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)
Sulastri Carr, Program Assistant (sulastri.carr@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

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Major

• 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.

• CU Denver General Graduation Degree Requirements  

• CU Denver Core Curriculum   

• College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements  

• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 36 PHIL credit hours.

2. Students must complete a minimum of 27 upper-division (3000-level and above) PHIL credit hours.

3. 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. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the major GPA. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements.

4. Students must complete a minimum of 18 PHIL credit hours with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. For those students who qualify for and fulfill the requirements of graduation with Honors, a minimum of 39 PHIL credit hours is required.

4. Though certain courses may satisfy different requirements, no single course may count for more than one requirement towards the Philosophy Major.

5. Courses not specifically listed here but offered by the University may count toward the degree upon the approval of the Department Undergraduate Advisor.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required courses:		9
PHIL 3002	Ancient Greek Philosophy
PHIL 3022	Knowledge, Perception, and the Search for Objectivity: Modern Philosophy
PHIL 3760	Kant: Freedom, Reality, and the Mind
Complete one of the following Logic and Reasoning courses:		3
PHIL 2441	Logic, Language and Scientific Reasoning
PHIL 3440	Introduction to Symbolic Logic
PHIL 3441	Philosophical Reasoning Skills
Complete one of the following Social/Political Philosophy courses:		3
PHIL 3050	Propaganda: Truth, Lies, and Freedom
PHIL 3200	Justice, Freedom, and Power: Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 3280	War and Morality
PHIL 3500	Ideology and Culture: Racism and Sexism
PHIL 4500	Feminist Philosophy
PHIL 4450	Punishment and Social Justice
PHIL 4600	Questioning Religious Belief and Practice: Introduction to Philosophy of Religion
Complete one of the following Ethics courses:		3
PHIL 3030	Philosophies of the Good Life & Happiness
PHIL 3150	History of Ethics
PHIL 3250	Business, Society, and Moral Responsibility
PHIL 3430	How to think green: Environmental Ethics
PHIL 3500	Ideology and Culture: Racism and Sexism
PHIL 3550	Philosophy of Death and Dying
PHIL 4150	Twentieth Century Ethics
PHIL 4220	Art, Beauty, and Aesthetic Criticism: Philosophy of Art
PHIL 4242	Medicine, Health Care, and Justice: Bioethics
PHIL 4260	Why Obey the Law? Introduction to Philosophy of Law
PHIL 4600	Questioning Religious Belief and Practice: Introduction to Philosophy of Religion
Complete one of the following Continental Philosophy courses:		3
PHIL 3833	Existentialism
PHIL 4500	Feminist Philosophy
PHIL 4780	Heidegger
PHIL 4790	Nietzsche
Complete one of the following American or Analytic Philosophy courses:		3
PHIL 3032	Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy
PHIL 3350	Metaphysics
PHIL 3360	Epistemology
PHIL 4101	Pragmatism: Classical American Philosophy
PHIL 4300	Mind, Body, and Consciousness: Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 4350	Philosophy of Science
PHIL 4900	John Dewey
PHIL 4920	Philosophy of Media and Technology
Complete one of the following History of Philosophy courses:		3
PHIL 3010	Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 3833	Existentialism
PHIL 4000	19th and 20th Century Continental Philosophy
PHIL 4040	Skepticism
PHIL 4220	Art, Beauty, and Aesthetic Criticism: Philosophy of Art
PHIL 4230	Postmodernism
PHIL 4735	Rationalism
PHIL 4740	Empiricism
PHIL 4770	Hegel
PHIL 4780	Heidegger
PHIL 4790	Nietzsche
PHIL 4795	Marx and Marxism
PHIL 4800	Plato
PHIL 4810	Aristotle
PHIL 4820	Hume
Complete nine additional Philosophy elective credits, with at least three credits being at upper division (3000 or above) courses		9
Total Hours		36

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.