SEE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.” — C.S. Lewis
At Toccoa Falls College, we offer a quality philosophy major and minor that will prepare you for graduate school, law school, business school, medical school, seminary, and ministry.
“Once scoffed at as a luxury major, philosophy is now being embraced, . . . by a new generation of college students who are drawing modern-day lessons from the age-old discipline as they try to make sense of their world.” — NY Times, April 2008
Did you know that philosophy majors consistently score very high on the following entrance exams?
The Graduate Record Exam (the GRE) is the standard test for applicants to graduate school.
- Philosophy majors score the HIGHEST of all majors (including English and Literature majors) on the verbal reasoning portion of the GRE (17 percent higher)
- Philosophy majors score the HIGHEST of all majors on the analytic writing portion of the GRE
- Philosophy majors score the HIGHEST of all humanities majors on the quantitative portion of the GRE (4.6 percent higher) http://www.philosophy.eku.edu/scores.htm
The Law School Admission Test (the LSAT) is the standard test for applicants to law school.
- Philosophy Majors consistently score the HIGHEST of the 12 largest majors entering Law School (majors with over 1900 applicants) with an average LSAT score of 157.4.
- Philosophy Majors consistently score SECOND (behind only Math/Physics) of all majors taking the LSAT.
— Source for 2003-04 data: Nieswiadomy, Michael, “LSAT Scores of Economics Majors: The 2003-2004 Class Update,” Journal of Economic Education (Spring 2006): 244-247.
The Medical College Admission Test (the MCAT) is the standard test for applicants to medical school.
- Philosophy majors have the HIGHEST medical school acceptance rate of all majors at over 50 percent. American Medical Student Association
“Philosophy majors are highly sought by law schools and medical schools.” — James Wagner, President of Emory University
The Graduate Management Admissions Test (the GMAT) is the standard test for applicants to business school.
- Philosophy majors score higher on average than all other majors (not just humanities) except for math, physics, and engineering, and higher than economics and business majors.
Career Finance Information for Philosophy Majors
- The Wall Street Journal reported that philosophy majors tied math majors for degrees that increased a person’s salary the most (by 103 percent) from starting pay to mid-career pay.
GENERAL EDUCATION – 69 hours
BIBLE & THEOLOGY – 30 hours
| BIB 213 | Hermeneutics |
| BSF 103 | Foundations of Spiritual Formation |
| NTE 103 | Introduction to the New Testament |
| NTE ___ | NT Elective |
| OTE 103 | Introduction to the Old Testament |
| OTE ___ | OT Elective |
| SYT 303 | Introduction to Theology |
| 3 hours Theology Electives from SYT or THE | |
| 6 hours of Bible/Theology from any: BIB, BMI, GRK 333, 343, HEB 223, 333, 343, NTE, OTE, SYT, THE, or approved integrative courses | |
HUMANITIES – 15 hours
| COM 113 | Introduction to Communication |
| ENG 113 | Freshman Composition I |
| ENG 123 | Freshman Composition II |
| HUM 103 | Western Thought & Culture |
| 3 hours Literature elective from: AML or ENG at 200- or 300-level | |
SOCIAL SCIENCES – 15 hours
| HIS 313 | History of Ancient Greece and Rome |
| HIS 353 | Church History |
| PSY 113 | General Psychology |
| 6 hours Social Science Elective from a 200+ level | |
COMPUTER, SCIENCE, & MATHEMATICS – 9-10 hours
| SCI 113 | Scientific Literacy or other science elective |
| 3 hours Mathematics Elective | |
| 3-4 hour elective prefixed BIO, CHM, CSC, MAT, PHS, or SCI | |
MAJOR – 42 hours
The following 10 PHY courses are required:
| PHY 113 | Introduction to Philosophy |
| PHY 233 | Critical Thinking |
| PHY 243 | Ethics |
| PHY 313 | Epistemology and Metaphysics **(offered combined beginning spring, 2015) |
| PHY 333 | Bioethics |
| PHY 413 | Ancient and Medieval Philosophy |
| PHY 423 | Modern Philosophy |
| PHY 433 | Contemporary Philosophy |
| PHY 443 | Senior Philosophy Thesis or PHY 463 Philosophy Practicum |
| PHY 473 | Philosophy of Religion |
Choose 4 of the following:
| COM 423 | Communication Ethics |
| BUS 333 | Business Ethics |
| ENG 443 | History of Practice of Literary Criticism |
| SYT 433 | Critical Issues in Theology |
| THE 453 | History of Theology |
| PHY 383 | Study Abroad in Philosophy |
| THY 353 | Apologetics |
Year by Year Philosophy Major
First Year (starting 2013-2014)
Fall Semester
*Bold = Major Courses
| BSF 103 | Foundations of Spiritual Formation | 3 |
| NTE 103 | Introduction to the New Testament | 3 |
| COM 113 | Introduction to Communication | 3 |
| ENG 113 | Freshman Composition I | 3 |
| PHY 113 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| TFC 100 | Orientation | 0 |
Winterim
| HUM 103 | Western Thought & Culture | 3 |
Spring Semester
| BIB 213 | Hermeneutics | 3 |
| Computer, Science, or Math Elective | 3 | |
| ENG 123 | Freshman Composition II | 3 |
| SCI 113 | Scientific Literacy or other science elective | 3 |
| MAT ___ | Mathematics elective | 3 |
Second Year
Fall Semester
| NTE ___ | NT Elective | 3 |
| OTE 103 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| GRK 213 | Elementary Greek I or Open Elective | 3 |
| Social Science Elective | 3 | |
| PSY 113 | General Psychology | 3 |
| PHY 243 | Ethics | 3 |
| STM ___ | Student Ministry | 0 |
Spring Semester
| OTE ___ | Old Testament Elective | 3 |
| GRK 223 | Elementary Greek II or Open Elective | 3 |
| Literature elective | 3 | |
| PHY 233 Critical Thinking or PHY 333 Bioethics | 3 | |
| PHY 313 | Epistemology and Metaphysics | 3 |
| (offered combined beginning spring 2015) or PHY 473 Phil. of religion | 3 | |
| STM ___ | Student Ministry | 0 |
Third Year
Fall Semester
| SYT 303 | Introduction to Theology | 3 |
| HIS 353 | Church History | 3 |
| HIS 313 | History of Ancient Greece & Rome | 3 |
| PHY 413 Ancient & Medieval Philosophy or PHY 423 Modern Philosophy | 3 | |
| Choice of one of the four options (p. 2 above) | 3 | |
| STM ___ | Student Ministry | 0 |
Spring Semester
| Theology Elective | 3 | |
| PHY 333 Bioethics or PHY 233 Critical Thinking | 3 | |
| PHY 473 Philosophy of Religion or PHY 313 Epistemology and Metaphysics | 3 | |
| Minor or Open Elective | 3 | |
| Choice of one of the four options (p. 2 above) or PHY 433 Contemporary Phil. | 3 | |
| STM ___ | Student Ministry | 0 |
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
| Bible & Theology Elective | 3 | |
| PHY 423 Modern Philosophy or PHY 413 Ancient & Medieval Philosophy | 3 | |
| Choice of one of the four options (p. 2 above) | 3 | |
| Minor or Open Elective | 3 | |
| PHY 463 Philosophy Practicum (or PHY 443 Senior Philosophy Thesis) | 3 | |
Spring Semester
| Bible & Theology Elective | 3 | |
| Open Elective | 3 | |
| PHY 233 Critical Thinking or PHY 333 Bioethics | 3 | |
| PHY 313 Epistemology and Metaphysics or PHY 473 Philosophy of Religion | 3 | |
| PHY 433 Contemporary Phil. or choice of one of the four options (p. 2 above) | 3 | |
Minimum hours required = 126
The Philosophy Minor:
The student may also custom design a philosophy minor by selecting introduction to philosophy, critical thinking, and a choice of four additional philosophy courses. (Please see Dr. Elkins for recommendations)