Philosophy Major and Minor Requirements

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Philosophy has recently adopted new requirements for its major.  This page outlines the requirements for students who entered St. Lawrence before Fall 2025, as well as the new requirements for students entering in Fall 2025 or later.  If you are a current student and would like to opt-in to the new requirements, please discuss it with your advisor.

Requirements for Current Students

A major in philosophy consists of 10 courses, distributed as follows:

  • 201. Ancient Philosophy
  • 202. Reasoning
  • 203. Ethical Theory
  • 208. Modern Philosophy
  • 223. Asian Philosophy OR 232 Africana Philosophy
  • 4 Electives (at least two must be at the 300 level and only one 100-level course may count for the major).
  • SYE: PHIL-400. Metaphilosophy or PHIL-498-499. Honors Thesis.

Students are strongly encouraged to begin their philosophical studies with 100, 103 or 120, since a 100-level course is often a prerequisite for core courses. The core courses do not have to be taken in any particular sequence, but we strongly recommend that students take 201 and 208 in sequence in their sophomore year.

Minor Requirements

A minor in philosophy consists of five to nine courses that must include:

  1. 202. Reasoning
  2. 203. Ethical Theory
  3. 201. Ancient Philosophy and/or 208. Modern Philosophy
  4. 223. Asian Philosophy and/or 232. Africana Philosophy
  5. Only one 100-level course counts toward the minor.

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or after Fall 2025

Major Requirements

You can find a handy checklist with all of these requirements here (Philosophy B.A. Checklist).

A major in philosophy consists of 9 courses, distributed as follows:

  • Two courses from the Texts and Contexts category.
  • One course from the Logic and Argumentation category
  • One course from the Ethics and Values category.
  • One course from the Power and Privilege category.
  • One course from the Knowledge and Reality category.
  • Two electives, no more than one of which can be at the 100 level.
  • SYE: PHIL-400. Metaphilosophy or PHIL-498-499. Honors Thesis.
Minor Requirements

A minor consists of 5 courses, distributed as follows:

  • One course from the Texts and Contexts category.
  • One course from the Logic and Argumentation category or Knowledge and Reality category.
  • One course from the Ethics and Values category.
  • One course from the Power and Privilege category.
  • One elective.
Course Categories

Power and Privilege
PHIL-327: Existentialist Philosophy 
PHIL-225: Latin American Philosophy 
PHIL-232: Africana Philosophy 
PHIL-334: Feminist Philosophy 
PHIL-4016: Philosophy of Psychiatry
 
Ethics and Values     
PHIL-127: Cyber-Ethics 
PHIL-121: Markets and Morality  
PHIL-203: Ethical Theory 
PHIL-304: Architecture and Ecology 
PHIL-310: Environmental Philosophy 
PHIL-334: Feminist Philosophy
PHIL-354: Bioethics 
PHIL-4028: Economic Justice
   
Logic and Argumentation     
PHIL-202: Reasoning 
PHIL-302: Symbolic Logic
   
Texts and Contexts     
PHIL-201: Ancient Philosophy 
PHIL-208: Modern Philosophy 
PHIL-3025: American Pragmatism
 
Knowledge and Reality     
PHIL-301: Philosophy of Science 
PHIL-325: Philosophy of the Health and Human Sciences 
PHIL-350: Philosophy of Mind 
PHIL-359: Philosophy of Language 
PHIL-4014: Philosophy of Social Science 
PHIL-4027: Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence 
PHIL-4033: Philosophy of Race

Honors in Philosophy

To receive honors in philosophy, a student must satisfy the requirements for the major. In addition, he or she must have a 3.5 grade point average in the department and complete a departmentally approved honors project (PHIL 498/499) as his or her SYE.