Philosophy

Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy

For the undergraduate degree in philosophy, students must take 33 to 45 credit hours in philosophy, earning 33 hours with a grade of C- or better in each course in philosophy and 2.00 (C) average for all work attempted in philosophy. Also, students must take 18 hours of upper-division work in philosophy with a grade of C- or better, with at least 12 of those 18 credit hours completed on the CU-Boulder campus. No more than 8 credit hours of independent study may count toward the minimum requirement.

Students are advised to consult the online Schedule Planner for the most accurate information on prerequisites, since these sometimes vary with instructors.

Courses may be taken in any order providing prerequisites, if any, are met. However, the department strongly recommends completion of PHIL 2440, 3000, 3010, and 3480 in the first year of the major program.

Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below.

Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours

History (three courses)—9

• PHIL 3000 History of Ancient Philosophy, Ancient and Medieval
• PHIL 3010 History of Modern Philosophy, Modern
• One course of the following:
  PHIL 4010 Single Philosopher
  PHIL 4020 Topics in the History of Philosophy
  PHIL 4030 Medieval Philosophy
  PHIL 4040 20th Century Philosophy
  PHIL 4070 Existentialist Philosophy
  PHIL 4080 Introduction to Phenomenology
  PHIL 4250 Marxism

Logic (one of the following courses)—3

• PHIL 2440 Symbolic Logic
• PHIL 4440 Topics in Logic

Philosophical Writing (one course)—3

• PHIL 3480 Critical Thinking and Writing in Philosophy (prereq. or coreq., PHIL 2440 Symbolic Logic)

Values (two courses)

• The following required course: PHIL 3100 Ethical Theory (prereq. or coreq., PHIL 3480 Critical Thinking and Writing in Philosophy)—3
• One of the following additional courses—3
  PHIL 2140 Environmental Justice
  PHIL 2200 Major Social Theories
  PHIL 2220 Philosophy and Law
  PHIL 2290 Philosophy and Women
  PHIL 3110 Feminist Practical Ethics
  PHIL 3140 Environmental Ethics
  PHIL 3160 Bioethics
  PHIL 3190 War and Morality
  PHIL 3200 Social and Political Philosophy
  PHIL 3260 Philosophy and the International Order
  PHIL 4110 Contemporary Moral Theory
  PHIL 4200 Contemporary Political Philosophy
  PHIL 4250 Marxism

Metaphysics and Epistemology (two courses)

• The following required course: PHIL 4340 Epistemology (prereqs. PHIL 2440 Symbolic Logic and PHIL 3010 History of Modern Philosophy; prereq. or coreq. PHIL 3480 Critical Thinking and Writing in Philosophy)—3
• One of the following additional courses—3
  PHIL 3600 Philosophy of Religion
  PHIL 4300 Philosophy of Mind
  PHIL 4360 Metaphysics
  PHIL 4400 Philosophy of Science
  PHIL 4490 Philosophy of Language

Electives (two courses) (includes all courses that are at the 2000 level or above, and are not taken to satisfy any of the above requirements)—6

Note: The department offers topically oriented majors that are interdisciplinary in nature, including law and society, and values and social policy. These majors require two semesters in the history of philosophy, as well as a series of core courses that vary according to the topic. A student intending to complete a topical major in philosophy should see the departmental undergraduate advisor as soon as possible.

Graduating in Four Years

Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of “adequate progress” as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in philosophy, students should meet the following requirements:

• Declare major by the beginning of the second semester.
• Complete an average of 6.7 credit hours of required philosophy courses in each of the next five semesters.
• Meet with the undergraduate advisor at the time the major is declared.
• Complete PHIL 2440, PHIL 3480, PHIL 3000, and PHIL 3010 by the end of the fifth semester of study.

Minor Program

A minor is offered in philosophy. Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU-Boulder, regardless of college or school.

For the minor in philosophy, students must take 18 credit hours in philosophy, earning 18 hours with a grade of C- or better and a 2.000 (C) average for all work attempted in philosophy. Also, students must take 9 hours of upper-division work in philosophy with grades of C- or better. Minor students may apply no more than 9 credit hours, including 6 upper-division credit hours of transfer work, toward a minor.

Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours

Logic (one course)—3

• PHIL 1440 Introduction to Logic
• PHIL 2440 Symbolic Logic
• PHIL 4440 Topics in Logic (prereq., 12 hours PHIL course work, including PHIL 2440 or equivalent)

History of Philosophy—6

One course from the following:

• PHIL 1010 Introduction to Western Thought: Ancient
• PHIL 1020 Introduction to Western Thought: Modern
• PHIL 3000 History of Ancient Philosophy (prereq., 6 hours PHIL course work)
• PHIL 3010 History of Modern Philosophy (prereq., 6 hours PHIL course work)

And one course from the following:

• PHIL 1100 Ethics
• PHIL 1200 Philosophy and Society
• PHIL 3100 Ethical Theory (prereq., 6 hours PHIL course work, prereq. or coreq., PHIL 3480)
• PHIL 3200 Social and Political Philosophy (prereq. 6 hours PHIL course work)