Wellesley College Department of Philosophy: Requirements

The philosophy department divides its courses and seminars into three subfields:

a) The History of Philosophy
b) Value Theory
c) Metaphysics and Theories of Knowledge

The Philosophy Major

The major in philosophy consists of at least nine units from across these subfields with attention to both breadth and depth of study.

The requirements for the major in philosophy:

At least nine units are required.
201 (Ancient Greek Philosophy) is required of all majors.
221 (History of Modern Philosophy) is required of all majors.
Every major must take at least 2 units from subfield (b) and subfield (c).
Every major must take at least two 300-level units and these units must be in different subfields of philosophy.
In addition, majors are strongly encouraged to take a third unit in subfield (a).
Majors intending to pursue graduate work in philosophy should take 216 (Logic).

The Philosophy Minor

The minor in philosophy consists of at least 5 units.

The requirements for the minor in philosophy:

At least five units are required.
No more than one of these units may be on the 100-level.
201 (Ancient Greek Philosophy) or 221 (History of Modern Philosophy) is required of all minors.
At least one of the five units must be on the 300-level.

Honors in Philosophy

Honors in the Philosophy major may be earned by writing a thesis or a set of related essays, and passing an oral examination.

To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have a grade point average of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100-level; the department may petition on her behalf if her GPA in the major is between 3.0 and 3.5. Members of the department also prefer to see the following criteria satisfied by the end of the junior year:

201 and 221 completed
at least six philosophy courses completed
at least one 300 level seminar that demonstrates the ability to work independently completed with a grade of A or A-

Created by: Ran Tao '09 and Marlie Philiossaint '10 | Maintained by: Catherine Wearing | Created on: June 20, 2007 | Last Updated: August 10, 2007 | Expires: July 2008