Seattle University Philosophy
Major Program

The following is a summary of information on the Seattle University Major in Philosophy, on the degree requirements for students coming to the major from the honors program, and on departmental honors in Philosophy. Complete information on requirements is available in the Seattle University Undergraduate Bulletin of Information.
New! View Philosophy's revised major curriculum here
The Philosophy Department has recently revised its curriculum to allow student to cluster their major electives around particular areas of philosophy. See the new bulletin description of the major and courses here

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy
In order to earn the bachelor of arts degree with a major in philosophy, students must complete a minimum of 180 credits with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 and major/program grade point average of 2.5, including the following:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements
ENGL 110 Freshman English 5
HIST 120 Origins of Western Civilization 5
ENGL 120 Masterpieces of Literature 5
MATH 107 or 110 or above 5
Lab Science 5
FINR 120 or approved fine arts alternate 5
Social Science I 5
Social Science II (different discipline from Social Science I) 5
Theology and Religious Studies Phase II (200-299) 5
Theology and Religious Studies Phase III (300-399) 5
Interdisciplinary 3 to 5
Senior Synthesis 3

II. College of Arts and Sciences Requirements
Foreign Language 115, 125, 135, or equivalent 15
Please Note: All students with a major in the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency in a foreign language through the 135 level. This competency is ordinarily achieved by successful completion of the three-course sequence: 115, 125, and 135. Because these courses are a college requirement, no courses in the sequence may be taken on a pass/fail, correspondence, or audit basis. Placement into other than the beginning course of the sequence is achieved by acceptable performance on the Foreign Language Competency Examination. See the Foreign Language Department for details on the examinations.
Choose one of the following two courses: 5
HIST 121 Studies in Modern Civilization
HIST 231 Survey of the United States

III. Major Requirements
Fifty-five credits in philosophy, including:
A. Foundations
PHIL 110* Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking 5
PHIL 220* Philosophy of the Human Person 5
PHIL 260 Logic 5
B. Ethics
PHIL 312, 345, 351, 352, 353, 354, 358, or 359 5
C. History and Traditions
PHIL 370 Modern Philosophy 5
PHIL 441 Greek Philosophy: Plato/Aristotle 5
PHIL 442 Medieval Philosophy: Augustine/Aquinas 5
PHIL 449 Major Figures in the Traditions 5
D. Topics and Controversies
PHIL Approved Electives (300-400 level) 15
*Please Note: Students who matriculate with 90 or more credits in transfer and no philosophy will substitute PHIL 210 for PHIL 110 and PHIL 220. Approved electives will then number 20 credits rather than 15.

Major Requirements for Seattle University Honors Program Students

Honors Program students who have successfully completed the HONR courses listed below are exempted from PHIL 220 and ethics, but need an additional 30 credits to complete the major: PHIL 260 or 261, 441, 449 and 15 credits of approved electives. They are credited with the following equivalents:

HONR 101 = PHIL 110
HONR 102/3 = PHIL 442
HONR 201 = PHIL 370
HONR 202 = PHIL 371
HONR 203 = PHIL 372

Departmental Honors in Philosophy

The philosophy departmental honors major offers an opportunity for motivated and capable students to engage in more extensive interaction with faculty and to complete challenging individual research projects that will further their personal and professional goals.

Application to the major: To be accepted to the program, students must have a cummulative and major/program grade point average of 3.5. Students must be recommended to the program by a philosophy faculty member who will take responsibility for directing that student's honors thesis, and they must be granted permission to participate in the program by the department chairperson. Interested students should apply in Spring quarter of the junior year or Fall quarter of the senior year.

Completion of the major: During senior year, departmental honors students will take a minimum of 10 credits of designated department honors course (PHIL 477 Philosophy Directed Reading, PHIL 478 Philosophy Honors Directed Study, and PHIL 479 Philosophy Honors Thesis Supervision). Students in the departmental honors program complete 10 credits of course work above the norm for philosophy majors (for a total of sixty-five credits in philosophy) and write a 25-40 page thesis under the direction of a faculty member. The thesis will be presented publicly at a defense before members of the faculty. In order to complete the requirements for departmental honors and receive a notation to that effect on their transcripts, students must also maintain a cumulative and major/program grade point average 3.5. In addition, the grade received for PHIL 479 Philosophy Honors Thesis Supervision, must be an A or A-.

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