Major & Minor Requirements

Philosophy examines concepts, presuppositions and implications that play across the range of human inquiry. 



Philosophy majors routinely do better than their peers on standardized tests used for admission to law schools, business schools and other graduate programs. Four years of instruction in logic and reasoning make philosophy majors good at critical thinking and clear communication. Those skills make students who study philosophy attractive to graduate schools but also to corporate employers. Employers frequently say that they want to hire employees who are broad thinkers and strategic problem solvers, as opposed to recent graduates who may have been trained in a very narrow discipline.



Recent philosophy majors at Richmond have gone on to pursue careers in law, medicine, business, sports, physics, religion, psychology, architecture, literary criticism, the military and, of course, philosophy itself.

  • Major

    The Philosophy Major

    Note: The grade point average of the coursework in philosophy comprising the major must be 2.00 or above with no more than one grade below C- (1.7).

    10 units, including:

    • PHIL251 Elementary Symbolic Logic

    • PHIL271 Ancient Greek Philosophy

    • PHIL272 Modern European Philosophy

    • PHIL353 Philosophical Methods: Majors'/ Minors' Seminar

    • Six units in electives as follows:

      • One 300-level elective chosen from Category I courses

      • One 300-level elective chosen from Category II courses

      • Two additional 300-level electives

      • One elective at the 200-level or above

      • One elective at any level which may include FYS 100 taught in Philosophy

    • Category I

    • Category II

  • Minor

    The Philosophy Minor

    Note: A grade of not less than C- (1.7) is required in each course comprising the minor.

    Five units, including:

    • PHIL271 Ancient Greek Philosophy

    • PHIL272 Modern European Philosophy

    • Three units of electives in Philosophy

      • 2 units at the 300-level or above

      • 1 unit at any level, which may include FYS100 taught by faculty from the Philosophy department