningful employment. Contrary to popular belief, a philosophy major is one of the best preparations possible for careers in a large number of different areas. An article in the London Times rightly called philosophy the "ultimate 'transferable work skill'" insofar as it prepares students for a wide array of practical services. As a group, philosophy majors consistently score at or near the top on standardized tests, gain employment on graduation at higher than average rates, rank highly in median mid-career salary, and enjoy a well-earned reputation for rigorous thinking. In fact, the Association of American Colleges and Universities tells students, “[y]our specific choice of major matters far less than the knowledge and skills you gain through all your studies and experiences in college. In terms of jobs, employers don’t hire majors. They hire individuals with potential to succeed over the long term and add value to their companies or organizations.” The study of philosophy, one of the oldest and most rigorous disciplines, provides students with critical thinking, writing, and arguing skills necessary to succeed in today’s competitive working environments.

Total Program Credits: 120

General Education Requirements:			35 Credits
	ENGL 1010	Introduction to Academic Writing	3
or	ENGH 1005	Literacies and Composition Across Contexts (5)
	ENGL 2010	Intermediate Writing/Academic Writing and Research	3
Complete one of the following:			3
	MAT 1030	Quantitative Reasoning (3) (recommended for Humanities or Arts majors)
	MAT 1035	Quantitative Reasoning with Integrated Algebra (6)
	STAT 1040	Introduction to Statistics (3) (recommended for Social Science majors)
	STAT 1045	Introduction to Statistics with Algebra (5)
	MATH 1050	College Algebra (4) (recommended for Business, Education, Science, and Health Professions majors)
	MATH 1055	College Algebra with Preliminaries (5)
	MATH 1090	College Algebra for Business (3) (recommended for Business majors)
Complete one of the following:			3
	HIST 2700	US History to 1877 (3)
and	HIST 2710	US History since 1877 (3)
	HIST 1700	American Civilization (3)
	HIST 1740	US Economic History (3)
	POLS 1000	American Heritage (3)
	POLS 1100	American National Government (3)
Complete the following:
	PHIL 2050	Ethics and Values	3
	HLTH 1100	Personal Health and Wellness (2)
or	EXSC 1097	Fitness for Life	2
Distribution Courses:
	Biology		3
	Physical Science		3
	Additional Biology or Physical Science		3
	Humanities Distribution		3
	Fine Arts Distribution		3
	Social/Behavioral Science		3
Discipline Core Requirements:			37 Credits
Complete the following:
	PHIL 2000	Formal Logic I	3
	PHIL 2110	Ancient Greek Philosophy WE	3
	PHIL 2150	Early Modern Philosophy	3
	PHIL 290R	Marginalized Philosophies	3
	PHIL 480R	Philosophy Capstone Prep	1
	PHIL 4910	Philosophy Research Capstone WE	3
Value Theory (complete 3 credits from the following):			3
	PHIL 3150	Philosophical Issues in Feminism (3)
	PHIL 3160	Gender Values Knowledge and Reality (3)
	PHIL 3510	Business and Professional Ethics (3)
	PHIL 3520	Bioethics (3)
	PHIL 3530	Environmental Ethics (3)
	PHIL 3540	Christian Ethics (3)
	PHIL 355G	Moral Philosophy (3)
	PHIL 3700	Social and Political Philosophy (3)
	PHIL 450R	Interdisciplinary Senior Ethics Seminar (3)
	PHIL 451R	Ethical Theory Seminar (3)
History Set (complete 3 credits from the following):			3
	PHIL 4140	History of Analytic Philosophy (3)
	PHIL 4150	History of Continental Philosophy (3)
	PHIL 416G	History of Chinese Philosophy (3)
Complete 15 additional credits of Philosophy course work, at least 12 of which must be upper-division (excluding those taken to fulfill catagories listed above)			15
Elective Requirements:			48 Credits
	Any course 1000 or higher, 15 credits must be upper-division		48

 

Graduation Requirements:

1. Completion of a minimum of 120 semester credits.
2. Overall grade point average of 2.0 (C) or above. (Departments may require a higher GPA.)
3. Residency hours--minimum of 30 credit hours through course attendance at UVU, with at least 10 hours earned in the last 45 hours.
4. Completion of GE and specified departmental requirements.
5. Completion of 40 hours of upper-division credit.
6. Successful completion of at least one Global/Intercultural course.

Note: It is recommended that students planning on earning a Baccalaureate Degree in Philosophy take a foreign language, preferably French or German, in their Freshman and Sophomore academic years. PHIL 120R Philosophy Forum, PHIL 290R Independent Study, PHIL 295R Directed Readings, PHIL 400R Great Philosophers, PHIL 492R Advanced Topics in Philosophy, PHIL 450R Interdisciplinary Senior Ethics Seminar, and PHIL 451R Ethical Theory Seminar can be repeated for credit.