Advising for Philosophy Majors
Student are encouraged to seek information from an advisor early and often throughout their academic career. Advisors can provide useful information about upcoming courses, course selections, and special courses such as seminars and internships. Advisors also have helpful perspectives on graduate school, employment after graduation, and career choices for philosophy majors.
While students may go to any faculty member for advising, the designated advisors for the Philosophy Major are:
Students in the Concentration for Moral, Legal, and Social Philosophy for the Professions should contact
Generic Advising Advice for Philosophy Majors
1. All majors should take Phil 315 (Writing) as soon as possible after their freshman year. It is typically offered every semester and should not be taken later than the beginning of junior year.
2. Classes recommended early in the major include: Phil 290 and then 300. Save 301 until you have completed 300. Applied Ethics courses are generally acceptable to take early as well.
3. Most classes come up as evening classes once every few years or so, which means you could complete the major in the evening if you needed to do so, but don’t plan on a class being offered in the evening repeatedly.
4. A good strategy: Take a “greatest” hits approach, that is, take courses from each full-time faculty in their area of expertise, including the following:
- Avila: Social/Political Philosophy; Philosophy of Law; Philosophy of Sex and Love
- Battaly: Epistemology; Logic
- Calarco: Existentialism; Postmodernism
- Davis: Bioethics; Philosophy of Law; Ethical Theory
- Coplan: Greek; Literature and Cinema
- Ihara (Emeritus): Asian Philosophy; Ethics
- Lee: Phenomenology; Feminist Theory; Philosophy of Race
- Liu: Philosophy of Mind; Metaphysics
- Nichols: Early Modern; Philosophy of Religion; Experimental Philosophy
- Starrett: Race, Class, Gender; Postmodernism
- Ring (Emeritus): Analytic Philosophy
- Russell (Emeritus): Existentialism; Psychoanalytic Thought
5. It is strongly recommended that philosophy majors take Logic, Phil 106 or Intro to Logic, Phil 368 to satisfy their GE critical thinking requirement. These are the only courses (along with Phil 105) that meet a GE requirement and also count toward the major requirements. Logic is central to philosophy and students are advised to take these courses early. Moreover, both will improve your performance on the GRE and LSAT.
6. Entering Freshman wishing to take philosophy should considered Phil 100, 101, 105, 106, or 290.
7. Check the Course Rotation Guidelines for expected course offerings. If you need a particular course, contact an advisor for detailed information.
8. Students taking the Concentration on Moral, Legal, and Social Philosophy fo the Professions should check the concentration website for additional information on course offerings, internships, advising advice, etc. http://hss.fullerton.edu/philosophy/PhilConcentration/index.htm
9. All students should join the CSUFPhilosophyClub email distribution list at groups.yahoo.com for information and news from the department and Philosophy Club. Visit the Yahoo! NewsGroup link for more information.
10. The department’s mission statement and learning outcomes for majors can be found here.
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