Information about the Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Liberal Studies can be found on the department page.
Philosophy is at the core of the liberal arts. Our program offers a wide variety of discussion based seminars in both Western and Non-Western philosophy. Working with primary texts, we help students to develop their critical thinking and writing skills. Our courses concentrate on issues which are relevant to students' lives such as how to live, the nature of justice, the role of reason and emotion in a good life and the meaning and role of art in our lives.
After graduation our students have gone on to graduate school, law school, the Peace Corps, non profit organizations and private industry.
Degree Requirements
Core Areas A-E
Satisfactorily complete core Areas A-E, as listed in the Core Curriculum section of this catalog.
Area F
| PHIL 2010 | Survey of Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 2020 | Logical & Critical Thinking | 3 |
| | Foreign Language | 0 - 9 |
| | Any 1000-2000 level course in ARTS, ECON, HIST, IDST, MUSC, POLS, PSYC, RELI, RHET, SOCI, or THEA | 3-15 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 18 |
PHIL 2010: unless already completed in Area C.
Foreign language requirement options include
FREN 2002,
GRMN 2002,
ITAL 2002, and
SPAN 2002. Up to three courses taken to complete this requirement may be used in Area F.
A course taken to satisfy an Area F requirement may not also be counted to satisfy a Major Requirement.
Any transfer student who has not completed the courses in Area F, or their equivalents, must take these courses at GC.
Major Requirements
Required Courses
Satisfactorily complete one course from three of the following five areas:
Area 1: Ethics
Area 2: History of Philosophy
Area 3: Non-Western Philosophy
Area 4: Philosophy of Art
Area 5: Social and Political Philosophy
Major Electives
Satisfactorily complete an additional 15 hours of 3000-4000 Philosophy courses. Students may use this area to complete optional concentrations in Aesthetics, Pre-Law, or Religion. Students may also substitute one course from a related discipline with the approval of the department chair.
Optional Aesthetics Concentration
Satisfactorily complete at least 12 hours from the following courses, distributed as follows:
Philosophy or Religion Courses
Satisfactorily complete a minimum of two courses from the following list:
Other Disciplines
Satisfactorily complete up to two additional courses from the following list:
Optional Pre-Law Concentration
Students may complete a concentration in Pre-Law as part of their Philosophy major by completing the following courses. These courses may be used toward electives in the major.
Optional Religion Concentration
Students may complete a concentration in Religion as part of their Philosophy major by completing four of the following courses. These courses may be used toward electives in the major.
RELI 3950 Special Topics: History of Buddhism in Asia
PHIL 4950 Special Topics: Philosophy of Religion
RELI 3950 Special Topics: South Asian Buddhism
RELI 3940 Hindu Religious Tradition
PHIL 4950 Special Topics: Confucianism and Daoism
RELI 3310 The Hebrew Bible
RELI 3950 Special Topics: Introduction to Hinduism
HIST 4405 Religion in American History
SOCI 4950 Special Topics: Sociology of Religion
Senior Capstone
Students will submit a research paper written in a Philosophy course to a conference or journal in consultation with the advisor.
Electives
For students who must take the 1001, 1002, and/or 2001 foreign language courses, these courses will be applied to electives and will reduce the total number of elective credits available.