Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 27 units
    • At least 21 units at the 3000 level
    • The remaining 6 units must be at the 4000 level
  • Grade Requirement: C– or above; Pass/No Pass grades do not count toward the major requirements

This specialization is especially recommended for students who intend to pursue a career in law or public policy. The specialization involves taking certain specific courses for the major (and possibly a few extra courses) that will provide the student with additional preparation and a competitive edge when applying to law school, postgraduate programs in public policy, and related jobs.

Requirements

Core Area Requirements

Majors must complete at least 3 units in each of the three Core Areas:

  1. Contemporary/Analytic
  2. Historical Philosophy
  3. Value Theory

A course cannot count toward more than one Core Area requirement. The courses that will satisfy each Core Area are listed below. 

Contemporary/Analytic (3 units):
PHIL 3000Philosophy of Medicine3
PHIL 3020Philosophy of Language3
PHIL 3091Theory of Knowledge3
PHIL 3100Philosophy of Mind3
PHIL 3110Mind and Morals3
PHIL 3130Philosophy of Science3
PHIL 3140Philosophy of Biology3
PHIL 3150Philosophy of Religion3
PHIL 3250Introduction to Metaphysics3
PHIL 3310Philosophy of Emotions3
PHIL 3320Art and the Mind-Brain3
Historical Philosophy (3 units):
CLASSICS 3800Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine3
PHIL 3240Ancient Philosophy3
PHIL 3260Descartes to Hume3
PHIL 3290Kant and 19th-Century Philosophy3
PHIL 3300Conceptual Foundations of Modern Science3
PHIL 3340Existentialism3
Value Theory (3 Units):
PHIL 3110Mind and Morals3
PHIL 3160Classical Ethical Theories3
PHIL 3170Feminist Philosophy3
PHIL 3190Philosophy of the Arts3
PHIL 3220Issues in Applied Ethics:3
PHIL 3310Philosophy of Emotions3
PHIL 3320Art and the Mind-Brain3

Law and Policy Requirement

To complete the specialization in Law and Policy, majors must complete both of the two courses listed below. 

PHIL 3200Social and Political Philosophy3
PHIL 3230Philosophy of Law3
Total Units6

Upper-Level Requirement

Majors are required to have at least 6 units of 4000-level courses. The list of courses below is not exhaustive, but it includes the majority of regular 4000-level offerings.

PHIL 4100Formal Methods for Philosophy3
PHIL 4120Advanced Epistemology3
PHIL 4130Advanced Metaphysics3
PHIL 4180Topics in Advanced Philosophy of Science:3
PHIL 4230Topics in Ethics3
PHIL 4240Metaethics3
PHIL 4250Normative Ethical Theory3
PHIL 4280Topics in the Philosophy of Feminism3
PHIL 4311Aesthetics3
PHIL 4321Advanced Social and Political Philosophy3
PHIL 4340Plato3
PHIL 4360Hellenistic Philosophy3
PHIL 4370Continental Rationalism3
PHIL 438017th & 18th Century British Philosophy3
PHIL 4420Kant's Critique of Pure Reason3
PHIL 4460Topics in the History of Philosophy3
PHIL 4490History of Analytic Philosophy3
PHIL 4500Topics in Analytic Philosophy3

The Writing-Intensive Seminar

Majors are encouraged to fulfill their writing-intensive requirement by taking PHIL 3390 Philosophical Writing. A Philosophy major who does not take the Philosophy writing-intensive seminar must take a fourth core course from any of the three core areas. Students typically take Philosophical Writing during their junior year. 

The course is offered every fall and is limited to 15 students. However, registration priority is given to Philosophy majors and minors who have not yet completed their writing-intensive requirements. Significant attention is devoted to conceiving, researching, writing, revising, critiquing and presenting philosophical essays. 

Capstone Requirement

All philosophy majors are required to complete a capstone experience either by writing an honors thesis PHIL 4998 Study for Honors or by taking PHIL 3990 Philosophy Capstone Course. 

Capstone Course 

Please note that the capstone course is offered only in the spring semester. Students will need to plan their class schedules accordingly if they decide not to write an honors thesis. Only Philosophy majors with senior standing may take this course, and preference is given to students not pursuing Honors. The course will draw together a variety of different philosophical areas.

Senior Honors Thesis

The Honors Thesis is a two-semester course PHIL 4998 Study for Honors taken during a student's senior year. Students will apply in the spring of their junior year. To qualify, students must meet the following:

  • Must have a minimum Philosophy major GPA of 3.65 
  • Must have a minimum GPA of 3.65 in Philosophy 3000- and 4000-level courses
  • Must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.65

Students must have the agreement of a faculty member to serve as their thesis advisor. For important additional information regarding Senior Honors, please visit the Department of Philosophy's Undergraduate Honors webpage.

Additional Information 

  • No course can count toward more than one requirement. 
  • Summer courses do not count toward the major or minor, absent approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • Study abroad credits can count toward a Philosophy major with specific course-by-course approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies. At most 6 credits from one semester abroad and 9 credits from two semesters abroad can count toward the major. Of these approved courses, at most one can count toward the 3000-level distribution requirements. No courses taken abroad can count toward the 4000-level, writing intensive, or capstone requirements.

Visit the Philosophy page
for additional information about this program.

Contact Info

Phone:314-935-6670
Email:philosophy@wustl.edu
Website:http://philosophy.artsci.wustl.edu