Philosophy (BA)
Description
Philosophy is the study of the fundamental ideas underlying every dimension of human life. A major in philosophy helps one to think clearly, communicate persuasively, engage in moral reasoning, and formulate a coherent approach to life. Typically, philosophy majors go on to graduate school, law school, medical school, theological studies, or careers in business.
Minimum Total Credit Hours: 120
Degree Requirements
The academic regulations for this degree program, as entered in the University of Mississippi Catalog, are in effect for the current or selected academic year and semester. The University of Mississippi reserves the right to
- change or withdraw courses;
- change rules for registration, instruction, and graduation; and
- change other regulations affecting the student body at any time.
B.A. in Philosophy
General Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select one of the following First Year Writing I courses: | 3 | |
| Introduction to College Writing | ||
or WRIT 1010 | First-Year Writing I | |
| Select one of the following First Year Writing II courses: | 3 | |
| First-Year Writing II | ||
or LIBA 1020 | First Year Seminar | |
| Select six hours of literature survey from the following: | 6 | |
| Survey in Literary History | ||
| Survey of World Literature to 1650 | ||
| Survey of World Literature since 1650 | ||
| Survey of American Lit to the Civil War | ||
| Survey of American Lit since Civil War | ||
| Survey of British Lit to 18th Century | ||
| Survey of Brit Lit since Romantic Period | ||
| Select at least six hours at the 2000 level or above in one modern or ancient language 1 | 6 | |
| Select six hours in History (HIST) 2 | 6 | |
| Select three hours of humanities from the following: 3 | 3 | |
African American Studies | ||
Classical Civilization | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Humanities and the Environment | ||
| Introduction to Queer Studies | ||
| Topics in Gender and Culture | ||
| Women, Gender & the Environment | ||
| Theories in Gender | ||
| Men, Women, and Greek Life | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in Cinema | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in the Media | ||
| Advanced Queer Studies | ||
Philosophy | ||
Religion | ||
Southern Studies (Any 1000 level only) | ||
| Introduction to Rhetoric | ||
| Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Humanities and the Experience of War | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Humanities | ||
| Select three hours of fine arts from the following: 2 | 3 | |
Art History | ||
| Dance Appreciation | ||
| Introduction to Music Literature | ||
| Fundamentals of Music Theory | ||
| Introduction to Music | ||
| Introduction to World Music Cultures | ||
| Music Theory and Analysis I | ||
| Appreciation of the Theatre | ||
| Introduction to Cinema | ||
| Introduction to the Fine Arts | ||
| Interdisciplinary Arts | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Arts | ||
| Select three hours of Math at the 1000 level or above 4 | 3 | |
| Select six hours of social sciences from the following: | 6 | |
Anthropology | ||
Economics | ||
Political Science | ||
Psychology | ||
Sociology | ||
| Interdisciplinary Social Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisc Social Science | ||
| 3 science courses, of which 2 must have labs 5 | 9-11 | |
Physics and Astronomy (must be 2 courses OR Astronomy or 2 courses in Physics) | ||
Biology | ||
Chemistry | ||
Geology | ||
| Integrated Science I | ||
| Integrated Science II | ||
| Interdisciplinary Sciences | ||
| Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Sciences | ||
| Advanced Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences | ||
| Total Hours | 48-50 | |
- 1
Modern Languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, & Swahili.
Classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
Communication Sciences & Disorders: American Sign Language
Philosophy and Religion: Hebrew
- 2
Freshmen may not register for 3000 level courses.
- 3
-
In addition, gender studies courses that are cross-listed with African American studies, classical civilization, English, modern languages, philosophy, or religion curses will satisfy this requirement.
- 4
-
Except for MATH 2451 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I and MATH 2452 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers II.
- 5
Courses may be chosen from astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, LIBA 2050 Interdisciplinary Sciences, LIBA 2051 Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences, LIBA 1500 Integrated Science I, LIBA 1510 Integrated Science II, LIBA 3150 Advanced Interdisciplinary Sciences, LIBA 3151 Advanced Interdisciplinary Lab Sciences and physics. Two semesters of coursework in one subject and one semester in a subject from another department are required. Each course must be a minimum of 3 credit hours. At least two of the courses taken must include laboratories. For some classes, the required laboratory will be an additional 1-hour course. For example, a student might take two 3-hour lecture courses in chemistry along with the two associated 1-hour laboratory courses, and one 3-hour course in biology without laboratory. As a second example, a student might take two 4-hour lecture/laboratory courses in geology and one 3-hour course in astronomy. As a third example, a student might take two chemistry courses, one with lab and one without, and a geology course with lab. Note that a student taking the required 6 hours of one subject (astronomy or physics) from the Department of Physics and Astronomy must take the remaining 3 hours from another department. ASTR 1110 Descriptive Astronomy does not include laboratory work; ASTR 1212 Intro Astronomy of the Solar System and ASTR 1312 Intro Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies include laboratory work and satisfy the requirements for lab-based science credits. A student may not receive credit for taking ASTR 1110 Descriptive Astronomy with either ASTR 1212 Intro Astronomy of the Solar System or ASTR 1312 Intro Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies.
Major Requirements
Overall Major GPA
Please contact your academic advisor for grade point requirements.
Resident Major GPA
Please contact your academic advisor for grade point requirements.
Specializations
Emphasis - Religious Studies
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 1010 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 4990 | Philosophy Assessment Exam | 0 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Logic: Critical Thinking | ||
| History of Philosophy I | ||
| History of Philosophy II | ||
| Select six hours of PHIL courses at the 3000+ level | 6 | |
| Select an additional six hours of PHIL courses | 6 | |
| Select six hours of RELG courses at the 3000+ level | 6 | |
| Select an additional six hours of RELG courses | 6 | |
| At least one philosophy or religion class must be a 4000 or 5000-level seminar. | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Standard Option
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select nine additional hours of PHIL courses 1 | 9 | |
| Select six hours of History of Philosophy from the following: | 6 | |
| History of Philosophy I | ||
| History of Philosophy II | ||
| Topics in Medieval Philosophy | ||
| Socrates and the Sophists | ||
| Plato | ||
| Aristotle | ||
| Kant and the Problems of Philosophy | ||
| Nineteenth Century Philosophy | ||
| Topics in Philosophy in American History | ||
| Existentialism | ||
| History of Analytic Philosophy | ||
| History of Western Political Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in History of Ancient Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in History of Modern Philosophy | ||
| Select six hours of Value Theory from the following: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Professional Ethics | ||
| Logic: Critical Thinking | ||
| Intro to Ethical Policy Debate | ||
| AI Ethics | ||
| Buddhism | ||
| Aesthetics | ||
| Ethical Theory | ||
| Biomedical Ethics | ||
| Political Philosophy | ||
| Moral Psychology | ||
| Environmental Ethics | ||
| Advanced Ethical Policy Debate | ||
| Philosophy of Law | ||
| Care Ethics | ||
| Consequentialism | ||
| Ethical Leadership | ||
| Philosophy of Film | ||
| Business Ethics | ||
| Ethical Disagreement and Dialogue | ||
| Conservative Political Philosophy | ||
| Feminist Philosophy | ||
| Philosophy of Race | ||
| Symbolic Logic | ||
| Seminar in Ethical Philosophy | ||
| Seminar in Legal/Political Philosophy | ||
| Select six hours of Epistemology from the following: | 6 | |
| Epistemology | ||
| Metaphysics | ||
| Theories of Truth | ||
| Metaethics | ||
| Personal Identity and the Self | ||
| Philosophy of Language | ||
| Free Will and Responsibility | ||
| Philosophy of Technology | ||
| Philosophy of Mind | ||
| Philosophy of Religion | ||
| Philosophical Issues in Science/Religion | ||
| Philosophical Topics in Religion | ||
| Seminar in Epistemology/Metaphysics | ||
| Seminar in Philosophy of Mind/Language | ||
| Seminar: Philosophy of Science/Religion | ||
| PHIL 3910 | Symbolic Logic | 3 |
| or PHIL 1030 | Logic: Critical Thinking | |
| PHIL 4990 | Philosophy Assessment Exam | 0 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- 1
Religion courses that are not cross-listed with philosophy courses do not count toward a major with an emphasis in philosophy.
One 400+level Philosophy Seminars
A major in philosophy for the B.A. degree consists of 30 semester hours, which must include at least one 4000+ level philosophy course.
Phil Residency Hours
Student must earn at least 12 hours of their major courses in residence. A grade of C or higher is required on all Philosophy courses applied toward the degree.
Other Academic Requirements
A grade of C- or higher is required in all philosophy courses applied toward the major.