1. General advice
Philosophy is often a “found major”–that is, a major that students do not have in mind when they first come to college but decide on only after they have arrived and have had some exposure to philosophy. As a result, planning out how one is going to complete the requirements usually doesn’t start until one has already completed a number of semesters. In this section we provide some general advice on that planning.
Philosophy courses are not in general sequential, where one must take one course prior to taking another in order to do well with the latter. It is not, for instance, necessary to take Introduction to Philosophy (PHI 2010) to take other philosophy courses, and the only formal requirement is that one must complete a 3000-level course prior to taking any 4000-level course. Still, some guidelines are in order. It is a good idea to take the area distribution requirement courses earlier rather than later, as they are intended to provide the grounding for much else you will study. In particular, it is advisable to take the required course in symbolic logic (PHI3130) earlier, as it provides critical argumentative and reasoning skills that will be quite useful in other classes. It might also be a good idea to take the two required history courses (Ancient Greek Philosophy PHH3100 and Modern Philosophy PHH3400) earlier, as these will acquaint you with a great deal of influential work and ideas that are frequently alluded to and used in other classes. Ideally, you should plan things so that you can take your two or more 4000-level courses towards the later part of your college career, so you can get the most out of them.
Much depends on the schedule of courses that can actually be offered from semester to semester, however. The Department’s policy is (so far as possible) to offer during each Fall and each Spring semester courses that satisfy four of the five area distribution requirements. More specifically, the aim is to offer PHH 3100 (Ancient Greek Philosophy), PHH 3400 (Modern Philosophy), PHI 3650 (Moral Philosophy) and either PHI 3300 (Theory of Knowledge) or PHI 3500 (Metaphysics) every Fall and Spring, while the remaining required course PHI 3130 (Symbolic Logic) is only offered once a year. Starting Fall 2015, PHI 3130 will be offered each Fall semester. Be sure to take this into consideration when planning when to complete that requirement. In general, the number and variety of courses offered will depend on several factors, not all of which are predictable, so it is a good idea to fulfill requirements earlier.
During the summer, a limited number of philosophy classes are offered. Some courses at the 2000-level are normally offered, and there may be just a few (1–3) elective courses at the 3000-level. (Area distribution courses are almost never offered during the summer.)
2. Sample programs
The UF catalog includes, for each major, a recommended schedule to follow for four years that would enable students to complete the major’s requirements in that time. Below are some sample schedules of that sort. Keep in mind that these are only illustrations. There are many different configurations of courses that could be used to meet the requirements in a timely fashion. Each example assumes a student entering in the Fall term and taking a 15 hour load each semester. Summer semesters are left out, but it may be sensible in certain cases to take a lighter load during the Fall or Spring and make up for it over the summer.
Here, then, is one way a philosophy major might plan to complete the degree:
| Sample Four Year Program | |
|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Credits |
| Composition (GE-C, WR) | 3 |
| Mathematics (GE-M) | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 5 |
| Electives | 3 |
| 14 | |
| Semester 2 | |
| Composition (GE-C, WR) | 3 |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (GE-S) | 3 |
| Foreign language | 5 |
| A 2000-level philosophy class | 3 |
| 14 | |
| Semester 3 | |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Mathematics (GE-M) | 3 |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (GE-S) | 3 |
| Physical Science (GE-P) | 3 |
| Electives | 4 |
| 16 | |
| Semester 4 | |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Biological Science (GE-B) | 3 |
| Science Laboratory (GE-P or GE-B) | 1 |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (GE-S) | 3 |
| Electives | 3 |
| 16 | |
| Semester 5 | |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Biological Science (GE-B) | 3 |
| Physical Science (GE-P) | 3 |
| Electives | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 6 | |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Electives | 9 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 7 | |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 9 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 8 | |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 9 |
| 15 | |
It should be noted that the above example of a 4-year program includes 3 more credit hours in philosophy than needed. After all, there is no need to stick to the minimum, and as the above illustrates, it’s quite feasible to do more.
For students who wish to pursue a senior honors thesis, it may be useful to have an illustration of how that goal may be achieved as well. A student might follow the above plan for his or her first two years and spend the remaining two years as follows:
| Sample Final Two Years for Honors Thesis Preparation | |
|---|---|
| Semester 5 | Credits |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Biological Science (GE-B) | 3 |
| Physical Science (GE-P) | 3 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 6 | |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Electives | 9 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 7 | |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 9 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 8 | |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| PHI 4912 (thesis) | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 9 |
| 15 | |
3. Planning for transfer students
If you are a student planning to transfer to UF and earn a philosophy degree, it is recommended that you complete at least two philosophy classes with a grade of B or better in order to have a competitive application. The general planning advice given above applies to you as well, though you will have less time at UF to complete the requirements. Below is a sample program that illustrates how a transfer student may complete those requirements in two years.
The sample schedule assumes that the student has, prior to matriculation at UF, both completed two philosophy courses at the 2000-level and completed all the basic distribution requirements for CLAS except for the foreign language requirement and the advanced elective requirement (that is, the requirement of 18 credit hours of 3000-level electives outside of one’s major). Transfer students should be sure to check their audit to see what remaining CLAS requirements they might need yet to satisfy.
| Sample Program for Junior Transfer | |
|---|---|
| Semester 5 | Credits |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 5 |
| Elective | 3 |
| 14 | |
| Semester 6 | |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Foreign Language | 5 |
| Elective | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 3 |
| 17 | |
| Semester 7 | |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Philosophy area requirement | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 9 |
| 15 | |
| Semester 8 | |
| A 3000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| A 4000-level philosophy elective | 3 |
| Electives (3000 level or above, not in major) | 6 |
| 15 | |
© University of Florida, 1997–2015, vers. 15.7 Prepared by the undergraduate committee of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Florida.