Philosophy, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with a concentration in ethics and public policy

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The Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy requires a minimum of 120 credits, with at least 30 of those credits in philosophy. Fifteen of these credits must be selected from upper-level philosophy courses.

Students whose main interests in philosophy are ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of law or public policy (and who may wish to pursue graduate work in law, political science, economics and related areas) will probably want to choose the ethics and public policy concentration.

Student learning outcomes

Philosophy core outcomes

Upon completing this program, students will be able to:

Demonstrate a good knowledge of and facility with the methods and concepts of modern, analytic philosophy
Demonstrate a good knowledge of the current state of academic discussion of some of the central philosophical topics
Demonstrate some knowledge of the history of philosophy, including both major themes and movements and some specific figures and systems
Demonstrate the ability to think critically and systemically about philosophical problems, both abstract and practical, and to write clearly and cogently about them
Demonstrate the ability to construct and analyze arguments clearly and cogently, independently of their subject matter

Ethics and public policy concentration-specific outcomes

Demonstrate a good knowledge of public policy in areas such as politics, economics and law
Demonstrate a good knowledge of philosophical questions about public policy in areas such as politics, economics and law

Degree requirements for Philosophy, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with a concentration in ethics and public policy

Course	Title	Hours
General education
Select 30 credits of general education courses in consultation with an adviser.		30
Major requirements
• Major core requirements
PHIL 103	History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy	3
PHIL 104	History of Modern Philosophy	3
PHIL 222	Logic	3
PHIL 490	Seminar in Philosophy	3
• Additional major requirements
PHIL 300	Philosophical Concepts	3
or PHIL 301	Metaphysics
or PHIL 302	Epistemology
or PHIL 303	Philosophy of Language
or PHIL 304	Philosophy of Mind
or PHIL 332	Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence
Select two of the following:		6
PHIL 320	Philosophy of Law
PHIL 327	Normative Ethics
PHIL 328	Metaethics
PHIL 335	Social and Political Philosophy
• Major electives
PHIL elective (any level)		3
Non-PHIL courses (from list below)		6
Ancillary requirements
HUMS 202	Choices in a Consumer Society	1
PHIL 201	Introduction to Ethics ¹	3
or PHIL 202	Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
or PHIL 211	History of Ethics
or PHIL 212	Ethics and Applications
or PHIL 213	Ethics and Health Care
or PHIL 214	Ethics and Business
Experiential fine arts ²		1-3
Foreign language through the 102 level (by course or placement)		0-6
Open electives
Select any course.		47-55
Total Hours		120

PHIL 201 satisfies general education BOK for humanities/fine arts and AOI for diversities in the human experience; PHIL 202 satisfies general education BOK for humanities/fine arts and AOI for scientific and logical reasoning. Students who chose this course will take additional electives to fulfill degree requirements.

Course offered by the School of the Arts

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.

Non-PHIL course options for major requirements (choose two)

Course	Title	Hours
CRJS 324	Courts and Sentencing	3
CRJS 355	Criminological Theory	3
ECON 301	Microeconomic Theory	3
ECON 302	Macroeconomic Theory	3
ECON 419	History of Economic Thought	3
POLI 310	Public Policy	3
POLI 314	U.S. Constitutional Law: Structure of Government	3
POLI 315	Courts and Politics	3
SOCY 302	Contemporary Social Problems	3
SOCY 430	Politics, Power and Ideology	3
Other appropriate courses approved by the Department of Philosophy

What follows is a sample plan that meets the prescribed requirements within a four-year course of study at VCU. Please contact your adviser before beginning course work toward a degree.

Freshman year
Fall semester		Hours
UNIV 101	Introduction to the University	1
UNIV 111 Play course video for Focused Inquiry I	Focused Inquiry I (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
Experiential fine arts		1-3
General education course		3
General education course		3
Open elective		3
	Term Hours:	14-16
Spring semester
HUMS 202	Choices in a Consumer Society	1
UNIV 112 Play course video for Focused Inquiry II	Focused Inquiry II (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
General education course		3
General education course		3
Open electives		6
	Term Hours:	16
Sophomore year
Fall semester
PHIL 103 or PHIL 104	History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy or History of Modern Philosophy	3
PHIL 201 or PHIL 202 or PHIL 211 or PHIL 212 or PHIL 213 or PHIL 214	Introduction to Ethics ¹ or Ethics of Artificial Intelligence ¹ or History of Ethics ¹ or Ethics and Applications ¹ or Ethics and Health Care ¹ or Ethics and Business ¹	3
UNIV 200	Advanced Focused Inquiry: Literacies, Research and Communication (satisfies general education UNIV foundations)	3
Foreign language 101		3
Open elective (or select general education course if PHIL 201 was not selected above)		3
	Term Hours:	15
Spring semester
PHIL 104 or PHIL 103	History of Modern Philosophy or History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy	3
PHIL 222	Logic	3
Foreign language 102		3
General education course (select BOK to complete breadth of knowledge requirement)		3
General education course (select BOK to complete breadth of knowledge requirement)		3
	Term Hours:	15
Junior year
Fall semester
PHIL 320 or PHIL 327 or PHIL 328 or PHIL 335	Philosophy of Law or Normative Ethics or Metaethics or Social and Political Philosophy	3
Non-PHIL course (from list)		3
Open electives		9
	Term Hours:	15
Spring semester
PHIL 320 or PHIL 327 or PHIL 328 or PHIL 335	Philosophy of Law or Normative Ethics or Metaethics or Social and Political Philosophy	3
Non-PHIL course (from list)		3
Open electives		9
	Term Hours:	15
Senior year
Fall semester
PHIL 300 or PHIL 301 or PHIL 302 or PHIL 303 or PHIL 304 or PHIL 332	Philosophical Concepts or Metaphysics or Epistemology or Philosophy of Language or Philosophy of Mind or Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence	3
PHIL elective		3
Open electives		9
	Term Hours:	15
Spring semester
PHIL 490	Seminar in Philosophy	3
Open electives		12
	Term Hours:	15
	Total Hours:	120-122

PHIL 201 satisfies general education BOK for humanities/fine arts and AOI for diversities in the human experience; PHIL 202 satisfies general education BOK for humanities/fine arts and AOI for diversities in the human experience. Students who chose this course will take additional electives to fulfill degree requirements.

The minimum number of credit hours required for this degree is 120.