Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
MAJOR AND MINOR DESCRIPTIONS BY DEPARTMENT
PHILOSOPHY
The University of Pittsburgh has one of the best philosophy departments in the country, one with a long tradition of fine teaching. A major in philosophy provides excellent preparation for such professions as law, medicine, and business. The conceptual sophistication imparted by training in philosophy is invaluable in virtually any field of learning or any serious profession. For example, students who are majoring in biology, psychology, history, or computer science would do well to pick up a second major in philosophy, something the Department of Philosophy encourages by offering a standard major track along with its more time-consuming intensive major track. A minor in philosophy is also available. While the department encourages students to major in philosophy, either alone or as a second major, only rarely does it encourage students to pursue philosophy in graduate school as preparation for a scholarly career. Students who do especially well in either the standard or intensive major program are graduated with honors in philosophy. Because of the national reputation of the philosophy department, a major in philosophy or honors in philosophy should materially help University of Pittsburgh graduates get into good graduate schools or professional schools. For more information on the program and the Department of Philosophy, see www.philosophy.pitt.edu.
Major Requirements
The standard philosophy major track requires at least 24 credits, while the intensive philosophy major track requires a minimum of 36 credits, as detailed below:
- The standard major track requires the following courses:
- PHIL 0500 Introduction to Logic or any 1500 level course (Logic group)
- PHIL 0200 History of Ancient Philosophy or 1020 Plato or 1040 Aristotle
- PHIL 0210 History of Modern Philosophy or 1110 Rationalism or 1140 Empiricism
- PHIL 0300 Introduction to Ethics or any 300 or 1300-level course (the value theory group)
- Any four 1000-level courses beyond those outlined above
- The intensive major track requires the following courses:
NOTE: the intensive major has no official standing and should be thought of as a recommendation only.
- PHIL 0500 Introduction to Logic (or 1500 Symbolic Logic)
- PHIL 0200 History of Ancient Philosophy (or 1020 Plato or 1040 Aristotle)
- PHIL 0210 History of Modern Philosophy (or 1110 Rationalism or 1140 Empiricism)
- At least five 1000-level courses beyond those counted above to include at least one course from each of the four groups:
- PHIL 1020–1190 History of Philosophy
- PHIL 1300–1390 Value Theory
- PHIL 1420–1490 Metaphysics and Epistemology
- PHIL 1500–1690 Logic and Philosophy of Science
- An acceptable senior paper. The student must sign up either for PHIL 1940 Honors Thesis (3 credits) or PHIL 1940 and 1941 Honors Thesis 1 and Honors Thesis 2 (6 credits), with the prior permission of a faculty member who has agreed to supervise the student’s work. Neither PHIL 1940 nor 1941 counts toward the five 1000-level courses mentioned above.
- The following rules and requirements apply to all philosophy majors, regardless of the track chosen:
- Only those philosophy courses completed with a grade of C or better will count for the major.
- No restrictions are placed on the number of courses taken under the S/NC option (formerly the S/N option).
- Arrangements for credit by examination in appropriate cases may be made through departmental advisors.
- There are no departmental second language requirements; however, students who plan to pursue philosophy in graduate school are strongly encouraged to develop at least a good reading competence in one or more second languages of special relevance to philosophy (e.g., Greek, Latin, French, and German).
- Joint majors are not double majors but multidisciplinary majors offered by two or more departments. Presently, the Department of Philosophy offers a joint major in politics and philosophy with the Department of Political Science (see Politics and Philosophy major information under non-departmental A&S Majors) as well as a joint major in mathematics and philosophy with the Department of Mathematics (see Mathematics-Philosophy).
- Students who complete the philosophy major (standard or intensive track) or joint major will be graduated with honors in philosophy if they have earned a grade of A- or better in at least six 1000-level philosophy courses exclusive of 1902 Directed Study, 1903 Directed Research, 1940, 1941, and 1942 Honors Thesis.
Minor Requirements
The philosophy minor requires six 3-credit courses (18 credits total) to be distributed as follows:
- PHIL 0500 Introduction to Logic or one 1500 level course (Logic group)
- PHIL 0200 History of Ancient Philosophy or 1020 Plato
- PHIL 0210 History of Modern Philosophy or 1110 Rationalism or 1140 Empiricism
- Any course in moral, social, or political philosophy; PHIL 0300 Introduction to Ethics is preferred, but any of the following is acceptable:
- PHIL 0320 Social Philosophy
- PHIL 0330 Political Philosophy
- PHIL 0350 Philosophy and Public Issues
- PHIL 0360 Morality and Medicine
- Any course in the 1300s Value Theory, Social and Political Philosophy
Note: At least one of the above four courses (numbers one-four) must be taken at the 1000 level.
- Two additional 1000-level courses must be completed.