Philosophy, BA
Department Contacts
Sarah Tyson, PhD, Associate Professor and Department Chair (sarah.tyson@ucdenver.edu)
Mark Tanzer, PhD, Professor and Department Advisor (mark.tanzer@ucdenver.edu)
Maya Thieme, Program Assistant (maya.thieme@ucdenver.edu)
Main Phone: 303-315-7223
Introduction
Please click here to see the Philosophy department information.
The philosophy program offers a rigorous liberal arts education. It trains students to speak and write carefully, think and reason critically, and to seek out creative connections between ideas of all kinds. Philosophy is an excellent undergraduate preparation for almost any professional field. Philosophical inquiries can cover a wide range of subject matters including ethics and politics, art and literature, history and religion, technology, and the sciences. The benefits of a philosophy degree last a lifetime, setting students on a path toward self-development, intellectual sophistication, and the enrichment that comes from living a more reflective life.
These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.
Program Delivery
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This is an on-campus program.
Declaring This Major
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Click here to go to information about declaring a major.
- Contact department advisor Mark Tanzer (mark.tanzer@ucdenver.edu) for more information.
General Requirements
To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.
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Click here for information about Academic Policies
Program Requirements
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Students must complete a minimum of 36 PHIL credit hours.
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Students must complete a minimum of 16 upper-division (3000-level and above) PHIL credit hours.
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Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements.
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Students must complete a minimum of 18 PHIL credit hours with CU Denver faculty.
Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations
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Courses taken at other institutions must either be transferred as direct equivalent to a CU Denver course or be approved by an advisor in the Philosophy Department for application towards the major.
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For those students who both major in philosophy and minor in ethics, philosophy or philosophy of science, up to two courses can satisfy the requirements for both.
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For those students who qualify for and fulfill the requirements of graduation with Honors, a minimum of 42 PHIL credit hours is required.
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Though certain courses may satisfy different requirements, no single course may count for more than one requirement towards the Philosophy Major.
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Courses not specifically listed here but offered by the University may count toward the degree upon the approval of the Department Undergraduate Advisor.
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Students should work with their Department Undergraduate Advisor to determine a course plan that follows one of the listed pathways:
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Ethics and Values
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Philosophical Traditions
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Mind and Consciousness
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Science, Technology, and Knowledge
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Social Justice, Politics, and Diversity
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| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 2441 | Logic, Language and Scientific Reasoning | 3 |
| PHIL 3002 | Ancient Greek Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3010 | Medieval Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3022 | Knowledge, Perception, and the Search for Objectivity: Modern Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3032 | Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3050 | Propaganda: Truth, Lies, and Freedom | 3 |
| PHIL 3150 | History of Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 3200 | Justice, Freedom, and Power: Social and Political Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 3250 | Business, Society, and Moral Responsibility | 3 |
| PHIL 3280 | War and Morality | 3 |
| PHIL 3333 | Happiness and the Good Life | 3 |
| PHIL 3350 | Metaphysics | 3 |
| PHIL 3360 | Epistemology | 3 |
| PHIL 3430 | How to think green: Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 3440 | Introduction to Symbolic Logic | 3 |
| PHIL 3441 | Philosophical Reasoning Skills | 3 |
| PHIL 3500 | Ideology and Culture: Racism and Sexism | 3 |
| PHIL 3550 | Philosophy of Death and Dying | 3 |
| PHIL 3550 | Philosophy of Death and Dying | 3 |
| PHIL 3760 | Kant: Freedom, Reality, and the Mind | 3 |
| PHIL 3833 | Existentialism | 3 |
| PHIL 4000 | 19th and 20th Century Continental Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 4040 | Skepticism | 3 |
| PHIL 4101 | Pragmatism: Classical American Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 4150 | Twentieth Century Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 4220 | Art, Beauty, and Aesthetic Criticism: Philosophy of Art | 3 |
| PHIL 4230 | Postmodernism | 3 |
| PHIL 4242 | Medicine, Health Care, and Justice: Bioethics | 3 |
| PHIL 4260 | Why Obey the Law? Introduction to Philosophy of Law | 3 |
| PHIL 4300 | Mind, Body, and Consciousness: Philosophy of Mind | 3 |
| PHIL 4350 | Philosophy of Science | 3 |
| PHIL 4450 | Punishment and Social Justice | 3 |
| PHIL 4500 | Feminist Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 4600 | Questioning Religious Belief and Practice: Introduction to Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| PHIL 4735 | Rationalism | 3 |
| PHIL 4740 | Empiricism | 3 |
| PHIL 4770 | Hegel | 3 |
| PHIL 4780 | Heidegger | 3 |
| PHIL 4790 | Nietzsche | 3 |
| PHIL 4795 | Marx and Marxism | 3 |
| PHIL 4800 | Plato | 3 |
| PHIL 4810 | Aristotle | 3 |
| PHIL 4820 | Hume | 3 |
| PHIL 4900 | John Dewey | 3 |
| PHIL 4920 | Philosophy of Media and Technology | 3 |
Student Learning in the B.A. in Philosophy focuses on the following:
- Recognize and comprehend the salient elements of philosophy's significant historical figures, periods, and areas.
- Understand how philosophical frameworks and theories expand the meanings and implications of existing cultural areas (e.g. those found in science technology, the arts, politics, medicine, and social justice.
More specifically, the above includes training (most typically in writing) about how to:
- Interpret texts by careful reading and synthesis of meanings.
- Identify and criticize philosophical arguments.
- Develop original arguments supported by texts and logical reasoning.
- Outline major philosophical frameworks.
For questions and answers, please reach out to Mark Tanzer (mark.tanzer@ucdenver.edu) for further details.
To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.
To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.