Philosophy Program Requirements

Faculty

• Kara Barnette
• Nicholas D. More (Chair)
• Michael A. Popich

View Philosophy Courses

Program Goals

A university education is valuable because of the skills that are learned and honed through practice. Students in philosophy learn to:

• understand the truth and value claims that surround us every day
• logically analyze the arguments offered to support such claims
• reflect on our own assumptions and reasoning
• explain their own views and provide supporting arguments
• develop wise decision-making based on the best intellectual practices
• appreciate how systems of thought affect what we value, and how we live
• write and speak with confidence to effectively persuade others
• seek what is good in life to bring benefits to all, wherever and whenever possible

The best education makes us flexible, accomplished thinkers, able to thrive in all settings because we have the skills to analyze complexity, assess evidence, evaluate situations, and communicate our understanding to others with logical precision and cogency. No university discipline teaches more timeless, adaptable, and valuable skills than philosophy.

Objectives

Philosophy teaches us how to think deeply about what we’re doing in life, what it means, and why it matters. It asks the difficult questions that every culture seeks to answer.

Philosophers evaluate what we know in all fields, consider what actually has value, and apply diverse experience and insight to improve human life in community with others. This is achieved through the creative power of ethical thought, imagination, and rational persuasion. Philosophers spur transformative change by rethinking our fundamental assumptions and ways of life.

What can I do with a Philosophy degree?

• Succeed in all industries that value logical thinking, conceptual imagination, and thoughtful communication
• Succeed in law school (philosophy majors have the highest average score on the LSAT, the entrance exam for law school)
• Succeed in graduate programs of all kinds (because philosophy is the fundamental theory language of every academic field at its frontier, from physics to AI programming, from ethical health care to business operations, from aesthetics to political modeling)
• Succeed in the creative world of the arts and entertainment where generating your own ideas and insights is key (countless artists, comics, and writers have studied philosophy)
• Succeed in the non-profit sector where people pursue social values and goals
• Succeed in government service or community activism by problem solving and persuading others to question the status quo and try new ideas

Philosophy majors make well above the average salary of all university majors (see www.hamiltonproject.org/data/career-earnings-by-college-major/).

The Philosophy Program offers an academic major in philosophy leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as an academic minor.

Students majoring in Philosophy who plan to pursue an M.A. or Ph.D. in the field should plan for graduate school, with the assistance of the Philosophy faculty, no later than the second semester of their junior year.

Students majoring or minoring in philosophy with a GPA of 3.5 overall and in philosophy coursework may be invited to become members of Phi Sigma Tau, the international undergraduate Philosophy Honor Society. Westminster University’s Utah chapter is the oldest in the state.

Overall, philosophy is the ultimate adaptable degree. What can you do with philosophy? Anything you set your mind to—because you will have gained the skills of a thoughtful person, interested not just in what’s the case now, but in what’s possible tomorrow.

Program Requirements

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.3 GPA in courses required in the Philosophy major.

Students must meet the university-wide graduation requirements in addition to the Philosophy major:

• 124 total hours
• 30 upper division hours
• WCore or Honors College requirements

Bachelor of Arts - Philosophy Major 

HON 201 and 202 Foundational Conversations I & II may be substituted for any two of the following three courses required of philosophy program majors: PHIL 102, one lower-division course, an additional 200 level course. HON 203 Foundational Conversations III may be substituted for one of these courses. For the minor, HON 201 and 202 Foundational Conversations I & II may be substituted for any two of the following courses: PHIL 102, PHIL 216, or PHIL 221, and HON 203 Foundational Conversations III may be substituted for one of these courses.

Bachelor of Science - Philosophy Major

For a Bachelor of Science degree in Philosophy, students must fulfill the same requirements as for the Bachelor of Arts degree, except that students are required to take eight credit hours of a laboratory science in lieu of the history requirement.

HON 201 and 202 Foundational Conversations I & II may be substituted for any two of the following three courses required of philosophy program majors: PHIL 102, one lower-division course, an additional 200 level course. HON 203 Foundational Conversations III may be substituted for one of these courses. For the minor, HON 201 and 202 Foundational Conversations I & II may be substituted for any two of the following courses: PHIL 102, PHIL 216, or PHIL 221, and HON 203 Foundational Conversations III may be substituted for one of these courses. 

Recommended Plan of Study (B.A. or B.S.)

* It is recommended that students take 2 hours of PHIL 300 during May Term for all four years.

Philosophy majors can take a combination of upper division courses in order to meet the catalog requirements for 14 (minimum) elective hours in Philosophy. For example, in their sophomore and junior years they could take 2 or 3 courses as 300-level electives (offered in the Fall and Spring semesters) and then take several 2-credit May Term Philosophy 300 special topics courses. Alternatively, the student could take several 300-level electives in their junior and senior years and several 2-credit Philosophy 300 special topics May Term courses over their sophomore, junior and senior years in order to reach the 14-hour (minimum) electives requirement in Philosophy.

Honors College students who complete HON 201 and HON 202 can have two of the three lower-division philosophy major course requirements fulfilled. To meet the lower-division requirement, Honors College students may take any one WCore course offered by the department, including PHIL 124: Ethics and the Profit Motive; PHIL 207: Humor and Philosophy; PHIL 208: The Philosophy of Love and Sex; PHIL 209: Poverty and Global Justice; and PHIL 216: Ethical Issues in Health Care.

Philosophy Minor