Requirements:
Philosophy minors complete a minimum of six courses in Philosophy, including the two core courses (PH*U 1000 & 1100). Since the department offers a number of Senior Values seminars, one of the remaining four upper-level courses may be the course taken to fulfill the Senior Values requirement (but a minor need not chose a Values Seminar in Philosophy).
Hence, only three or four electives
beyond the required courses are necessary to
complete a minor in Philosophy. One
elective in Philosophy in each of the sophomore,
junior, and senior years along with a Senior
Values Seminar in Philosophy will give you the
minor.
Why minor in philosophy?
A minor in philosophy is an excellent supplement to several other liberal arts majors.
In addition to helping you develop the analytical skills needed for graduate school, it gives your academic record something distinctive which may be intriguing to potential employers. If you found your core classes in philosophy interesting, you have completed one third of the minor already, and developing your knowledge in this area will be personally rewarding. Studying philosophy can also give you a fluency in the history of thought that will be rewarding throughout life and invaluable in many different contexts.
Constructing a philosophy minor to complement
your major:
You should consult closely with your advisors for the major and the minor, but to illustrate the kinds of combinations that are possible, consider the following examples:
Sample philosophy minor for Psychology majors: Core + any four of:
- Philosophy of Emotions
- Emotions and the Good Life
- Journey to Selfhood
- Philosophy of Mind
- Mind, Brain, and Self
- Freud, Marx, Nietzsche and God
- Existential Philosophy and Psychology
- Love and Will
Sample philosophy minor for Political Science majors: Core + any four of:
- Philosophy of Law
- Theories of Justice
- Theories of Human Rights
- Contemporary Ethical Issues
- Introduction to Logic (especially for pre-law)
- Introduction to Symbolic Logic (especially
for pre-law)
- Marx's Social Theory
- Critical Social Theory
- Marxism and Communism
- American Identities (a Senior Values
Seminar)
- Rethinking Citizenship (a Senior Values
Seminar)
- Justice and Social Identity (a Senior Values Seminar)
- Values in Democracy (a Senior Values Seminar)
- Privacy in Law and Moral (a Senior Values Seminar)
- Morality and Politics (a Senior Values
Seminar)
- Environmental Ethics (a Senior Values Seminar)
Sample philosophy minor for Communications majors: Core + any four of:
- Language and Symbolism
- Introduction to Critical Thinking
- The Philosophy of Technology
- Philosophical Aesthetics
- Business Ethics
- Nietzsche and Postmodernism
- Philosophy and Creativity
Sample philosophy minor for Religious Studies or Theology major: Core + any four of:
- Quest for the Absolute
- The Problem of God
- Faith and Rationality
- Philosophy of Religion
- Journey to Selfhood
- Freud, Marx, Nietzsche and God
- Freedom and Destiny
- Medieval Philosophy
- Islamic Philosophy
- Chinese Philosophy
- Indian Philosophy
- Buddhist Philosophy
- Philosophies of the East
- Philosophy of Augustine
- Philosophy of Aquinas
- Religion and Morality (a Senior Values
Seminar)
Sample philosophy minor for History majors: Core + any four of:
- Ancient Philosophy
- Medieval Philosophy
- Four Medieval Thinkers
- Modern Philosophy I
- Modern Philosophy II
- Classical British Philosophy
- American Philosophy
- 20th Century Philosophy
Sample philosophy minor for students majoring
in one of the sciences: Core + any
four of:
- Galileo, Science, and Religion
- Philosophy of Science
- Philosophy of Mind
- Mind, Brain, and Self
- Philosophy of Technology
- Issues of Life and Death (a Senior Values Seminar)
- Environmental Ethics (a Senior Values Seminar)
