Philosophical Questions

Recommended Program Sequence for General Philosophy Students

Students must take thirty courses in total, and those thirty courses must satisfy all of the Degree Requirements for the Program (as outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar).

Of the thirty required courses, at least twelve must be courses in Philosophy (as outlined in the Degree Requirements listed below). Of the twelve courses that must be taken in Philosophy, at least ten of those must be at the 2000-level or above (which means that a student can only count a maximum of two 1000-level Philosophy towards the twelve Philosophy courses that a student must take). Note: The recommendations listed deal explicitly with only 10 out of the required 12 philosophy courses that are specified in the degree requirements, and this proposed calendar, meaning that you are free to choose 2 courses from philosophy that suit your interests in addition to the 10 specified below.

Year 1. Fall Semester:

  • One 1000-level course in Philosophy
  • Four other courses that satisfy the Degree Requirements for the Program (It is strongly recommended that students take GART-1500 as one of these four).

Year 1. Winter Semester:

  • PHIL 2210 (Introduction to Ethics)
  • Four other courses that satisfy the Degree Requirements for the Program (It is strongly recommended that students take GART-1510 as one of these four).

 

Year 2. Fall Semester:

  • One course from “Practical Philosophy”
  • Two courses from “Systematic Philosophy”
  • Two other courses that satisfy the Degree Requirements for the Program.

Year 2. Winter Semester:

  • PHIL 2730 (Ancient Philosophy)
  • PHIL 2760 (Early Modern Philosophy)
  • One course from “Practical Philosophy”
  • Two other courses that satisfy the Degree Requirements for the Program.

 

Year 3.  

  • PHIL 3760 (Kant)—typically scheduled in the Fall Semester only.
  • Either PHIL 4710 (Recent Continental Philosophy) — typically scheduled in the Fall semester only, or PHIL 4720 (Analytic or Pragmatist Philosophy) — typically scheduled in the Winter Semester only.
  • Eight other courses that satisfy the Program Requirements for the Program.

 

Additional Philosophy Requirements:

  • Two additional courses in Philosophy are required, only one of which can be at the 1000-level (Note: As indicated, of the two additional courses in Philosophy that are required for the Program, only one of the four can be at the 1000-level. These additional two courses can be chosen from among all the other courses listed in the Philosophy section of the Undergraduate Calendar, including the courses listed under the “Systematic Philosophy” and “Practical Philosophy” sections of the Degree Requirements. This means that, when taking their two additional courses in Philosophy, it is possible for a student to end up taking more than two courses from “Systematic Philosophy” and more than two courses from “Practical Philosophy” if they so choose (and as long as it is in keeping with the Degree Requirements for the Program).
  • Apart from PHIL 2210, listed in Year 1 of the schedule, it is generally recommended that students try to take Philosophy courses at a level that does not exceed the Year of their Program (e.g., in Year 2 only take courses at the 2000-level or below; in Year 3 only take courses at the 3000-level or below, and so on).

 

Additional Degree Requirements:

  • Two courses from Social Science.
  • Two courses from Languages or Science.
  • Two courses from any area of study, excluding Arts.
  • GART-1500, GART-1510
  • Four courses from any area of study, including Philosophy.
  • Six other courses from any area of study, excluding Philosophy.

 

Note: Students are strongly advised to consult with the Philosophy Department’s Undergraduate Coordinator (or another Faculty member in Philosophy) before choosing their Philosophy courses.