BA with a Major in Philosophy
Degree Requirements
To earn a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences degree from UIC, students must complete university, college, and department degree requirements. The Department of Philosophy degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Summary of Requirements | ||
| Major Requirements | 33 | |
| General Education and Electives to reach minimum Total Hours | 87 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
General Education
See General Education and Writing-in-the-Discipline in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section for information on meeting these requirements.
Major Requirementsa
Of the 33 semester hours required for the major, students must complete at least 12 semester hours at the 400 level. Courses must be distributed across several broad areas as follows:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| PHIL 102 | Introductory Logic b | 3 |
| PHIL 300 | Fundamentals of Philosophical Discourse c | 3 |
| History of Philosophy | ||
| Select three courses, from at least two different groups: | 9 | |
Group 1 | ||
| Ancient Philosophy I: Plato and His Predecessors | ||
| Ancient Philosophy II: Aristotle and His Successors | ||
| Philosophy in the Islamic World | ||
| Studies in Medieval Philosophy | ||
| Topics in Ancient Philosophy | ||
Group 2 | ||
| History of Modern Philosophy I: Descartes and His Successors | ||
| History of Modern Philosophy II: Kant and His Predecessors | ||
| Studies in Early Modern Philosophy | ||
| Kant | ||
Group 3 | ||
| Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
| Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy | ||
| Continental Philosophy I: Phenomenology and Existentialism | ||
| Studies in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy | ||
| Analysis and Logical Empiricism | ||
| Special Studies in the History of Philosophy | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Theory of Knowledge | ||
| Philosophy of Psychology | ||
| Metaphysics | ||
| Introduction to the Philosophy of Science | ||
| Introduction to the Philosophy of Language | ||
| Symbolic Logic | ||
| Inductive Logic and Decision Making | ||
PHIL 215 | Philosophy of Computing and Machine Learning | |
| Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy | ||
| Continental Philosophy I: Phenomenology and Existentialism | ||
| Philosophy and Revelation: Jewish and Christian Perspectives | ||
| Philosophy of Religion | ||
| Theory of Knowledge | ||
| Topics in Philosophy of Mind | ||
| Metaphysics | ||
| Philosophy of Science | ||
| Topics in Philosophy of Language | ||
| Introduction to Formal Logic | ||
| Analysis and Logical Empiricism | ||
| Continental Philosophy II: European Thought Since 1960 | ||
| Topics in Philosophy of Religion | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Topics in Ethics and Political Philosophy | ||
PHIL 231 | Philosophy of Race and Racism | |
| Sex Roles: Moral and Political Issues | ||
| Philosophy and Film | ||
PHIL 315 | Ethics of Computing and Artificial Intelligence | |
PHIL 357 | Philosophy of Rhetoric | |
| Topics in Ethics | ||
| Topics in Social/Political Philosophy | ||
| Three additional philosophy courses, at least one of which must be above the 100 level | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
- a
A single course may only be counted toward one requirement. For example, PHIL 226 can be applied toward either the history (group 3) requirement or the elective requirement, but not both.
- b
PHIL 102 also fulfills the LAS Quantitative Reasoning requirement.
- c
PHIL 300 also fulfills the Writing-in-the-Discipline requirement.
Recommended Plan of Study
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| ENGL 160 | Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 4 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 4-5 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 3-5 | |
| Hours | 14-17 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| ENGL 161 | Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| PHIL 1xx | 3 | |
| Foreign Language | 4 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 3-5 | |
| Hours | 16-18 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| PHIL 102 | Introductory Logic a | 3 |
| PHIL 2xx | 3 | |
| Foreign Language | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| PHIL 2xx | 3 | |
| PHIL 2xx | 3 | |
| Foreign Language | 4 | |
| General Education Requirement course | 5 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| PHIL 300 | Fundamentals of Philosophical Discourse b | 3 |
| PHIL 2xx | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement course/Elective | 3 | |
| Electives | 6-9 | |
| Hours | 15-18 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| PHIL 4xx | 3 | |
| PHIL 4xx | 3 | |
| General Education Requirement course/Elective | 3 | |
| Electives | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| PHIL 4xx | 3 | |
| Electives | 12 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| PHIL 4xx | 3 | |
| Electives | 12 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
- a
Courses are offered every semester: PHIL 102 (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning requirement with a grade of C or better).
- b
PHIL 300 satisfies the Writing-in-the-Discipline requirement.
Note: Students must earn at least 40 advanced hours at a four-year college or university. These hours may include hours in the major.
Note: The General Education Requirement is nine courses, two laboratory courses from Analyzing the Natural World, one course from each of Understanding the Individual and Society, Understanding the Past, Understanding the Creative Arts , Exploring World Cultures, and Understanding U.S. Society. Two additional courses will be taken from any of these categories. Two Philosophy courses may be used to satisfy two of the nine courses in the General Education Requirement. Consult the catalog for the list.