Philosophy (2022 - 2024)
Major in Philosophy
A major in philosophy requires ten 4-point courses (40 points) in the department. These ten courses must include the following:
- One (and only one) introductory course (PHIL-UA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8)
- Logic (PHIL-UA 70)
- Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy (PHIL-UA 20)
- Early Modern European Philosophy (PHIL-UA 21)
- Ethics (PHIL-UA 40) or Nature of Values (PHIL-UA 41) or Political Philosophy (PHIL-UA 45)
- Epistemology (PHIL-UA 76) or Metaphysics (PHIL-UA 78) or Philosophy of Science (PHIL-UA 90)
- Philosophy of Mind (PHIL-UA 80) or Philosophy of Language (PHIL-UA 85)
- One topics course (PHIL-UA 101, PHIL-UA 102, PHIL-UA 103, or PHIL-UA 104)
- The remaining two courses may be chosen from any philosophy departmental offerings, except introductory courses.
All students must begin with one (and only one) of the introductory courses. Satisfactory completion of any one course at the introductory level is a prerequisite for all of the other courses required for the major, except Logic. It is recommended that those considering a major take Logic as soon as possible.
No credit toward the major is awarded for a course with a grade lower than C. Courses graded Pass/Fail do not count.
Joint Major in Language and Mind
This major, intended as an introduction to cognitive science, is administered by the Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology. Ten courses (40 points) with a grade of C or higher are required (four in linguistics, one in philosophy, four in psychology, and one additional course). Courses graded Pass/Fail do not count. Joint majors should consult with the directors of undergraduate studies of the three participating departments for advisement.
The linguistics component consists of these four courses:
- Language and Mind (LING-UA 3; identical to PSYCH-UA 27) or Language (LING-UA 1)
- Two courses chosen from the following:
- Introduction to Semantics (LING-UA 4)
- Phonological Analysis (LING-UA 12)
- Grammatical Analysis (LING-UA 13)
- One course, chosen from the following:
- Introduction to Semantics (LING-UA 4)
- Psycholinguistics (LING-UA 5; identical to PSYCH-UA 56)
- Patterns in Language (LING-UA 6)
- Formal Languages (LING-UA 7)
- Sound and Language (LING-UA 11)
- Phonological Analysis (LING-UA 12)
- Grammatical Analysis (LING-UA 13)
- Advanced Semantics (LING-UA 19)
- Propositional Attitudes (LING-UA 35)
- The Syntax/Semantics Interface Cross-linguistically (LING-UA 37)
- Neural Bases of Language (LING-UA 43; identical to PSYCH-UA 300)
- Linguistics as Cognitive Science (LING-UA 48; identical to PSYCH-UA 48)
- Machine Learning for Language Understanding (LING-UA 52; identical to DS-UA 203)
- Learning to Speak (LING-UA 54)
- Introduction to Morphology at an Advanced Level (LING-UA 55)
- First Language Acquisition (LING-UA 59; identical to PSYCH-UA 59)
The philosophy component is a choice of one of the following three courses:
- Minds and Machines (PHIL-UA 5)
- Logic (PHIL-UA 70)
- Philosophy of Language (PHIL-UA 85)
The psychology component consists of four courses:
- Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10) or Advanced Psychological Statistics (PSYCH-UA 11)
- Cognition (PSYCH-UA 29)
- One course chosen from among the following:
- Psycholinguistics(PSYCH-UA 56; identical to LING-UA 5)
- Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development (PSYCH-UA 300)
- Neural Bases of Language (PSYCH-UA 300; identical to LING-UA 43)
- Speech: A Window into the Developing Mind (PSYCH-UA 300)
- One course chosen from among the following:
- Perception (PSYCH-UA 22)
- Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 25)
- Laboratory in Cognition and Perception (PSYCH-UA 46)
- Psycholinguistics (PSYCH-UA 56; identical to LING-UA 5)
- Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development (PSYCH-UA 300)
- Neural Bases of Language (PSYCH-UA 300; identical to LING-UA 43)
The tenth course will be an additional course from the lists above that has not already been taken to satisfy the departmental components.
Minor in Philosophy
A minor in philosophy requires four 4-point courses (16 points) in the department. These four courses must include one (and only one) introductory course (PHIL-UA 1-8), and one course from each of the department’s three subject groupings:
- Group 1: History of Philosophy
- Group 2: Ethics, Values, and Society
- Group 3: Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Mind and Language
No credit toward the minor is awarded for a course with a grade lower than C.
Independent Study
A student may register for an independent study course (PHIL-UA 301, 302; 2 or 4 points per term) if he or she obtains the consent of a faculty member who approves the study project and agrees to serve as adviser. The student must also obtain the approval of either the department chair or the director of undergraduate studies. The student may take no more than one such course in any given semester and no more than two such courses in total, unless granted special permission by either the department chair or the director of undergraduate studies.
Honors Program
Students majoring in philosophy who will have completed at least five philosophy courses by the end of the first semester of their junior year and have a GPA of 3.65 or higher, both in philosophy and overall, may apply to the director of undergraduate studies for admission to the departmental honors program. Students should apply when requesting registration clearance for the Spring semester of their junior year. Honors in philosophy will be awarded to philosophy majors who successfully complete the honors program with a GPA of 3.65 or higher both in philosophy and overall. The honors program requires at least eleven courses in philosophy (44 points). These courses must (1) satisfy the requirements for the major and (2) include both the Junior Honors Proseminar (PHIL-UA 201) and the Senior Honors Thesis Workshop (PHIL-UA 202). (For purposes of the major requirements, one of these two courses may be counted as an elective.) Together, the two honors courses constitute a two-semester honors thesis capstone experience. Students must be accepted into the honors program before taking the Junior Honors Proseminar in the spring of the junior year; the Senior Honors Thesis Workshop is then taken in the fall of the senior year. Students who wish to join the honors program and to study away from New York in their junior year should consult early on with the director of undergraduate studies to find a suitable arrangement.