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.

Summary of Requirements
Major Requirements33
General Education and Electives to reach minimum Total Hours87
Total Hours120

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:

Required Courses
PHIL 102Introductory Logic b3
PHIL 300Fundamentals of Philosophical Discourse c3
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 level9
Total Hours33
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

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall SemesterHours
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
 Hours14-17
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
 Hours16-18
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
 Hours15
Spring Semester
PHIL 2xx 3
PHIL 2xx 3
Foreign Language 4
General Education Requirement course 5
 Hours15
Third Year
Fall Semester
PHIL 300 Fundamentals of Philosophical Discourse b 3
PHIL 2xx 3
General Education Requirement course/Elective 3
Electives 6-9
 Hours15-18
Spring Semester
PHIL 4xx 3
PHIL 4xx 3
General Education Requirement course/Elective 3
Electives 6
 Hours15
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
PHIL 4xx 3
Electives 12
 Hours15
Spring Semester
PHIL 4xx 3
Electives 12
 Hours15
 Total Hours120
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.