Academic Programs Catalog

College of Arts and Letters

Department of Philosophy

Undergraduate Programs
Philosophy and Law

The Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Law establishes a means for students preparing for law or related fields to enhance their reasoning ability as well as tackle pressing ethical, political, social, economic, and cultural issues faced in their careers.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Law

  1. The University requirements for bachelor's degrees as described in the Undergraduate Education section of this catalog; 120 credits, including general elective credits, are required for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Law.

    The University's Tier II writing requirement for the Philosophy and Law major is met by completing PHL 452, or with prior approval, PHL 499. Those courses are referenced in item 3. below. 
  2. The requirements of the College of Arts and Letters for the Bachelor of Arts degree.
  3. The following requirements for the major (33 credits):
    a.  All of the following courses (12 credits):      
                PHL 130 Reasoning and Argumentation            3
                 PHL 340 Ethics                                  3
                 PHL 350 Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy   3
                 PHL 354 Philosophy of Law                   3
    b.          One of the following courses (3 credits):      
                 PHL 330 Formal Deductive Reasoning  3
                 PHL 331 Formal Practical Reasoning  3
                 PHL 432 Logic and its Metatheory    3
    c.          One of the following courses (3 credits):       
                PHL 210 Ancient Greek Philosophy       3
                 PHL 211 Early Modern European Philosophy         3
                 PHL 212 Latin American Philosophy     3
                 PHL 213 Africana Philosophy                  3
                 PHL 214 Indigenous Philosophy            3
                 PHL 215 Buddhist Philosophy                3
    d.          Two of the following courses (6 credits):      
                 PHL 342 Environmental Ethics              3
                 PHL 344 Ethical Issues in Health Care  3
                PHL 345 Business Ethics                        3
                 PHL 353 Core Themes in Peace and Justice Studies      3
                 PHL 355 Philosophy of Technology (W)           3
                 PHL 356 Philosophical Aspects of Feminism    3
                 PHL 357 Philosophy of Karl Marx         3
                 PHL 440 Central Issues in Ethics           3
                 PHL 442 Ethics and Animals                  3
                 PHL 451 Philosophy and the Black Experience             3
                 PHL 452 Ethics and Development                                  3
                 PHL 453 Ethical Issues in Global Public Health            3
                 PHL 456 Topics in Feminist Philosophy                        3
    e.          The following capstone course (3 credits):   
                 PHL 454 Topics in Philosophy of Law (W)                  3
    With approval of the department, PHL 499 (senior thesis) may be substituted for PHL 454.
    f.           A minimum of two PHL courses at the 400-level excluding PHL 454 or PHL 499.
    g.          Additional PHL courses to reach a total of 33 credits.