Requirements
To complete an Advanced Major in Philosophy, students must complete the equivalent of 16 courses (=96 credits) in Philosophy. These comprise (a) the credits earned by meeting the requirements of the Philosophy Major and (b) 16 additional credits, which will be earned in part by completing a mandatory Capstone Thesis.   Â
(a) The 12 courses students must take to complete a Philosophy Major must include
- the two Required Courses, i.e.Â
- PHI-1000 Intro to Philosophy andÂ
- PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic
- two courses from the Indian & Non-Western Philosophy category, such as e.g.
- PHI-2370 Intro to Indian Philosophy,
- PHI-3401 Indian Philosophy Through the Eyes of Bimal Matilal, or
- any courses listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
- two courses from the History of Western Philosophy category, such as e.g.Â
- PHI-2420 Intro to Ancient Philosophy,
- PHI-3530 19th Century Philosophy, orÂ
- any courses listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
- three courses from the Contemporary Core category, such as e.g.
- PHI-2000 Metaphysics,
- PHI-2240 Philosophy of Science,
- PHI-2600 Normative Ethics,
- PHI-2610 How to be Free and Happy,
- PHI-3665 Ethics and Technology,Â
- any courses listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
- three ElectivesÂ
(b) Of the 16 additional credits students need to complete the Advanced Major in Philosophy
- 8 credits must come from completing a Capstone Thesis and
- 8 credits will come from taking Electives (typically 3000/4000 level).
Note that up to 4 credits overall (i.e. credits earned during the undergraduate studies and during the ASP) can come from serving as Teaching Assistant (for 2 credits per course). These credits count towards the Elective category.Â
Two Sample Curricula
What students can do along with their Advanced Major depends on what they have done during their undergraduate studies. Below are two instructive examples that provide a sense of the flexibility that the ASP year brings even if one completes an Advanced Major in Philosophy.
The following is the case of Charmi. Charmi completed a Philosopy Major during her undergraduate studies (Case 1 on the Philosophy Major website). Charmi has done really well during her undergraduate studies, has written a number of papers in areas that she wants to pursue further, and is now toying with the idea of applying for grad school in Philosophy. She has found an advisor from the Philosophy Department who is willing to work with her and even an external advisor who works on her topic of interest. Charmi’s plan is to use her Capstone Thesis as the basis for her writing sample that will be part of her grad school application. Since Charmi’s area of interest is Political Philosophy, she also wants to complement her Advanced Major in Philosophy with a Minor in Political Science. We are assuming that she has already taken one course in Political Science during her undergraduate studies. Accordingly, she needs to complete the 16 credits for her Advanced Major in Philosophy and 5 courses (i.e. 20 credits) to complete her Minor in Political Science. See below what her curriculum might look like. Â
Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 | Semester 6 | Semester 7 (=ASP 1) | Semester 8 (=ASP 2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1) | Foundation Course 5 | Foundation Course 7 | Foundation Course 9 | Philosophy Course 7 | Philosophy Course 10 | Philosophy Course 13 (=Capstone Research Seminar) | Philosophy Course 15 (=Capstone Thesis Seminar) |
Foundation Course 2 | Foundation Course 6 | Foundation Course 8 | Philosophy Course 4 | Philosophy Course 8 | Philosophy Course 11 | Philosophy Course 14 | Political Science Course 5 |
Foundation Course 3 | Philosophy Course 1: Introduction to Philosophy | Philosophy Course 2: Symbolic Logic | Philosophy Course 5 | Philosophy Course 9 | Philosophy Course 12 | Political Science Course 2 | Political Science Course 6 |
Foundation Course 4 | Gateway course to another Major | Philosophy Course 3 | Philosophy Course 6 | Elective | Political Science Course 1 | Political Science Course 3 | Elective |
XXXXXXXXXXX | Co-Curricular Course 1 | Co-Curricular Course 2 | Political Science Course 4 |
During his undergraduate studies, Rajesh completed his Philosophy Major and a Minor in Psychology. Rajesh has developed a keen interest in Moral Psychology and can imagine working on a grad school application, but during the summer after his second year, he has also done an internship in an ad company that he found very rewarding and can also imagine to transition into coaching. He wants to use the ASP to work on a larger academic project to see whether that is something he enjoys doing and also keep his options open both within Philosophy and Psychology. He decides to purue an Advanced Major in Philosophy and a Second Major Equivalent in Psychology. Rajesh has taken one summer semester and two FCs (here: FCs 8 and 9). Below is his curriculum.
Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Semester 3 | Semester 4 | Semester 5 | Semester 6 | Semester 7 (=ASP 1) | Semester 8 (=ASP 2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1) | Foundation Course 5 | Philosophy Course 2: Symbolic Logic | Philosophy Course 7 | Philosophy Course 10 | Philosophy Course 12 | Philosophy Course 15 (=Capstone Research Seminar) | Philosophy Course 16 (=Capstone Thesis Seminar) |
Foundation Course 2 | Foundation Course 6 | Philosophy Course 3 | Philosophy Course 8 | Philosophy Course 11 | Philosophy Course 13 | Psychology Course 7 | Psychology Course 10 |
Foundation Course 3 | Philosophy Course 1: Introduction to Philosophy | Philosophy Course 4 | Philosophy Course 9 | Psychology Course 4: Statistics and Research Methodology (II) | Philosophy Course 14 | Psychology Course 8 | Psychology Course 11 |
Foundation Course 4 | Gateway course to Psychology | Philosophy Course 5 | Psychology Course 2: Statistics and Research Methodology (I) | Psychology Course 5 | Psychology Course 6 | Psychology Course 9 | Psychology Course 12 |
XXXXXXXXXXX | Foundation Course 7 | Philosophy Course 6 | Psychology Course 3 | Psychology Course 5 | Psychology Course 10 | ||
Co-Curricular Course 1 | Co-Curricular Course 2 |
As usual, there is a caveat: Whether or not the relevant Psychology courses are available so as to make this curriculum possible is something the Philosophy Department cannot guarantee (perhaps things would have worked better had Rajesh taken a Psychology course or two in semester 3). Students with ambitious plans like this one should seek assistance from their Mentor and Advisor or get in touch with the relevant departments, faculty, OAA, and student representatives to ensure that they know what they need to take and when they should best take it.