Major: Department of Philosophy - Northwestern University

Major

The Philosophy major aims to provide students with a grounding in basic skills and background in philosophy (including logic, ethics, and the history of philosophy), while leaving leeway for students to pursue themes or periods of particular interest to them. The major requires 13 courses, four of which satisfy the core requirements, and nine of which are electives.

The four core requirements (along with the courses that fulfill them) are as follows:

Logic: PHIL 150 or PHIL 250
Ethics: PHIL 260 or PHIL 261
History of Philosophy: PHIL 210-1 (Ancient Philosophy)
History of Philosophy: PHIL 210-3 (Early Modern Philosophy)

Of the remaining 9 additional courses, at least 6 must be at the 300 or 400 level. A student who is admitted to and completes 1 or more 400-level courses may apply such courses toward this requirement. These electives may not include PHIL 101-7 and -8, 373, 398, and they may include at most 2 (two) different PHIL 399. One course offered by another department may be counted as an elective for the major, provided that it has substantial philosophical content (as determined by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.)

NOTE: Core requirements cannot be replaced by courses taken at institutions other than the NU philosophy department. This includes study abroad, online courses, other universities, other departments at NU. Only in cases of established exceptional hardship will the UG-committee be able to consider a request to have a course taken at another venue as a core credit (see FAQ for further details). Should you believe to be in such circumstances, you need to immediately contact your advisor or the DUS to find out more about the possibilities.

For scheduling philosophy coursework in the Major or Minor, it is important to note that our core courses are usually offered only once per year. It is thus imperative especially for students who are planning to study abroad or to graduate early to plan with the limited availability of core requirements.

THERE ARE NO ALTERNATIVES TO THESE CORE REQUIREMENTS. (Except in extraordinary cases of hardship).

Please consult the yearly course schedule for accurate information, but typically the core courses are offered on this schedule:

PHIL 150: Fall
PHIL 210-1: Fall (Academic Year 26-7 is an exception: it will be offered in the winter)
PHIL 210-3: Spring
PHIL 260/261: Each once per year, and never in the same quarter.

For more detailed official information on the requirements, see https://catalogs.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/arts-sciences/philosophy/philosophy-major/.