College of Arts & Sciences

Philosophy

120

Total hours

6

Premajor hours

45

Core hours

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Philosophy encourages critical and systematic inquiry into fundamental questions of right and wrong, truth and falsehood, the meaning of life, and the nature of reality, knowledge, and society. Philosophy explores the core issues of the Western intellectual tradition. With its emphasis on reason and argumentation, the major is excellent preparation for a career in law or business. Because Philosophy develops certain analytical skills (and maybe also because a certain type of student is attracted to the field), Philosophy majors score among the very highest on standardized tests for law school (the LSAT), graduate school (the GRE), and business school (the GMAT).  Indeed, comparing the data could lead to the conclusion that "Philosophers are the smartest humanists, physicists the smartest scientists, economists the smartest social scientists." 

Careers

Grow Your Future

Philosophy majors are active in many kinds of career:  for example, Business, Law, Counselling, Public Policy and Administration, Social Work, Foreign Service, Ministry, Academics, Librarianship, Journalism, Writing, Editing and Criticism, Computer Science and Applications, Communications, Hospital Administration,  Entertainment, Medical Ethics Consulting.

Career opportunities in Philosophy

  • lawyer 
  • banker
  • public relations director
  • publisher
  • journalist 
  • retail management
  • librarian
  • counselor
  • marketing 
  • consulting
  • research
  • accountant
  • social worker
  • professor
  • self-employed
  • labor relations
  • foreign service officer
  • public policy
  • non-profit work 
  • minister
  • teacher

Classes & Requirements

What You'll Study

Philosophy encourages critical and systematic inquiry into fundamental questions of right and wrong, truth and falsehood, the meaning of life, and the nature of reality, knowledge, and society. More than any other discipline, philosophy explores the core issues of the Western intellectual tradition. With its emphasis on reason and argumentation, a philosophy major is an excellent preparation for a career in law or business.


Graduation Requirements

Any student earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete a minimum of 39 hours at the 300+ level. These hours are generally completed by the major requirements. However, keep this hour requirement in mind as you choose your course work for the requirements in the major. See the complete description of College requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Arts and Sciences section of the 2015-2016 Undergraduate Bulletin.

UK Core Requirements

  • The Nature of Inquiry in Arts and Creativity (3 hours)
  • The Nature of Inquiry in the Humanities (3 hours)
  • The Nature of Inquiry in the Social Sciences (3 hours)
  • The nature of Inquiry in the Natural, Physical and Mathematical Sciences (3 hours)
  • Composition and Communication I (3 hours)
  • Composition and Communication II (3 hours)
  • Quantitative Foundations (3 hours)
  • Statistical and Inferential Reasoning (3 hours)
  • Community, Culture and Citizenship in the USA (3 hours)
  • Global Dynamics (3 hours)

Total Credit Hours - 30


Premajor Requirements 

  • PHI 260 - History of Philosophy I: from Greek Beginnings to the Middle Ages [3 hours]
  • PHI 270 - History of Philosophy II: from the Renaissance to the Present Era [3 hours]

Total Hours - 6

Major Requirements 

Major Core Requirements 

  • PHI 320 - Symbolic Logic [3 hours]
  • PHI 330 - Ethics or PHI 335 - The Individual and Society [3 hours]
  • PHI 350 - Metaphysics and Epistemology [3 hours]

Other Course Work Required for the Major

  • Students must take 15 credit hours of PHI 500+ courses (Please refer to the UK Bulletin for a list of approved classes) [15 hours]
  • Students must take 3 additional credit hours of 300+ PHI course work (please refer to the UK Bulletin for a list of approved classes) [3 hours]

Course Work Outside of the Department

  • Students must take 18 hours of at least 200+ level course work; up to 4 hours may come from Philosophy courses [18 hours]

Total Hours - 45


Philosophy | Bachelor of Arts

B.A. Major Sheet B.A. Four Year Plan

A&S Undecided/Exploratory Studies

Understanding that over 70 percent of university students will change their declared major at least once during their college careers, the College of Arts and Sciences has developed an Exploratory Studies program for students who have yet to decide the specific field of study that most closely aligns both their personal interests and their professional career goals and objectives. The Exploratory Studies Program provides students with an extraordinarily diverse educational environment that includes coursework spanning Math and Natural Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences and provides students with the unique opportunity to explore multiple areas of interest during their first several semesters on campus. For more information please contact a recruiting representative at asrecruting@uky.edu. 


Enhancing Your Time at UK

While there are endless ways to create an unforgettable journey as a Wildcat, we can only think of one that gives you the chance to step outside the classroom and into exploring new parts of the world around you: participating in an Education Abroad opportunity! Whether it’s in a study, research, service, or internship program, taking your UK experience international with EA is the most hands-on way for you to expand your global perspective while making yourself a more well-rounded, marketable candidate to future employers no matter your field. As you take these first steps towards investing in your future, EA encourages you to take advantage of all the opportunities UK has to offer. Take a look at some of the many suggested opportunities UK Education Abroad & Exchanges has to complement your major! #ukyabroad

 

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