Requirements for the Minor in Philosophy
A minor in philosophy will enrich and add
focus to one's major field. It will enhance one's understanding of the
theoretical foundations for different fields of inquiry. It deepens one's
appreciation for ethical and moral questions.
In addition to the general education and
University requirements for graduation, the Department of Philosophy minor in
Philosophy requires:
1. A minimum of 18 hours of philosophy
coursework acceptable for major credit. At least 9 of those hours must be
upper-division philosophy courses.
2. One of the following:
3. One of the following:
4. A course from any one of the following
areas:
5. 9 hours of electives in philosophy
Courses for the minor may not be taken Pass/No Pass. At least 6 credit hours must be earned in courses acceptable for residence credit by standards set forth by the College of Arts and Sciences, excluding transfer, correspondence, and examination (AP, CLEP, Advanced Standing) credit.
Click on these links to access the requirements for the major in Philosophy or the major in Ethics and Religion.
The Philosophy Department Community
The Philosophy Department prides itself on a spirit of community. Students are welcome to spend time in our comfortable lounge on the 6th floor of Dale Hall Tower, where vibrant discussions about philosophical and other issues are common. The lounge is a good place to get to know faculty and graduate students in an informal setting, and to consult current issues of major philosophical journals. Formal and informal reading groups often meet in the lounge, as does the OU Philosophical Society.
The Philosophy Department frequently hosts visiting speakers from other universities, who give lectures on a wide variety of philosophical topics. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to attend these presentations and participate in the discussion period that follows them.
Graduate seminars, presentations by visiting speakers, and many upper-level undergraduate courses are held in the seminar room next to the lounge. It is equipped with a built-in computer and digital projector to accommodate multi-media presentations.
The faculty of the Philosophy Department are friendly and accessible. All faculty offices are located on the 6th floor of Dale Hall Tower. The bulletin boards located along the corridors are a good place to learn about upcoming lectures, conferences, jobs in philosophy, and philosophy graduate programs. Students considering graduate school are strongly encouraged to discuss their plans with members of the faculty.
Information about the faculty, philosophy
courses, colloquia, etc., can also be obtained from the Department's web site at http://www.ou.edu/ouphil/.
The Department of Philosophy is one of the top departments in the US in the philosophy of religion. We offer a major in Ethics and Religion to students who wish to focus their studies in these areas.
In 1927, Kingfisher College of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, discontinued its instructional programs. In 1951, the trustees of the College and the regents of the University jointly established the Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics in the University of Oklahoma Department of Philosophy.
The Kingfisher Chair is held by Prof. Linda Zagzebski, one of the foremost scholars of philosophy of religion in the US. Several other members of the department specialize in ethics, the philosophy of religion and related disciplines, and many graduate students come to the University of Oklahoma specifically to pursue their studies in these areas. Undergraduate students with special interests in ethics and the philosophy of religion will find a vibrant community with many opportunities for coursework and informal discussion.
The University of Oklahoma Libraries
The University of Oklahoma houses one of the leading academic libraries in the Southwest. The State of Oklahoma and private citizens have made strong commitments to strengthen the library resources and facilities, making the University Library System the largest in the state, with over two million volumes. The collection includes over 19,000 books in philosophy, and the University receives over 150 philosophical journals. Of particular interest is the Immanuel Kant collection, one of the largest in the region, with over 450 titles. The OU Libraries are also renowned for the History of Science
Collection, which contains nearly 90,000 volumes documenting the evolution of scientific and technological thought, including many rare editions by the world's foremost scientists (such as first editions of Galileo, with notes in his own handwriting). Many bibliographic and other databases, as well as digitized books and journal articles, are available through the Library System’s web site or by visiting the Electronic Information Center in Bizzell Memorial Library on the University’s main campus.
Philosophy as Preparation for Graduate School
By definition, and as a matter of historical fact, philosophy is a highly interdisciplinary area of human inquiry. The study of philosophy as a second major or a minor along with the study of literature, art or a theoretical field (physics, psychology, history, economics, political science, etc.) is an excellent preparation for graduate work in those fields. Philosophy requires the same kind of careful, reflective thought one encounters in graduate school and in research, while deepening and broadening one's understanding of a subject area.
Students majoring in Philosophy and in Ethics and Religion tend to do very well on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The GRE is usually required for graduate school admission. A study showed that of students who took the GRE, philosophy majors scored higher on the verbal section of the exam than all other students except those majoring in English. On the quantitative section, philosophy majors outscored all others majoring in a humanities field and were outscored only by those majoring in fields that required considerable mathematics (e.g., mathematics and physics).
Work in graduate school and in research
demands careful, reflective thought, often involving philosophical aspects of
the discipline. The study of philosophy will deepen one's understanding of the
implications of a scientific or humanistic discipline.
Students who intend to do graduate work in
philosophy are strongly recommended to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher, write a
polished philosophy paper, and take the following courses:
Competition for admission to graduate school
in philosophy is extremely high in the best departments. Majors should plan
ahead and discuss their plans with their advisor.
The skills and habits of reasoning
required in the study and practice of law are more similar to those skills and
habits used in philosophy than to those used in any other single disciple. Some
of these are:
The LSAT places emphasis on correct
reasoning. Courses in logic and critical thinking are especially recommended
for students who are interested in pursuing a career in law. But every
philosophy course will help in the improvement of reasoning skills.
The study of philosophy will promote one's
understanding of the nature of law, of government, and of the theories behind
ethical and legal reasoning.
Law school admission records indicate that
philosophy majors were more likely to be admitted to law schools than all
other humanities majors and business students, and more likely than almost all
social scientists. Our majors routinely apply and are admitted to law
schools.
Students who are pre-law or studying for
law-related professions are recommended to take one or more of the following
courses:
Philosophy in Business and Medicine
Business students will find the study of philosophy helpful for their interests. Managers must often develop and defend their proposals, which requires skill in critical thinking as well as clear and precise writing. In addition, managers are often required to make decisions that require ethical judgment and sensitivity to diverse people and cultures. All these skills, and more, are acquired through the study of philosophy.
The Graduate Management Admission Test is
taken for admission to graduate studies in business. In a recent study,
philosophy majors who took this exam scored first of all 32 fields surveyed in verbal
abilities, ninth in quantitative scores, and third (behind only Mathematics and
Physics) in combined total scores.
The study of philosophy assists those who
wish to enter the medical fields. Medical school admission records indicate that
undergraduate philosophy majors who apply to medical schools are more likely to
be admitted than all but 3 of the 35 fields represented.
The study of philosophy will not substitute
for business or science courses. But it makes for a
good secondary discipline by equipping the mind to think critically and to reason
broadly and deeply.
Students who are pre-med or studying for
medicine-related professions or for a business degree are recommended to take
one or more of the following courses:
Professor Zev Trachtenberg
Chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee
Dale Hall Tower, Room 605
Phone: (405) 325-6324
e-mail: ztrachtenberg@ou.edu
Professor Wayne Riggs
Graduate Studies Director
Dale Hall Tower, Room 605
Phone: (405) 325-6589
e-mail: wriggs@ou.edu
Jodi Hubbel, Academic Counselor
College of Arts and Sciences Advising Office
Ellison Hall 124
Phone: (405) 325-4411
e-mail: jhubbel@ou.edu