Overview of Undergraduate Program
The Philosophy Department offers a major and minor in philosophy. Qualified majors in philosophy have the further option of entering the honors program. Details on the requirements for a major, minor and honors in philosophy follow.
Major in Philosophy
The course requirements for completing a major in philosophy are structured to ensure that student gets a broad education in philosophy. At least twelve (12) courses must be completed in total, fulfilling the distribution requirements detailed in the table below. For more information about the undergraduate major in philosophy, including advising sources within the Department and UC Berkeley, see the Frequently Asked Questions page.
We recommend that majors and prospective majors consult the statement of learning goals that has been developed in connection with the Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative.
| Course Requirements for Philosophy Majors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course Area | Course Numbers | Course Offered |
Logic | 12A | [every semester] |
Ancient Survey | 25A | [every fall] |
Modern Survey | 25B | [every spring] |
Methods | 100 or equivalent | [every semester] |
Ethics (1) | One from 104, 105, 107, 115 | [1 or more per year] |
History (2) | One
from each group: | [1 or more per semester] |
Epistemology/ |
Two courses from different groups: |
[1 or more per semester] |
Electives (3) | Three additional upper division philosophy courses |
|
One of the above 12 courses may be taken P/NP. One elective may be a course offered in another department, provided the course is approved by the Undergraduate Advisor. H195, 198, and 199 do not count as electives. | ||
[PDF checklist of major requirements]
Undergraduate Honors
The Honors Program is for undergraduate majors who want to work more intensively and independently on a subject that they have studied in the course of their undergraduate studies.
Interested students should seek admission to the Honors Program a year before their expected graduation (typically, the end of spring of their junior year). Admission into the Honors Program requires:
- the agreement of a faculty member to supervise an honors thesis
- the consent of the Undergraduate Faculty Advisor
- an overall grade-point average of at least 3.50,
- a grade-point average of 3.70 or higher in the major, and
- completion of the Petition for Honors.
The requirements of the honors program are:
- completion of a graduate seminar in philosophy, and
- completion of an honors thesis.
Enrollment in a graduate seminar is by consent of the instructor only. Graduate seminars usually require a term paper, of about 15-20 pages, due at the end of the semester.
The thesis is around 35-45 pages and is due by mid-April. Students admitted to the Honors Program should begin work on the thesis as soon as they are admitted to honors (typically, they should start their research over summer before senior year). In their second-to-last semester (typically the fall of senior year), they enroll in an independent study, Philosophy H195. Note that H195 does not count toward the twelve required for the major.
Completing the honors program requirements is necessary but not sufficient for receiving departmental honors. Honors are awarded by the department faculty based on the quality of the senior thesis and the student's overall record. For answers to further FAQs about honors such as:
- Does honors help for admission to graduate school?
- If I start the honors program, will I be awarded honors?
- How much time does the honors program take?
see Honors FAQs.
Minor in Philosophy
To minor in philosophy, students must take six courses meeting the following distribution requirements:
| Course Requirements for Philosophy Minors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Course Type | Course Area | Course Numbers |
Lower Division | History |
25A or 25B |
Upper Division | Ethics (1) | 104 or 105 or 107 or 115 |
Epistemology/Metaphysics (1) |
122 or 125 or 131 or 132 or 133 or 135 |
|
Electives (3) | Three additional upper division philosophy course. |
|
Of the five required upper-division courses, at least three must be taken at Berkeley. All six required courses must be taken for a letter grade. Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all six required courses and also in all five required upper-division courses. |
||
When you have completed the requirements for the minor, you should submit a Petition for Confirmation of Minor Program Completion for Undergraduates. You can download the petition from Letters and Science Advising. For more detailed information about declaring the minor, please see the Frequently Asked Questions.