Undergraduate Program in Philosophy
Majoring in Philosophy
All LSU undergraduate philosophy majors receive rigorous training in ethics, history of philosophy, and logic. To fill out their major, students choose from a variety of courses covering a number of areas of philosophy according to their individual interests. Partly because of the interdisciplinary nature of philosophical study, a significant number of philosophy majors also major in another discipline.
For students who are interested in the intersection of philosophical questions, law, and public life, we offer a concentration in Law, Ethics, and Social Justice. This concentration will prepare students for a variety of careers in law, politics, activism, public service, charitable work, and more.
For more information, contact any member of the Philosophy Undergraduate Committee.
Total of Nine PHIL Courses (27 Hours) --
- Required Courses (12 hours):
- PHIL 2010: Symbolic Logic
- PHIL 2020: Ethics or PHIL 3052 (Moral Philosophy)
- PHIL 2033 or PHIL 2053: History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
- PHIL 2035: History of Modern Philosophy
- PHIL Electives (15 hours):
- Three courses (9 hours) at the 3000- or 4000-level
- Two courses (6 hours) at the 4000-level
Total of Ten PHIL Courses (30 Hours)
- Required Courses:
- PHIL 1021: Introduction to Logic
- PHIL 2010: Symbolic Logic
- PHIL 2020: Ethics or PHIL 3052 (Moral Philosophy)
- PHIL 2035: History of Modern Philosophy
- PHIL 4946 or 4947: Philosophy of Law
- PHIL 4942, 4943, 4972: Ethics (or any special topics course in ethics)
- PHIL 3062, 4945, 4949: Social/Political Philosophy (or any special topics course in social/political philosophy)
- PHIL Electives:
- Two courses (6 hours) at the 3000- or 4000-level
Total of Five PHIL Courses (15 Hours)
- Three courses (9 hours) at 1000-, 2000-, 3000-, or 4000-level
- Two courses (6 hours) at 3000- or 4000-level
Why major in Philosophy?
Socrates once declared that "the unexamined life is not worth living," and the philosophers of LSU follow his dictum by examining everything—truth, justice, beauty, knowledge, our world and other possible worlds, ethics, abstractions, and so much more. We train our students to examine all things too, and as a result, our majors find success in all fields. In fact, across the nation, students who major in philosophy perform much better than students of other majors on the GRE, LSAT, and even the GMAT.
Philosophy majors get careful training in argument construction, constructive thinking and writing, creative problem-solving, and critical analysis. Our students graduate with a deep appreciation for diverse modes of thought and reasonings, and many have found success in a variety of fields. For evidence, see the success stories below.
Where have our students ended up?
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Nic Pizzolatto Author, screenwriter, director, and producer who is most famous for creating the HBO show, True Detective |