distinguished majors

The Distinguished Majors Program

The Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) is designed for students who wish to pursue their studies in philosophy beyond the requirements of the regular major. It requires both the study of a broad range of philosophical areas and a more concentrated examination of a single topic in the form of a senior thesis.

Students may apply to the DMP as early as the fifth semester before graduation and as late as the third semester before graduation. They must have completed at least two philosophy courses, and they must have and maintain a GPA of at least 3.4 in all philosophy courses taken. (In addition, they should have an overall GPA close enough to 3.4 to make it likely that they will be able to satisfy the College requirement of a final cumulative GPA of 3.4 for graduation with distinction.)

DMP students must complete 36 credits of course work in philosophy, no more than 15 of which are at the 200-level. 100-level courses cannot be counted towards DMP requirements. The 36 credits must include at least 3 credits each of:

1.    logic, chosen from PHIL 242, 542, or 543;
2.    ethics or social philosophy, chosen from PHIL 351, 352, 356, or 257.
3.    metaphysics or epistemology, chosen from PHIL 331, 332, or 334.
4.    seminars for majors (PHIL 401, 402 or other designated courses).

DMP students must also take six credits in the history of philosophy, in accordance with the requirements laid out above for ordinary majors. In addition, six of the required 36 credits must be used for the thesis and allocated as follows: PHIL 493 (Directed Readings) to be used as a pre-thesis research course (the student must submit a thesis proposal to the undergraduate committee upon completion of this course); and PHIL 498 (Senior Thesis). The seminar for majors and PHIL 493 will satisfy the general DMP requirement for 6 credits of advanced course work.