Philosophy and Religious Studies, B.S. (E, A)

The Philosophy and Religious Studies major fulfills the E and A areas of the REAL Curriculum. Focused on the topic of humanistic inquiry as written into the E learning outcome, both philosophy and religious studies grapple with the biggest questions humans have raised about being human and the nature of reality. In the philosophy concentration students learn about the human endeavor in the areas of ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics and how various philosophers and thinkers have attempted to address these areas. In the religious studies concentration students learn about the same topics with an emphasis on how they are addressed in religious traditions. Students learn about how philosophical and religious worldviews shape society and inform human behaviors. These topics are introduced in the major’s nine credit common core, reinforced in foundational literacies menus, and expanded in the topics and issues menus. Students need majors and/or minors to fulfill the R and L areas to complete the REAL Curriculum requirements.

Writing Intensive courses are denoted below with a (WI). Two writing intensive courses are required to graduate, with at least one at the 300- or 400-level. The Philosophy and Religious Studies major includes 0-3 credits of writing intensive courses.

General Education courses will be denoted below with a (GE). Students are required to take at least 30 credit hours of general education designated courses within their degree requirements. The Philosophy and Religious Studies major includes 9-24 general education credits.

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree in philosophy and religious studies can choose to take six to eight hours in courses from the following departments: Mathematics and Statistics, Information Technology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, and Anthropological Science. Or, they can elect to take six to eight hours of 300-400 level courses in one of the following disciplines: Art, English, History, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology.

Choose two from the following list:

• Any 3 credit History course at the 300-level or above with a Cultural or Behavioral Analysis designation.

At least one must be at the 300 or 400-level.

• Any 3 credit Political Science course (not already chosen) with a Cultural or Behavioral Analysis designation.
• Any 3 credit Sociology course (not already chosen) with a Cultural or Behavioral Analysis designation.
• PBHL 350 - Principles of Public Health 
• SOWK 220 - Introduction to Social Justice 

Choose two from the following list, with at least one at the 300-400 level:

Choose one from the following list:

To graduate with a major in Philosophy and Religious Studies, a student must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher in all courses taken with a PHIL or RELN prefix.

These credits can be used to fulfill additional courses, majors, minors, and/or REAL Curriculum requirements, including Foundational Writing and Foundational Math.