Undergraduate Information
Major Declaration Form:This form needs to be filled out by you, and signed by the Undergraduate Advisor. It would be beneficial to you if you could have a transcript with you when you meet the advisor, but it is not essential.
Courses:Philosophy courses are designed to help students develop their own capacities to reflect intelligently on questions of fundamental and lasting significance. Philosophy courses consider the nature of knowledge, human understanding and value, morality, society, art and aesthetic experience, as well as science, politics and religion.
Senior Thesis: Students who wish to enroll for such work (691-692) should consult their advisors.
Course Requirements:Courses open to those with no prior philosophy: 101, 102, 103, 181, 201, 210, 211, 220, 241, 253, 254, 261, 341, 501, 540, 545, 547, 558. Philosophy 101 and 181 are open to all freshmen; 102 and 103 are open to freshmen who have had 101. Non-honors students of high standing may be admitted to honors courses with the consent of the instructor when the course is not full. Students who do not satisfy the prerequisites of a course may consult the instructor to determine if special considerations may warrant waiving the prerequisites.
Major:The minimum requirements for the major is eight philosophy courses amounting to at least 27 credits. These credits must include: (1) a course in Logic (Philosophy 211, 282, or 511); (2) History of Ancient Philosophy (Philosophy 430) and History of Modern Philosophy (Philosophy 432); (3) a total of at least five conventionally graded courses designated in the Timetable as advanced which may include 430, 432, and 511, but excludes the following courses: 545, 558, 571, 598, 599, 670, 681, 682, 691, 692, 699; (4) one Category A course and one category B course. (It is recommended that 430 and 432 be taken in the junior year; the course used to satisfy requirement (1) should be taken as early as possible.)
Of the 27 credits, at least one course must be chosen from each of the following two categories:
Category A:
- 501(Philosohy of Religion)
- 503(Theory of Knowledge)
- 516(Language and Meaning)
- 520(Philosophy of the Natural Sciences)
- 530(Freedom, Fate, and Choice)
- 551(Philosophy of Mind)
- 560(Metaphysics)
Category B:
- 241(Introductory Ethics)
- 253(Philosophy of the Arts)
- 541(Modern Ethical Theories)
- 549(Great Moral Philosophers)
- 552(Aesthetic Theories)
- 553(Aesthetics)
- 555(Political Philosophy)
In addition, the following Special Topics courses may, on occasion, be used to fulfill this distribution requirement, depending on their particular content that semester, according to the judgment of the committee on the undergraduate major:
For CategoryA:
- 502(Special Topics in the Philosophy of Religion)
- 504(Special Topics in the Theory of Knowledge)
- 517(Special Topics in the Philosophy of Language)
- 562(Special Topics in Metaphysics)
For Category B:
- 543(Special Topics in Ethics)
Students wishing to earn Honors in the Major in Philosophy will be expected to have earned a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in Philosophy at the completion of their thesis (Philosophy 681-682). Students will not be permitted to write an honors thesis unless they have taken at least one advanced course on the topic on which they will be writing. Credits earned by writing an honors thesis will not count towards the minimal number of credits required for an honors major. In consultation with the professor with whom the student is working, the student will enroll for 1-3 credits of 681 in the first semester of thesis writing and 3 credits of 682 in the second semester. The thesis credits must earn a minimum grade of AB. In addition to a standard major in philosophy, the student must take an additional three credits in philosophy. These additional credits must come from Category A or Category B or from a capstone course.
Students should inform the Philosophy Department of their intention to major by contacting the Undergraduate Advisor in 5117 Helen C. White Hall, phone number 263-3747 and filing a major declaration form. The Philosophy major is intended to meet the needs of four types of students:
- those who wish to use philosophy as the organizing core of a liberal education
- those who desire to study philosophy in preparation for graduate work in some other field, such as law, government, or theology
- those who plan to major jointly in philosophy and one of the social and natural sciences or humanities
- those who have a professional interest in philosophy and intend to do graduate work in the subject
The Philosophy department has a junior year exchange program with Warwick University in England. The University has at various times in the past been 4th ranked amongst English universities in research etc. It is a very serious English university. It has a good philosophy department, with interesting students. It's part of a real university, gives you a slice of university life in England, and there are other departments of real excellence and interest (e.g., Political Science, Classics, History, Social History, and esp. English). The University is in Coventry. It is 15 miles or so from Stratford upon Avon, which has excellent Shakespeare theater. Train access to London is easy, with frequent 90 minute train rides. The program is open to both out-of-state students and in-state students. It is a particular bargain amongst abroad programs for in-state students, who pay what fees and dorm rents tuition would be here, but go to England for a year. (In other Junior Year Abroad programs, even in-state students will pay slightly in excess of OUT-of-state tuition--hence a lot more).
There is a lot of overlap in courses so any of the philosophy courses you take there will transfer here (and so will the non-philosophy courses). You can satisfy many of the philosophy requirements (and indeed many University requirements) there--logic, history of Modern Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Category A and B courses, etc. This means that you won't really lose any courses or credits by doing the time abroad.
The program is usually a year long program, which gives the student time to really get settled in long enough to make English friends, get a real feel for the country, travel, and learn what English University life is like.
If you are interested in the program and want more information regarding applications and deadlines, contact Martha Gibson by email at migibson@wisc.edu or you can stop by the Study Abroad Office on the second floor of Bascom and talk to Julie Lindsey.