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The Philosophy Honors Program is designed for highly qualified, motivated philosophy majors. Through special distribution and credit hour requirements, as well as a directed honors thesis, students are prepared for in-depth philosophical research and related graduate and professional opportunities. Eligibility To be accepted into the Philosophy Honors Program, a student must: * be a philosophy major in either the general or individually designed track, * have at least sophomore standing, * have at least 9 hours in UAB philosophy courses, * have at least a 3.5 GPA in UAB philosophy course work, * submit a formal application for Honors in Philosophy to the department chair. Applications Formal application may be secured from the department office or is available via download here in a pdf format. The student may arrange with a faculty sponsor for recommendation to the program. It is the chair's responsibility to formally approve admission into the program. Admission, which can typically be expected by any student who meets the eligibility requirements, is acknowledged by a letter of invitation to the student to join the program. Once admitted, if for any reason the student wishes or needs to move or return to the general or individualized track, this is accomplished simply by declaration to the chair. Requirements * Completion of at least 36 hours in philosophy (at least 27 above the 100-level), including honors distribution requirements and a written honors thesis (typically 20 pages), and a GPA of at least 3.6. The thesis is done under the supervision of a professor in the department. Credit for the thesis is earned by registering for PHL 499. For further details contact the department. * No course in which a grade below C has been earned may count towards the major requirement. The distribution requirement covers a range of courses, including a seminar, required of Honors Track students. The range is designed to acquaint the student with important areas of philosophy and its history. The distribution of acceptable courses is as below: II. History of Philosophy (6 hours): III. Other Core Courses: Epistemology/Metaphysics/Philosophy of Mind/Logic/Philosophy of Language/Philosophy of Science (9 hours) IV. Seminar in Philosophy: (3 hours) V. Honors Thesis: VI. Electives: (9 hours) * Topics (PHL 290, 291, 292) and Seminars (PHL 490, 491, 492) have contents which vary from offering to offering. Which area in the distribution requirement such a course might satisfy depends on the content, but most such courses fit clearly into one of the above categories. For instance, a course on the Ethics of the Natural and Built Environment would qualify as an ethics course and would count as one of the courses satisfying the requirement in Ethics and Value Theory. Students who are unsure about which area in the distribution requirement an individual course satisfies should ask the professor teaching the course or contact the department chair. Depending on the content, PHL 290 or PHL 490 may be taken more than once to fulfill different requirements. For example, a student may take a 490 seminar on Aristotle to fulfill part of the history requirement, and then take a second 490 seminar on philosophy and cognitive science to fulfill the seminar requirement itself. *Occasionally students find themselves unable to complete the honors thesis. In such instances the professor will assign a grade for the Directed Readings course but the student will graduate without the honors distinction. *Students may be enrolled in the honors track while simultaneously pursuing the requirements for the concentration in Philosophy and Political Economy. *Students who have further questions should feel free to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or the department chair, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . |