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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:
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.
This graduation plan is a sample plan and is intended to be a guide. Your specific plan may differ based on your Math and English placement and/or transfer credits applied. You are encouraged to meet with an advisor and set up an individualized graduation plan in Wolverine Track.
Milestone courses (pre-requisites for a course in one of the subsequent semesters) are marked in red and Italicized.
Semester 1 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
ENGL 1010* or ENGH 1005 | Introduction to Academic Writing or Literacies and Composition Across Contexts | 3 |
Elective: MAT 1010* | Intermediate Algebra | 4 |
American Institutions | 3 | |
HLTH 1100/EXSC 1097 | Personal Health and Wellness/Fitness for Life | 2 |
Elective | 4 | |
Semester total: | 16 | |
Semester 2 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
ENGL 2010 | Intermediate Writing/Academic Writing and Research | 3 |
MAT 1030 or MAH 1035 or STAT 1040 or STAT 1045 or MATH 1050 or MATH 1055 or MATH 1090 | Quantitative Reasoning or Quantitative Reasoning with Integrated Algebra or Introduction to Statistics or Introduction to Statistics with Algebra or College Algebra or College Algebra with Preliminaries or College Algebra for Business | 3 |
PHIL 1250 | Logical Thinking & Philosophical Writing (lower-division philosophy elective) | 3 |
Humanities | HUM 1010-Humanities Through the Arts (recommended) | 3 |
Elective | 4 | |
Semester total: | 16 | |
Semester 3 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
PHIL 2050/205G/205H | Ethics and Values | 3 |
Biology | 3 | |
Social/Behavioral Science | 3 | |
Elective | 4 | |
PHIL 2110 | Ancient Greek Philosophy WE | 3 |
Semester total: | 16 | |
Semester 4 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
Physical Science | 3 | |
Fine Art | 3 | |
Elective | 4 | |
PHIL 2150 | Early Modern Philosophy (Spring) | 3 |
PHIL 290G | Marginalized Philosophies | 3 |
Semester total: | 16 | |
Semester 5 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
Third Science | 3 | |
VALUE THEORY SET | 3 | |
PHIL 2000 | Formal Logic I | 3 |
Elective | 3 | |
Elective | 1 | |
Semester total: | 13 | |
Semester 6 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
PHIL Elective | 3 | |
PHIL Elective | 3 | |
PHIL Elective | 3 | |
Elective | 3 | |
Elective | 3 | |
Semester total: | 15 | |
Semester 7 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
PHIL 480R | Philosophy Capstone Prep | 1 |
HISTORY SET | 3 | |
PHIL Elective | 3 | |
Elective | 3 | |
Upper-Division Elective | 3 | |
Semester total: | 13 | |
Semester 8 | Course Title | Credit Hours |
PHIL 4910 | Philosophy Research Capstone WE | 3 |
Upper-Division Elective | 3 | |
Upper-Division Elective | 3 | |
Upper-Division Elective | 3 | |
Upper-Division Elective | 3 | |
Semester total: | 15 | |
Degree total: | 120 |
The Philosophy and Humanities department is in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences . To find the most up-to-date information, including Program Learning Outcomes for degree programs offered by the Philosophy and Humanities department, visit their website.