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The Senior Thesis

Religious Studies at EKU

Courses

People and Jobs in Philosophy

When should philosophy majors sign up for the senior thesis (PHI 499)?

In typical situations students write their philosophy senior theses during the two semesters when they are seniors. They usually enroll in PHI 499 in the first semester of their senior years, receive an ‘IP' (like an incomplete but it does not affect your GPA, and one has a year to remove it), and finish the work in the second semester.

If this schedule will not work for you, please see the department chair or advisor; alternatives can be worked out.

The whole project is very much like an independent study. You pick a specific topic and recruit a faculty mentor usually from the department's full-time faculty. The topic needs to be one that is philosophical in nature (but this can be broadly understood) and the mentor should be someone skilled in the relevant areas of philosophy. Often students will begin this process with a topic in mind and then find a mentor who is knowledgeable on that topic, and just as often students will start with a professor in mind with whom they want to work and then find a topic that is appropriate for that professor. The chair of the department and the philosophy advisor will happily help you find topic and mentor.

Student and mentor develop their own plan for working together and for determining the overall grade. However, one necessary element is that the thesis student will produce a philosophical paper of 6000 or more words.

The senior thesis in philosophy must deal in large measure with a philosophic topic. Since many topics in religious studies have a large philosophical component, it is not difficult to find a topic that is of both religious and philosophical interest. For further information, please see the department chair or the department advisor.

Yes it may. Many of our students who have double majors find that there are some points of contact between their other majors and philosophy, and often such areas will be the foundation for their senior theses. Also many of our majors who are in the Honors Program choose to combine their honors thesis with their philosophy thesis. To do so, one has two produce a longer (10,000 to 12500 words) thesis. This department would allow similar combinations with theses in other departments.

Can I major in religion?

At present no major is offered in religion, but we do offer a minor in religion and regularly teach courses in significant aspects of religion. Also, six-hours of courses in religion may count toward the philosophy major.

The senior thesis in philosophy must deal in large measure with a philosophic topic. Since many topics in religious studies have a large philosophical component, it is not difficult to find a topic that is of both religious and philosophical interest. For further information, please see the department chair or the department advisor.

How often are required courses for the major offered?

All the lower division courses that are required for the major are usually offered every semester. Among the upper-division required courses, PHI 300, 320, 330 are usually offered every year. PHI 499, the senior thesis, is available every semester. The two remaining required upper-division courses, PHI 371 Symbolic Logic and PHI 333 Recent Analytic Philosophy, are taught in alternate years. Students changing to or adding a philosophy major should take both of these courses at the earliest possible opportunity. If for some reason, one misses PHI 333, the department might be able to make arrangements for you to meet the requirements in another comparable way. In that event see the department advisor and the department chair.

Additional upper-division philosophy courses are offered as far as possible in response to student interest and are determined in large measure by the availability of faculty with expertise and time to develop and teach these courses. We hope to offer one or two each year.

Is there a way I can find other students interested in philosophy?

Yes there is. Students majoring in philosophy can join the student philosophy club. This is a very active student association that gathers often to discuss philosophic papers and ideas. Several faculty members meet with them. The students also arrange social gatherings for students interested in philosophy.

What can I do with a philosophy major?

Majors in all liberal arts fields like philosophy are able to build well-paying and meaningful careers for themselves. To find more on this matter, you can visit our web-page on why one might study philosophy, or meet with people at career services, who can be very helpful to students from all fields of study.

Is philosophy a good major for law school preparation?

The American Bar Association does not recommend any specific majors as the best preparation for law school. However, philosophy majors generally score very high on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). For some data, see this link on our web page: TEST SCORES