Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Scripps Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Scripps Catalog THIS IS AN ARCHIVED CATALOG. LINKS MAY NO LONGER BE ACTIVE AND CONTENT MAY BE OUT OF DATE!

Philosophy Major


Requirements for the Philosophy Major


A major in Philosophy requires a minimum of 10 courses including a senior thesis. The course requirements and examples of courses that satisfy those requirements are as follows. (Course numbers may differ amongst the Claremont Colleges philosophy department offerings.)

Note: If there is very significant subject area overlap between two classes, e.g. two classes both focus on topics in philosophy of mind, only one class can count towards this requirement.

  • Two additional courses
  • Senior seminar
  • Senior thesis

*Equivalent courses offered at the Claremont Colleges may satisfy this requirement. Confer with your major adviser to identify appropriate courses.

Requirements for the Philosophy Major - Bioethics Track


What is Bioethics?

“In virtue of being embodied creatures, and the specific kind of biological creatures we are, we face particular kinds of moral challenges: we are vulnerable to disease, we give birth, we die. All of these facets of the embodied human experience generate ethical questions, and the attempt to grapple with these questions is what we call bioethics.”
-Maggie Little, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown.

A major in Philosophy bioethics track requires a minimum of 11 courses including a senior thesis.

*Equivalent courses offered at the Claremont Colleges may satisfy this requirement. Confer with your major adviser to identify appropriate courses.

Honors Requirements (Bioethics track):

  • One additional bioethics elective
  • A GPA of 3.67 or higher within the major
  • A grade of at least A- on the senior thesis
  • An oral defense of the senior thesis
  • Must apply in writing to the department by the end of junior year

Honors Requirements


A student who wishes to pursue honors in philosophy must apply in writing to the department by the end of junior year, specifying the intended courses used to fulfill the following requirements:

  • Two additional philosophy classes;
  • A GPA of 3.67 or higher within the major;
  • A grade of at least A- on the senior thesis; and
  • An oral defense of the senior thesis.