| Program name: | Philosophy Degree Program |
|---|---|
| Type of program: | Baccalaureate Degree Program |
| The program will be offered at: | Akron Campus |
| Existing courses required for completion of program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours) | |
|---|---|
| 3600:101 Introduction to Philosophy (3)
3600:120 Introduction to Ethics (3) 3600:170 Introduction to Logic (3) 3600:211 History of Ancient Philosophy (3) 3600:312 History of Medieval Philosophy (3) 3600:313 History of Modern Philosophy (3) | |
| Courses new to university offering required for completion of program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours) | |
| None | |
| Deletion of required courses | |
| None | |
| Existing courses which can be used as electives in program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours; if options exist, list by option) | |
| 3600:125 Theory and Evidence (3)
3600:201 Philosophy of World Religions (3) AT LEAST 6 CREDITS OF ELECTIVES MUST BE AT 300/400 LEVEL 3600:323 Advanced Topics in Ethics (3) 3600:324 Social and Poltical Philosophy (3) 3600:327 Law and Morality (3) 3600:329 Philosophies of International Law (3) 3600:331 Philosophy of Religion (3) 3600:333 Philosophy of Science and Religion (3) 3600:340 Eastern Philosophy (3) 3600:350 Philosophy of Art (3) 3600:355 Philosophy of Feminism (3) 3600:361 Biomedical Ethics (3) 3600:362 Business Ethics (3) 3600:363 Police Ethics (3) 3600:364 Computer Ethics (3) 3600:365 Environmental Ethics (3) 3600:371 Philosophy of Mind (3) 3600:392 Internship in Philosophy (1-3) 3600:411 Plato (3) 3600:414 Aquinas (3) 3600:415 Augustine (3) 3600:418 20th Century Analytic Philosophy (3) 3600:421 Philosophy of Law (3) 3600:424 Existentialism (3) 3600:426 Phenomenology (3) 3600:432 Aristotle (3) 3600:434 Kant (3) 3600:461 Neuroethics (3) 3600:462 Theory of Knowledge (3) 3600:464 Philosophy of Science (3) 3600:471 Metaphysics (3) 3600:480 Seminar (3) 3600:481 Philosophy of Language (3) 3600:490 Senior Honors Project in Philosophy (3) 3600:497 Individual Study (1-3) | |
| Courses new to university offering which can be used as electives in program: (list each individually, one course per line, with course number, title, and credit hours; if options exist, list by option) | |
| None | |
| Deletion of elective courses | |
| None | |
| Change in number of elective credits | |
| Current: 6, New: 6 - Philosophy courses Current: 6, New: 6 - 300/400 level Philosophy courses | |
| Change in number of required credits | |
| Current: 30 New: 30 | |
| Change in number of credits required for degree | |
| Current: 128 New: 128 | |
| Change in other degree requirements | |
| None | |
| Change in admissions requirements for direct admits | |
| Current requirements: 3.0 high school GPA; 22 ACT - 920 SAT; upper 50% of high school graduating class; core curriculum. Proposed requirements: Same as current requirements. | |
| Change in admissions requirements for students using intercollege transfer | |
| Current requirements: Completed a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit; Completed 7 credits of English Composition for the general education requirement; Completed 3 credits of mathematics or statistics (excluding 3450:100 Intermediate Algebra) earned in the Department of Theoretical and applied Mathematics or the Department of Statistics; Have a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all work attempted in the major field, including transfer work; Have a minimum GPA of 2.0 in all university work, including transfer credits; Received approval of the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. Proposed requirements: Same as current requirements. | |
| Change in admissions requirements to a graduate program | |
| Current requirements: N/A Proposed requirements: N/A | |
| Implementation Plan | |
| This change will become effective with the Fall 2010 term. | |
| Additional program requirements: | |
| Completion through the 2nd year of a foreign language for all undergraduate students obtaining a philosophy degree, regardless of whether philosophy is their 1st degree or an additional degree. | |
| Other information: | |
| None | |
| Resource statement: | |
| No additional resources are required to implement this change. | |
| Web components statement: | |
| The Philosophy Department offers one web-based course, 3600:364, Computer Ethics, which is an elective for the philosophy degree. Other courses within the program are web-enchanced. | |
| Rationale: | |
| Completion through the 2nd year of a foreign language has been a long standing requirement for undergraduate students obtaining a BA in philosophy at the University of Akron. This requirement is important, not only because it helps define the level of difficulty at which a student can perform, but because many primary source readings in philosophy are in a foreign language. Thus, the foreign language requirement helps prepare students for graduate work in the field. However, last year it came to our attention that a student pursuing philosophy as a 2nd degree is not held to the language requirement. The only requirements for obtaining philosophy as a 2nd degree are that the student complete an additional 32 credits above those needed for their 1st degree, 16 of which must be at the 300/400 level, and that the student complete the 30 departmental credits required for a philosophy major. Thus, a student can obtain a BA in philosophy, via a 2nd degree, without completing all the requirements deemed necessary for the degree. We view this as unacceptable, as this student lays claim to the same degree without having attained the same level of competency.
Also, we are requesting one minor change in the wording of our Bulletin description. We wish to remove the statement "Electives - 42 credits". Years ago this statement was placed in the bulletin so that the total credits needed to complete a Philosophy degree totaled 128, the total number of credits needed to graduate from the University of Akron. This was calculated by adding together the required credits in each of the manditory categories: 42 General Education credits, 14 foreign language credits, and 30 philosophy credits--which totals 86--leaving 42 elective credits at the discretion of the student. However, over the years this statement--"Electives - 42 credits"--has served more to confuse students than to clarify their requirements. Some interpret it to mean they need 42 additional elective Philosophy credits, which of course is not the case. Thus, since most students are already keenly aware that they need a total of 128 credits in order to graduate and since every student's required courses don't necessarily add up to 86 credits as summed up above (some might bypass part of their language credits and/or take more or less General Education credits), we no longer find it necessary or desirable to have our Bulletin description include this statement. | |
| Bulletin description: | |
| 3600: Philosophy
Bachelor of Arts * The General Education requirement and the second year of a foreign language. * A minimum of 30 departmental credits including: 3600:101 Introduction to Philosophy 3 3600:120 Introduction to Ethics 3 3600:170 Introduction to Logic 3 3600:211 History of Ancient Philosophy 3 3600:312 History of Medieval Philosophy 3 3600:313 History of Modern Philosophy 3 (Of the additional twelve credits, six must be earned in 300/400 level courses). NOTE: Completion of the 2nd year of a foreign language is required of all undergraduate students obtaining a Philosophy degree, regardless of whether Philosophy is a 1st degree or an additional degree. |