The Department of Philosophy serves the needs of the student who seeks an understanding of philosophical issues for personal enrichment, the student who desires a more fundamental appreciation of philosophy in support of law, medicine, business, and various academic disciplines, and the student who wishes to continue the study of philosophy at the graduate level.
Through its courses and programs, the department acquaints students with various philosophical systems and with basic problems posed by diverse thinkers. Courses have been designed to highlight both the humanistic and technical features of philosophy.
The department also recognizes the important need for skills and training. Its courses in logic and analysis have been designed to help students become more perceptive in their experiences and more critical in their thinking.
Further, the department is aware that, in our age of rapid change, society often tends to neglect the meaning and worth of the person. Courses are therefore offered that investigate and emphasize the dignity of the person. By helping students understand the nature and grounds of ethical judgments, these courses aim to promote an appreciation and ordering of human values.
The department has designed all of its course offerings with the aim of both ensuring that our Liberal Studies courses remain responsive to the needs of the student who does not plan to specialize in philosophy and offering the student who chooses to major or minor in philosophy a rich and diverse curriculum.
The department is particularly proud of its Philosophy Circle, an undergraduate philosophy club which provides a forum for the exchange of ideas between faculty and students.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Liberal Studies Requirements | 84 |
| Major Requirements | 52 |
| Open Electives | 56 |
| Total hours required | 192 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Critically discuss philosophical issues (via well-grounded arguments) and questions from the perspectives of multiple methods, traditions, and historical contexts.
- Evaluate philosophical issues, questions, and problems critically and analytically.
- Write an articulate and well-ordered essay presenting philosophical positions in a way that addresses philosophical issues and questions.
- Formulate and evaluate their own understanding of a diverse range of philosophical problems, in both writing and discussion.
- Integrate a critical understanding of central philosophical ideas from the history of philosophy, broadly construed to include more than the Western tradition.
College Core Requirements
Study in the Major Field
The student’s course of study in the College consists of three parts: Liberal Studies, the major field, and electives. Together these three parts contribute to the liberal education of the student which is the common purpose of all study in the College. By “liberal education” the College understands not only a deep and thorough knowledge of a particular area of study but a knowledge of the diverse areas of study represented by criticism, history, the arts, the behavioral and social sciences, philosophy, religious studies, the natural science, and mathematics.
The major field program generally is built upon a set of core courses and a specialized “concentration.” The number of courses required for a major varies by department. Most students go beyond the minimum requirements, electing additional courses which both broaden and deepen their understanding of their chosen discipline.
Because no academic major program is built in isolation, students are required to pursue a number of electives of the student’s choice. The inherent flexibility of this curriculum demands that the student consult an academic advisor at each stage in the total program and at least once prior to each registration.
Students will be prompted to visit the College Office for their official graduation check early in their senior year.
Declaration of Major, Minor and Concentration
All students in the College are required to declare a major field prior to beginning their junior year. The student will then be assigned a faculty advisor in the major field department or program and should make an appointment to see that advisor at his or her earliest convenience.
Students must declare or change majors, minors, and concentrations, via Campus Connection. However, for the purpose of exploring the possibility of changing a major field, the student should consult an academic advisor in the Office for Academic Advising Support.
The Modern Language Requirement (MLR)
All students will be required to demonstrate competence in a modern language (i.e., a language other than English) equivalent to the proficiency attained from one year of college-level language study. This Modern Language Requirement (MLR) may be demonstrated by:
- placing into 104 or above on the DePaul language placement exam
- completing the last course or earning AP/IB credit for the last course in the first-year college sequence of any language (e.g. 103 for DePaul language classes)
- completing a college course or earning AP/IB credit for a college course beyond the first-year level in any language (e.g. 104 or above for DePaul language classes)
- completing the final course of a four-year sequence of the same modern language in high school*
- completing a proctored exam by BYU and passing the exam (see the Department of Modern Languages website for registration details)
- completing a proctored Written Proficiency Test (WPT) by Language Testing International (LTI) and achieving a score of Beginner High or above (see the Department of Modern Languages website for registration details)
*Students are strongly encouraged to take the DePaul language placement exam even if they have met the MLR via study of a language in high school. This will ensure continuation of language study at the proper level.
Please note: Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Modern Language Requirement.
Students who complete an Inter-College Transfer (ICT) to the College will abide by the MLR in place on the effective date of the ICT, regardless of when they first matriculated at DePaul.
Students who have met the MLR and wish to pursue further work in the language may elect the “Modern Language Option” (see below).
The Modern Language Option (MLO)
The Modern Language Option is available to all BA students who wish to study a modern language beyond the level required by their College, and to all other undergraduate students without a modern language requirement who wish to study a language at any level.
Students selecting the MLO may substitute a sequence of three courses in the same language for three domain courses.
The three MLO substitutions must be made in three different domains, and any substitutions must be consistent with the principle that students complete at least one course in each learning domain.
MLO substitutions may not be used to replace requirements in the Math & Computing, and Scientific Inquiry, domains.
Students majoring in one modern language may use the Modern Language Option for study of a second language at the Intermediate level or above.
Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Modern Language Option.
NOTE: Please contact your college/school regarding additional information and restrictions about the Modern Language Option.
External Credit and Residency
A student who has been admitted to the College begins residency within the college as of the first day of classes of the term in which the student is registered. Students in residence, whether attending on a full-time or part-time basis, may not take courses away from DePaul University without the written permission of the college. Permission must be obtained in advance of registration to avoid loss of credit or residency in the college; see the LAS website for more information.
Liberal Studies Requirements
Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.
| First Year Program | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Quarter | ||
| LSP 110 or LSP 111 | DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO | 4 |
| Focal Point | ||
| LSP 112 | FOCAL POINT SEMINAR | 4 |
| Writing | ||
| WRD 103 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 | 4 |
| WRD 104 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 | 4 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| MAT 120 | QUANTITATIVE REASONING 2 | 4 |
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Race, Power, and Resistance | ||
| LSP 200 | SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE | 4 |
| Junior Year | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Required | 4 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Capstone | ||
| PHL 391 | SENIOR CAPSTONE SEMINAR 1,3 | 4 |
- 1
Students must earn a C- or better in this course.
- 2
Readiness for MAT 120 is determined by the math placement test taken online after admission. Students may need to take developmental coursework prior to MAT 120 . The MAT 120 requirement may be waived by credit already earned for advanced math coursework or by passing a dedicated proficiency exam. Students who complete MAT 120 and both a Computational Reasoning course and a Statistical Reasoning course in the Math and Computing Domain take one less Learning Domain course. Students may not apply the course reduction to any Domain where only one course is required, and cannot be applied to the SI Domain.
- 3
A student majoring in Philosophy (PHL) is required to complete the Capstone offered by the PHL Department. This is the case even if a student is double majoring (or pursuing a dual degree) and the secondary major (or degree) requires its own Capstone. A PHL major in the University Honors Program shall take the University Honors Capstone and the PHL Capstone.
Learning Domains
Arts and Literature (AL)
- 3 Courses Required
Historical Inquiry (HI)
- 2 Courses Required
Math and Computing (MC)
- 2 Courses Required
[1 CR Course and 1 SR Course]
Philosophical Inquiry (PI)
- Not Required
Religious Dimensions (RD)
- 2 Courses Required
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
- 2 Courses Required
[1 Lab Course and 1 SWK Course]
Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)
- 3 Courses Required
Notes
Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the Experiential Learning requirement.
In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.
Major Requirements
Course Requirements
Please note that PHL 100 or HON 105 or any 200-level PHL course is the prerequisite for most 300-level philosophy courses and for the 200-level History Sequence courses.
Basic Prerequisite (1)
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one introductory course: | 4 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY | ||
| PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY | ||
Value Studies (1)
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one course from the following list of 200-level Value Studies courses: | 4 | |
| ETHICAL THEORIES | ||
| PHILOSOPHY OF GOD | ||
| EXISTENTIAL THEMES | ||
| TOPICS AND CONTROVERSIES | ||
| WHAT IS A PERSON? | ||
| NEUROETHICS | ||
| BIOMEDICAL ETHICS | ||
| CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN ETHICS | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND RACE | ||
| WHAT IS FREEDOM? | ||
| ISSUES IN SEX AND GENDER | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND MODERN SOCIETY | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND THE CITY | ||
| PHILOSOPHY, CONFLICT AND PEACE | ||
| FEMINIST PHILOSOPHIES | ||
| LOVE, HATRED, AND RESENTMENT | ||
| ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND TECHNOLOGY | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND FILM | ||
| PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION | ||
| REASON AND SOCIETY | ||
| BLACK AESTHETIC THOUGHT | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND THE VALUE OF MUSIC | ||
| BUSINESS ETHICS | ||
| PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL CHANGE | ||
| GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES | ||
| PHILOSOPHICAL CRITIQUES OF COLONIALISM | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN PHILOSOPHIES | ||
Cognitive Skills (1)
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one course from the following list of Cognitive Skills courses: | 4 | |
| CRITICAL THINKING | ||
| BASIC LOGIC | ||
| SYMBOLIC LOGIC I | ||
| SYMBOLIC LOGIC II | ||
History Sequence (3)
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select PHL 293 plus any two of the remaining History Sequence courses. | 12 | |
| ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY | ||
| MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY | ||
| EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY | ||
| KANT & 19TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY | ||
| 20TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY | ||
Major Field Electives (7)
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select seven of any remaining PHL courses, at least five of which must be 300-level courses. | 28 | |
Capstone Seminar (1)
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHL 391 | SENIOR CAPSTONE SEMINAR | 4 |
Additional Considerations
Each student is expected to consult with their departmental advisor on course selection. With departmental permission, a senior may take one course selected from the graduate offerings in philosophy. Certain courses in other departments may be acceptable equivalents for philosophy credit. Seniors who have a superior record in philosophy may petition to do a Senior Thesis. The regular program of courses is supplemented by philosophical symposia, departmental colloquia, and mini-courses featuring prominent philosophers