Department of Philosophy - University of Missouri-Columbia

Majoring in Philosophy

To major in philosophy, you need to

  • Take a total of 30 hours in Philosophy, plus complete a minor or second major in another discipline.
  • Take, in particular:
    • PHIL 2700: Mathematical Logic [logic requirement]
    • At least one of the following:
      • PHIL 1100 (Introduction to Ethics)
      • PHIL 4600 (Political and Social Philosophy)
      • PHIL 4500: Theories of Ethics [ethics requirement]
    • Both of the following:
      • PHIL 3000 (Ancient Western Philosophy)
      • PHIL 3200 (Modern Philosophy) [history requirement]
    • At least one of the following:
      • PHIL 4200 (Metaphysics)
      • PHIL 4300 (Epistemology)
      • PHIL 4210 (Philosophy of Mind)
      • PHIL 4100 (Philosophy of Language)
      • PHIL 4400 (Philosophy of Science) [metaphysics and epistemology requirement]
    • At least two (2) 4000-level courses in addition to those 4000-level courses used to fulfill other requirements [upper-class requirement]
    • PHIL 4950 (Senior Seminar) [capstone experience requirement]
    • Six (6) hours of electives
  • Observe the following restrictions:
    • No course may be used to fulfill more than one of these requirements (i.e., no double-dipping).
    • No more than two courses below the 2000-level count toward the major.
    • No course counts toward the philosophy major unless the grade is C- or higher.
    • At least one course in Philosophy must be writing intensive.
  • If you would like to major or double-major in Philosophy, download the Graduation Plan (pdf) with Instructions and follow the instructions.
  • If you have any questions about majoring in philosophy, you should contact the Undergraduate adviser.

To double-major in philosophy and something else, you need to

  • Meet the major requirements of both the philosophy department and the other department.
  • Use courses from each department to meet the minor requirement of the other department.
  • Have the program for each department approved by the adviser for each department.

To major in philosophy with honors, you need to

  • To earn a BA with honors in philosophy, a student must earn a 3.3 GPA overall and a 3.7 GPA in all philosophy courses; meet all the standard requirements for the regular philosophy major; in addition take Phil 4998 (Honors I) and Phil 4999 (Honors II), writing a satisfactory senior thesis, normally 6,000-10,000 words in length, under the guidance of a faculty member who has consented to work with the student; and pass an oral examination on the thesis before a committee of three members of the philosophy faculty.
  • If you have any questions about majoring with Honors in philosophy, you should contact the Undergraduate adviser.

If you are interested in going to graduate school in philosophy, you should

  • See the Director of Undergraduate Studies as early as possible in your studies. Successful applications to graduate school in philosophy require early planning, including the selection of the right courses to take.

If you have any questions,