Philosophy Major & Minor
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.
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:
PHIL 251 Elementary Symbolic Logic
PHIL 271 Ancient Greek Philosophy
PHIL 272 Modern Western Philosophy
PHIL 353 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
PHIL 314 Philosophy of Science
PHIL 343 Twentieth-Century Analytic Philosophy
PHIL 344 Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy
PHIL 351 Topics Seminar Historial I
PHIL 362 Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 365 Action, Responsibility and Free Will
PHIL 370 Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 373 Epistemology
PHIL 381 Topics Seminar Issues I
Category II
PHIL 336 Nineteenth-Century European Philosophy
PHIL 337 Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 352 Topics Seminar Historial II
PHIL 359 Thinking and Seeing: Philosophy and the Visual Arts
PHIL 360 Ethics
PHIL 363 Power and Politics
PHIL 364 Philosophy of Law
PHIL 375 Ethics and Practical Reasoning
PHIL 382 Topics Seminar Issues II
The Philosophy Minor
Note: A grade of not less than C- (1.7) is required in each course comprising the minor.
Five units, including:
PHIL 271 Ancient Greek Philosophy
PHIL 272 Modern Western Philosophy
Three units of electives in Philosophy
2 units at the 300-level or above
1 unit at any level, which may include FYS 100 taught by faculty from the Philosophy department
