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III. Requirements for the Philosophy Major

Advising and Admission

During their lower division years, students are encouraged to take other courses in Philosophy according to their particular interests. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is available to advise students with respect to degree completion. Students are advised to take their major courses throughout their undergraduate education rather than trying to take them all in the final semesters. Majors are encouraged to take PHI 2010 (Introduction to Philosophy) to fulfill their Humanities Tier 1 requirement of the University Core Curriculum (UCC). This course provides students with an excellent introduction to philosophy and serves to prepare students for their major courses. It is not a required course, however, and it is not a prerequisite for taking Upper Division philosophy courses. Similarly, students are encouraged to take PHI 2600 (Introduction to Ethics) to complete their Humanities Tier II requirement of the UCC and PHI 2100 (Logic) to complete the Computational Reasoning Tier II section of the UCC. In addition to fulfilling UCC requirements and providing majors with a strong foundation for more advanced work in philosophy, all three courses can be applied to philosophy major requirements.

Declaring a Track

The Panther Degree Audit for philosophy majors has the General Track as its "default" setting, and so majors who wish to declare a Professional Track or a Specialized Track major must meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to have the necessary adjustment to the audit made. Students must declare the Specialized Track at least two semesters before graduation.

View Tracks 

Degree Requirements

The following requirements apply to all three tracks:

  • Any course taken to fulfill a requirement for the major may not be taken with the "pass/fail" option and must be passed with a grade of "C" or better, with two exceptions PHI4945 (Internship in Philosophy) and PHI 4911 (Senior Research).
  • No more than six hours of Independent Study may be used to fulfill major requirements.
  • At most one of PHI 2100 (Introduction to Logic), PHI 2103 (Critical Thinking), or their equivalents, may be used to fulfill major requirements, and at most six other hours of lower division philosophy courses may be counted toward the degree.
  • Students are required to satisfy a one-credit capstone project (PHI 4911). Enrollment is by permission of the department and normally occurs in the last semester before graduation. Contact the director of undergraduate studies for further information.
  • In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the major, the College of Arts, Sciences and Education has a number of requirements which are listed in the  CASE section of the FIU Course Catalog.

Tracks

The General Track is designed to serve students with a broad interest in philosophy. One three-hour Logic course is required, selected from PHI 2100 or PHI 2103 (at the most one of these two courses may be used to fulfill major requirements), or PHI 4130, or PHI 4161. The remaining 30 hours may include any other philosophy courses (except that only one of PHI 2100 or 2103 may count toward the major). Students are strongly encouraged to discuss their course selections with their advisors. A total of 33 semester hours are required.