Philosophy - Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The undergraduate degree in philosophy emphasizes knowledge and awareness of:

• Some of the principal philosophical texts in the history of western philosophy, from its beginnings in Greece to the late 19th century.
• Some of the main currents in 20th century philosophy, including some acquaintance with contemporary philosophical issues and modes of inquiry.
• A single major author or a single philosophical movement.
• Elementary formal logic.

In addition, students completing the ­major will develop the knowledge and skills to:

• Form reasoned opinions about the issues—moral, religious, political, etc.—that educated people debate.
• Understand, analyze and evaluate complex arguments and theories.
• Distinguish between the main thrust of an argument or position and what is ancillary to it.
• Discover and critically examine the underlying presuppositions of major systems of ideas or programs for action.
• See important connections between different systems of ideas or programs for action.
• Explain difficult ideas and concepts in an informed, effective and coherent manner.
• Develop a thesis and present a coherent argument for it.
• Write a clear and coherent essay.
• Engage in rational and productive discussion of issues and arguments.

In addition to the general philosophy major, the department offers two topically oriented major tracks that are interdisciplinary in nature: Law and Society; and Values and Social Policy.

Requirements

Program Requirements

For the undergraduate degree in philosophy, students must take 33 to 45 credit hours in philosophy, no fewer than 18 of which must be upper division, earning 33 credit hours with a grade of C- or better in each course in philosophy and a C (2.000) average for all work attempted in philosophy. No fewer than 12 of those credit hours must be completed on the Boulder campus. No more than 3 credit hours of independent study may count toward the minimum requirement. No more than 3 hours of internship credit (PHIL 3930) may count towards the elective requirement. A single course can count towards at most one area requirement.

Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below.

Required Courses and Credits

Graduating in Four Years

Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in philosophy, students should meet the following requirements:

• By the beginning of the second semester, declare the major and meet with an undergraduate advisor at the time the major is declared.
• In each of the next five semesters, complete an average of 6.7 credit hours of required philosophy courses.
• By the end of the fifth semester of study, complete PHIL 2440, PHIL 3480, PHIL 3000 and PHIL 3010.

Program Tracks

The department also offers two topically oriented tracks within the major that are interdisciplinary in nature: law and society and values and social policy. These tracks require two semesters in the history of philosophy, as well as a series of core courses that vary according to the track. A student intending to complete a topical track within the philosophy major should see the departmental undergraduate advisor as soon as possible.

Values and Social Policy Track

Students must take 33 to 45 credit hours in philosophy, no fewer than 18 of which must be upper division, earning 33 credit hours with a grade of C- or better in each course in philosophy and a C (2.000) average for all work attempted in philosophy. No fewer than 12 of the upper-division credit hours must be completed on the Boulder campus. No more than 3 credit hours of independent study and no more than 3 hours of internship credit (PHIL 3930) may count toward the minimum credit requirements.

Students must complete the required philosophy courses listed below, 15 credit hours in allied fields, and the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Law and Society Track

Recommended Four-Year Plan of Study

Through the required coursework for the major, students will complete all 12 credits of the Arts & Humanities area of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement and the Upper-division Written Communication component of the Gen Ed Skills Requirement. Depending on the courses selected in the major electives, students can potentially complete some credits in the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences areas of the Distribution and both the U.S. Perspective and the Global Perspective components of the Gen Ed Diversity Requirement.

Learning Outcomes  

Upon completing the program, students will be able to:

• Understand the mechanics of critical thinking. Students on the general track will be competent in the basics of symbolic logic. Students on the values social policy and law society tracks will be able to model and evaluate arguments.
• Construct organized argumentative papers.
• Interpret and criticize texts and arguments from the history of philosophy.
• Engage with questions concerning human values and assess arguments for and against the ethical theories responding to them.
• Recognize the main theories in epistemology, assess arguments for and against them and apply them to analyze problems and cases. (General track)
• Apply philosophical reasoning to contemporary social, political and/or legal problems. (Values social policy and law society tracks)

Bachelor's–Accelerated Master's Degree Program(s)

The bachelor's–accelerated master's (BAM) degree program options offer currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate students the opportunity to receive a bachelor's and master's degree in a shorter period of time. Students receive the bachelor's degree first but begin taking graduate coursework as undergraduates (typically in their senior year).

Because some courses are allowed to double count for both the bachelor's and the master's degrees, students receive a master's degree in less time and at a lower cost than if they were to enroll in a stand-alone master's degree program after completion of their baccalaureate degree. In addition, staying at CU Boulder to pursue a bachelor's–accelerated master's program enables students to continue working with their established faculty mentors.

BA and MA in Philosophy

The Philosophy Department offers a five-year program that leads to both the BA and MA in philosophy. For complete details on the program, please see the Philosophy Department website.

Admissions Requirements

In order to gain admission to the BAM program named above, a student must meet the following criteria:

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• Not have any MAPS deficiencies (students admitted to CU Boulder prior to Summer 2023 only).
• Transfer students must have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours at CU Boulder with degree-seeking status.
• Have completed the prerequisite course requirements as described below.

Prerequisite Course Requirements

The applicant must have taken all of the following courses and received a grade of A- or better in each of them:

• PHIL 2440 (or either PHIL 4440 or PHIL 4460)
• PHIL 3000 (or PHIL 3010)
• PHIL 3100
• PHIL 3480 

Additionally, the applicant must either have taken PHIL 4300, PHIL 4340, PHIL 4360, PHIL 4400 or PHIL 4490, earning a grade of A- or better, or be enrolled in one of those courses during the semester in which the student applies for admission to the BAM program. In the latter case, admission to the BAM program will not be decided until the student’s midterm grade for the 4000-level course in question has been furnished to the Graduate Admissions Committee; the midterm grade must be an A- or better.

Application Process

To apply to the BAM program, submit the online application. Additional application requirements:

• Letters of recommendation: Please ask each of your letter-writers to submit a letter of recommendation to the Philosophy Department’s Associate Chair for Graduate Studies.
• GRE scores need not be submitted.
• Deadlines: A student can apply to this program no earlier than the second semester of their junior year. Fall applications must be received before October 25. Spring applications must be received by the Friday before Spring Break.
• Commitment: Students who are admitted to the BAM program may not pursue a double-degree or double-major of any other kind.
• Minimum cumulative GPA: All students enrolled in the BAM program must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 throughout their time in the program. The time limit for the program is 5 years.

Program Requirements

To complete the BAM program, the student will fulfill separately all requirements for the BA and thesis-based MA, with the exception that two 4000-level courses can satisfy requirements for both the BA and the MA. In addition to these two overlapping 4000-level courses, the student must complete all of the remaining requirements for the general track of the philosophy major, as well as all of the remaining requirements for the thesis-based MA in Philosophy. Students may take up to and including 12 hours while in the undergraduate program which can later be used toward the master’s degree. Students must apply to graduate with the bachelor’s degree, and apply to continue with the master’s degree, early in the semester in which the undergraduate requirements will be completed.

In order to make it possible for the student to finish both degrees in five years, during the fourth year the student will be required to take two graduate-level courses (5000-level or above), which will not count toward the student’s BA requirements. One of these two courses will be a three-credit version of PHIL 5840, to be taken in the second semester of the student’s fourth year. In this Independent Study, the student will work individually with their projected thesis advisor to identify a topic for the student’s MA thesis and will do research on that topic. This ensures that the student will enter their fifth year having done a significant amount of work on the master’s thesis project. During each semester of the student’s fifth year, they will typically take two 5000-level courses and three credits of master’s thesis hours. As indicated above, the two graduate-level courses taken during the student’s fourth year will not satisfy requirements for the BA. Thus, the student must be in a position (perhaps as a result of having entered with AP credits or having taken summer courses at CU) to fit two demanding courses into the fourth-year schedule, in addition to whatever courses are needed to satisfy remaining BA requirements.

Note that beyond the required Independent Study course referred to above, no independent study courses can be used to fulfill MA course requirements for students in the BAM program.

During the second semester of the fifth year, the student must successfully defend their master’s thesis in an oral examination before a committee consisting of the student’s thesis advisor and two other regular faculty members.