BA Philosophy

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Program Learning Objectives

  1. Significant critical skill
  2. Sound command of logic
  3. Competence at philosophical writing
  4. Good, general knowledge of the history of philosophy
  5. Grasp of main currents in contemporary philosophy
  6. Familiarity with methods of contemporary philosophical inquiry

Degree Requirements and Curriculum

In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:

  • 60 units of upper-division courses
  • Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
  • 2.0 GPA
  • U.S. Cultural Pluralism 

Note: No Major, Support or Concentration courses may be selected as credit/no credit.

MAJOR COURSES
PHIL 101Introduction to Philosophy4
PHIL 126Logic and Argumentative Writing (A3) 14
PHIL 230Philosophical Classics: Knowledge and Reality (C2) 14
PHIL 231Philosophical Classics: Ethics and Political Philosophy (GE Electives) 14
PHIL 241Symbolic Logic4
PHIL 300Philosophical Writing and Research4
PHIL 321Philosophy of Science (Upper-Division C) 14
PHIL 331Ethics4
PHIL 411Metaphysics4
PHIL 412Epistemology4
PHIL 459Senior Project Preparation1
PHIL 460Senior Project I1
PHIL 461Senior Project II2
History of Philosophy Electives
Select from the following:4
Early Greek Philosophy through Plato
Aristotle and Hellenistic Philosophy
Medieval Philosophy
Select from the following:4
Early Modern Rationalism
Early Modern Empiricism
Kant and 19th Century European Philosophy
Select from the following:4
History of Analytic Philosophy
Phenomenology
Existentialism
Select from History of Philosophy Electives listed above or PHIL 4294
Choose PHIL Electives (20 units) at the 300-400 level, or declare a concentration (see below). 2,320
Arts and Humanities Breadth
Upper-Division C (General Education) course not in PHIL 44
GENERAL EDUCATION (GE)
(See GE program requirements below.)56
FREE ELECTIVES
Free Electives40
Total units180

Concentrations

General Education (GE) Requirements

  • 72 units required, 16 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
  • If any of the remaining 56 units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
  • See the complete GE course listing.
  • A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: A1 (Oral Communication), A2 (Written Communication), A3 (Critical Thinking), and B4 (Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning). 
Area AEnglish Language Communication and Critical Thinking
A1Oral Communication4
A2Written Communication4
A3Critical Thinking (4 units in Major) 10
Area BScientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning
B1Physical Science4
B2Life Science4
B3One lab taken with either a B1 or B2 course
B4Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning4
Upper-Division B4
Area CArts and Humanities
Lower-division courses in Area C must come from three different subject prefixes.
C1Arts: Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theater4
C2Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English (4 units in Major) 10
Lower-Division C Elective - Select a course from either C1 or C24
Upper-Division C (4 units in Major) 10
Area DSocial Sciences - Select courses in Area D from at least two different prefixes
D1American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement)4
D2Lower-Division D4
Upper-Division D4
Area ELifelong Learning and Self-Development
Lower-Division E4
Area F Ethnic Studies
F Ethnic Studies4
GE Electives in Areas B, C, and D
Select courses from two different areas; may be lower-division or upper-division courses.
GE Electives (4 units in Major plus 4 units in GE) 14
Total units56