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Philosophy: Bachelor of Arts Major (also: Honours)

Description

The Philosophy Major at KPU provides students a broad-based, general education in the principal areas of Western Philosophy. Philosophy majors will complete courses in logic, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and history of philosophy. The program is expressly set up to satisfy a variety of additional pedagogical and intellectual objectives, chief among these being the development of critical reasoning and writing skills, both in general and with regard to specialized research in the discipline. Philosophy majors at KPU will experience a learning environment that is supportive and challenging. It is one that prepares students for graduate work in philosophy. It develops effective citizenship, community leadership, and the critical reasoning, writing, and problem-solving skills required for successful careers in any area.

The Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy provides students the opportunity to build a sturdy educational foundation in one of the core areas of the Humanities. All Philosophy majors take a course in formal logic at the 1000-level. At the 2000-level, five courses in philosophy are obligatory: Moral Theory (the study of the nature of right and wrong), Metaphysics (the study of the nature of reality), Epistemology (the study of the nature and limits of knowledge), Ancient Greek Philosophy, and Modern Philosophy.

Upper-level students will have the following options: to take smaller, more participatory courses in Special Topics in Philosophy; to pursue an Applied Ethics Stream by taking specially designed courses in Business, Environmental, and Biomedical Ethics; to participate in a Practicum course where research and work skills are enhanced; and to apply to a selective sequence of honours courses with a focus on researching and writing an honours thesis.

Admission Requirements

Students pursuing a major in Philosophy must be admitted to the Faculty of Arts.

Declaration Requirements

Students intending to graduate with this Faculty of Arts Bachelor’s degree must declare the credential by the time they complete 60 credits of undergraduate coursework. At the time of declaration, the student must satisfy all of the following requirements:

  • In good academic standing with the University
  • Completion of a minimum of 18 credits of undergraduate coursework, including the following with a minimum grade of “C”:
    • 3 credits of ENGL at the 1100 level or higher
    • 6 credits at the 1100 level or higher in the Major area

Curricular Requirements

Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree must complete all requirements in the Bachelor of Arts framework in addition to their major or minor program requirements.

Major

Requirements for the major in philosophy include the successful completion of a minimum of 48 credits in philosophy, of which at least 18 credits are at the 3rd year level, and at least 6 credits are at the 4th year level.

As part of the 48 credits in philosophy, majors must complete the following:

Logic Requirement - at least 3 credits:
  PHIL 1150 Introduction to Formal Logic 3 credits
History of Philosophy Requirement - at least 9 credits:
  PHIL 2106 Ancient Greek Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 2107 Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant 3 credits
  3 further credits at the 3rd year or higher in the History of Philosophy (see list of courses by area below)
Metaphysics and Epistemology Requirement - at least 9 credits:
  PHIL 2210 Epistemology 3 credits
  PHIL 2215 Metaphysics 3 credits
  3 further credits at the 3rd year or higher in Metaphysics or Epistemology (see list of courses by area below)
Ethics Requirement - at least 9 credits:
  PHIL 2110 Moral Theory 3 credits
  One of the following:
  PHIL 3109 Foundations in Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 3119 Contemporary Moral Theory 3 credits
  PHIL 4110 Topics in Ethics 3 credits
  3 further credits at the 3rd year or higher in Value Theory (see list of courses by area below)

Applied Ethics Stream

Besides the requirements for the philosophy major, students must complete at least 9 additional credits in Applied Ethics from the following:
  PHIL 3118 Ethics and Public Policy 3 credits
  PHIL 3510 Confronting Moral Issues: Bio-medical Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 3512 Confronting Moral Issues: The Natural Environment 3 credits
  PHIL 3533 Confronting Moral Issues: Business Ethics 3 credits


Note:
Certain pre-requisites must be met in order to gain admission to 3000 and 4000 level PHIL courses.

Honours

Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Philosophy degree must complete 120 credits including area requirements as specified in the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy or the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy – Applied Ethics Stream. Within these 120 credits, in lieu of 6 credits of Philosophy electives, students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Philosophy degree must complete the following:

  PHIL 3900 Honours Research and Thesis I 3 credits
  PHIL 4900 Honours Research and Thesis II 3 credits

Enrolment in Philosophy Honours courses requires the permission of the Philosophy department. In order to be considered for Honours courses, students must typically have a record of exceptional academic performance, including the following:

  • at least 60 credits of university-level coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • at least 24 of the 60 credits must be university-level Philosophy coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.67.

Please see kpu.ca/arts/philosophy for further information regarding application deadlines and selection criteria.

Students may receive either the Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy degree or the Bachelor of Arts Honours in Philosophy Honours degree, but not both.

Other Information

Philosophy Courses by Area

A course appearing in boldface type signals that the course is required for the major. No single course can count for more than one area. Students may take the same 4th year Topics course twice for different credit if and only if the content differs significantly. Students who wish to take the same 4th year Topics course more than once must obtain the permission of the Chair of the Philosophy Department.

Logic
  PHIL 1145 Critical Thinking 3 credits
  PHIL 1150 Introduction to Formal Logic 3 credits
  PHIL 1155 Introduction to Scientific Reasoning 3 credits
  PHIL 3150 Advanced Formal Logic 3 credits
History of Philosophy
  PHIL 1106 Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 2106 Ancient Greek Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 2107 Modern Philosophy: Descartes to Kant 3 credits
  PHIL 2115 Asian Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 3100 Great Philosophers of the Twentieth Century 3 credits
  PHIL 3101 Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 3220 Empiricism 3 credits
  PHIL 3225 Rationalism 3 credits
Metaphysics and Epistemology
  PHIL 2120 Philosophy of Religion 3 credits
  PHIL 2210 Epistemology 3 credits
  PHIL 2215 Metaphysics 3 credits
  PHIL 3100 Great Philosophers of the Twentieth Century 3 credits
  PHIL 3101 Twentieth Century Analytic Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 3105 Life and Death 3 credits
  PHIL 3110 The Possibility of Knowledge 3 credits
  PHIL 3120 Free Will and Determinism 3 credits
  PHIL 3220 Empiricism 3 credits
  PHIL 3225 Rationalism 3 credits
  PHIL 3320 Personal Identity 3 credits
  PHIL 3425 Language and Meaning 3 credits
  PHIL 3430 Philosophy of Mind: Consciousness 3 credits
  PHIL 4120 Topics in Philosophy of Religion 3 credits
  PHIL 4210 Topics in Epistemology 3 credits
  PHIL 4215 Topics in Metaphysics 3 credits
  PHIL 4430 Topics in Philosophy of Mind 3 credits
Ethics and Value Theory
  PHIL 1110 Confronting Moral Issues: Introduction to Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 1112 Environmental Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 2110 Moral Theory 3 credits
  PHIL 2117 Social and Political Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 3010 Health Care Ethics (not for majors) 3 credits
  PHIL 3033 Business Ethics (not for majors) 3 credits
  PHIL 3040 Philosophy of Art 3 credits
  PHIL 3105 Life and Death 3 credits
  PHIL 3109 Foundations in Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 3118 Ethics and Public Policy 3 credits
  PHIL 3119 Contemporary Moral Theory 3 credits
  PHIL 3510 Confronting Moral Issues: Bio-Medical Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 3512 Confronting Moral Issues: the Natural Environment 3 credits
  PHIL 3533 Confronting Moral Issues in Business 3 credits
  PHIL 4040 Topics in the Philosophy of Art 3 credits
  PHIL 4110 Topics in Ethics 3 credits
  PHIL 4117 Topics in Social and Political Philosophy 3 credits
Other
  PHIL 1100 Introduction to Philosophy 3 credits
  PHIL 1101 Philosophy, Culture, and Identity 3 credits
  PHIL 1111 Sustainability and Ethical Analysis 3 credits
  PHIL 3900 Honours Research and Thesis I 3 credits
  PHIL 4900 Honours Research and Thesis Ii 3 credits
  PHIL 4950 Practicum 3 credits

Credential Awarded

Upon successful completion of the honours program, students are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). Transcripts will indicate a Major in Philosophy

Upon successful completion of the major program students are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Arts. Transcripts will indicate a Major in Philosophy.

At a Glance

Faculty of Arts

kpu.ca/arts

Philosophy

kpu.ca/arts/philosophy

Program Type:

  • Undergraduate

Credential Granted:

  • Baccalaureate Degree

Offered At:

  • KPU Langley  Langley
  • KPU Richmond  Richmond
  • KPU Surrey  Surrey

Start Date(s):

  • Fall Intake (September)  September
  • Spring Intake (January)  January
  • Summer Intake (May)  May

Intake Type:

  • Open Intake  Open intake

Format:

  • Full-time  Full-time
  • Part-time  Part-time

Minimum Credits Required:

  • 120

Instructional Cycle:

  • Semester-based

Curriculum Effective Date:

  • 01-Sep-2011

How to Declare:

Applying to KPU:

Last Updated: 20-Dec-2018

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