Philosophy Major (M)
This program nurtures the ability to engage in systematic thinking and provides you with the critical distance to call culture’s dominant assumptions into question and form your own responses. You’ll be immersed in the great conversation of history’s deepest thinkers, trained in logic and ethics, and able to defend faith and human dignity. Philosophy majors score amongst the highest on the LSAT, and have the independent thinking and transferable skills which employers prize. Philosophy is by nature an interdisciplinary subject, so a Philosophy major combines well with a wide variety of other majors and minors, including Theology, Computer Science, English, History, Psychology, and Art.
Program Learning Outcomes
By fulfilling all of the course requirements for the Bachelor's of Art in Philosophy, students will be able to:
- Vocation and Personal Application: Students will grow in their relationship with Christ and will put his teachings into practice in their vocations.
- Communication and Culture: Students will observe, assess, and interpret today’s cultures and world views. Students will be familiar with various methods of delivering and defending biblical truth in a relevant and practical way to diverse groups.
- Research Skills: Students will demonstrate an understanding of research skills in the discipline.
- Logic: The student will learn and use logic for argumentation.
- Ethics: The student will learn a variety of ethical theories and use them in practical problem solving.
- Epistemology: The student will learn a variety of theories of knowledge and study their implications for what can be known and how we know it.
- Metaphysics: The student will learn a variety of metaphysical theories and study their implications for what exists and why it exists.
- History of Philosophy: The student will learn the most important contributions of the great ancient, medieval, and modern philosophers.
- Apologetics: The student will become a competent defender of the Christian faith against the objections leveled by rival worldviews
Curriculum
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | 45 | |
| Major Requirements | 34 | |
| Electives (15 credits of electives may be used for MBA Fast Track) | 41 | |
Minor: Optional | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended Core Courses | ||
| Old Testament (AND REL 2020 recommended) 1 | ||
or REL 1000 | The Bible | |
| Biblical Theology (recommended) | ||
or REL 1100 | Christian Faith | |
| Required Courses | ||
| PHIL 2010 | Central Texts of Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 2110 | Elementary Logic | 3 |
| PHIL 2500 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3250 | Christian Apologetics | 3 |
| PHIL 4910 | Senior Seminar I | 1 |
| PHIL 4920 | Senior Seminar II | 3 |
| History of Philosophy Courses (select 2 of the following) | 6 | |
| Ancient Philosophy | ||
| Medieval Philosophy | ||
| Modern Philosophy | ||
| Major Electives | ||
| Select 12 credits of the following (9 credits must be PHIL classes, either from the list below or a substitute approved by the Philosophy Department). At least 6 credits must be at the 3000 level or higher. | 12 | |
| Special Topics in Philosophy | ||
| History and Philosophy of Science | ||
| C.S. Lewis: His Life and Christian Philosophy | ||
| Bioethical Dilemmas in Contemporary Society | ||
| Philosophy of Mind | ||
| Philosophy of Language | ||
| Aesthetics | ||
| Internship | ||
| Advanced Logic | ||
| Advanced Christian Apologetics | ||
Students may also take a third History of Philosophy class as one of their electives | ||
| Up to 3 credits may be taken from the following list of non-PHIL classes | ||
| Computational Dilemmas | ||
| Classical & Modern Rhetoric | ||
| Literary Criticism | ||
| A Survey of Christian Thought | ||
| Cosmogony | ||
| Total Hours | 34 | |
- 1
All students are strongly encouraged to take the church work track (REL 2010, REL 2020 and REL 2030) when completing their core Theology classes.
MBA Fast Track for Philosophy Majors
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| MBA Fast Track for Philosophy Majors (optional - will replace 15 elective credits) | 15 | |
| Business Foundations for Administrative Professions | ||
| Ethical Leadership for Dynamic Organizations | ||
| People-Focused Management | ||
| Financial Analyses to Drive Business Growth | ||
| Managerial Economics & Econometrics | ||
Plan - Philosophy
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| REL 2010 or REL 1000 |
Old Testament or The Bible |
3 |
| CCE 1010 | Christian Citizen | 3 |
| CCE 1030 | Western Thought & Worldview | 3 |
| ENG 1040 | Introduction to Writing | 3 |
| COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| PHIL 2010 | Central Texts of Philosophy | 3 |
| MINOR OR ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| CCE 1040 | Science & Humanity | 3 |
| HUMAN BEINGS & BEING HUMAN | 3 | |
| HUMAN CREATIVITY & EXPRESSION | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 3 | ||
| PHIL 2500 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| REL 2030 or REL 1100 |
Biblical Theology or Christian Faith |
3 |
| CCE 1020 | Western Culture & Worldview | 3 |
| MATH or CSC 1010 | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| HHP 1100 | Stewardship of the Body | 1 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 4 | ||
| PHIL 2110 | Elementary Logic | 3 |
| FAITH & LIFE | 3 | |
| SCIENCE WITH LAB | 4 | |
| SOCIETY & CULTURE | 3 | |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 5 | ||
| PHIL 3250 | Christian Apologetics | 3 |
| PHIL 4000 | Ancient Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| HHP | 1 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 6 | ||
| PHIL 4100 or PHIL 4500 |
Medieval Philosophy or Modern Philosophy |
3 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 7 | ||
| PHIL 4910 | Senior Seminar I | 1 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 2 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 8 | ||
| PHIL 4920 | Senior Seminar II | 3 |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE OR MINOR | 3 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Plan - Philosophy and Theological Languages Majors
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| CCE 1010 | Christian Citizen | 3 |
| ENG 1040 | Introduction to Writing | 3 |
| CCE 1030 | Western Thought & Worldview | 3 |
| REL 2010 | Old Testament | 3 |
| LAT 1050 | Latin I | 3 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| REL 2010 | Old Testament | 3 |
| PHIL 2010 | Central Texts of Philosophy | 3 |
| LAT 1060 | Latin II | 3 |
| LAT 2050 | Latin III | 3 |
| CCE 1040 | Science & Humanity | 3 |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 3 | ||
| GRK 2010 | Greek I | 3 |
| PHIL 2500 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| REL 2030 | Biblical Theology | 3 |
| CCE 1020 | Western Culture & Worldview | 3 |
| FAITH & LIFE | 3 | |
| HHP 1100 | Stewardship of the Body | 1 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 4 | ||
| GRK 2020 | Greek II | 3 |
| GRK 3010 | Greek III | 3 |
| PHIL 2110 | Elementary Logic (MATH OR CSC) | 3 |
| SCIENCE WITH LAB | 4 | |
| MATH OR COMPUTER SCIENCE | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 5 | ||
| GRK 3020 | Greek IV | 3 |
| HEB 2010 | Hebrew I | 3 |
| PHIL 3250 | Christian Apologetics | 3 |
| PHIL 4000 | Ancient Philosophy | 3 |
| HUMAN CREATIVITY & EXPRESSION | 3 | |
| HHP ACTIVITY COURSE | 1 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 6 | ||
| GRK 4010 | Greek V | 3 |
| HEB 2020 | Hebrew II | 3 |
| HEB 3010 | Hebrew III | 3 |
| PHIL 4100 or PHIL 4500 |
Medieval Philosophy or Modern Philosophy |
3 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 7 | ||
| GRK 4020 | Greek VI | 3 |
| HEB 3020 | Hebrew IV | 3 |
| PHIL 4910 | Senior Seminar I | 1 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| SOCIETY & CULTURE | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 8 | ||
| HEB 3020 | Hebrew IV | 3 |
| PHIL 4920 | Senior Seminar II | 3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 124 | |
Plan - MBA Fast Track for Philosophy Majors
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| REL 2010 or REL 1000 |
Old Testament or The Bible |
3 |
| CCE 1010 | Christian Citizen | 3 |
| CCE 1030 | Western Thought & Worldview | 3 |
| ENG 1040 | Introduction to Writing | 3 |
| COMMUNICATION & LANGUAGE | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| PHIL 2010 | Central Texts of Philosophy | 3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| CCE 1040 | Science & Humanity | 3 |
| HUMAN BEINGS & BEING HUMAN | 3 | |
| HUMAN CREATIVITY & EXPRESSION | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 3 | ||
| PHIL 2500 | Moral Philosophy | 3 |
| REL 2030 or REL 1100 |
Biblical Theology or Christian Faith |
3 |
| CCE 1020 | Western Culture & Worldview | 3 |
| MATH 2050 or CSC 1010 |
Statistics I or Foundations of Computer Science |
3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| HHP 1100 | Stewardship of the Body | 1 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 4 | ||
| PHIL 2110 | Elementary Logic | 3 |
| FAITH & LIFE | 3 | |
| SCIENCE W/LAB | 4 | |
| SOCIETY & CULTURE | 3 | |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 5 | ||
| PHIL 3250 | Christian Apologetics | 3 |
| PHIL 4000 | Ancient Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| BUS 5005 | Business Foundations for Administrative Professions | 3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| HHP ACTIVITY COURSE | 1 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Semester 6 | ||
| PHIL 4100 or PHIL 4500 |
Medieval Philosophy or Modern Philosophy |
3 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| BUS 5100 | Ethical Leadership for Dynamic Organizations | 3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 7 | ||
| PHIL 4910 | Senior Seminar I | 1 |
| PHIL ELECTIVE | 3 | |
| BUS 5110 | People-Focused Management | 3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 2 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 8 | ||
| PHIL 4920 | Senior Seminar II | 3 |
| BUS 5120 | Financial Analyses to Drive Business Growth | 3 |
| BUS 5140 | Managerial Economics & Econometrics | 3 |
| ELECTIVE/MINOR | 3 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Course options and schedule are subject to change.