Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy: Concentration in Philosophy and Law
Concentration in Philosophy and Law
The Philosophy and Law Concentration enables students to earn a philosophy degree while focusing on our department’s rich array of undergraduate courses that consider such topics as the foundation of law, legal reasoning, U.S. and global human rights, social justice, law and society, health care law, sex and the law, philosophical foundations of the U.S. Constitution, philosophy of criminal justice, wrongs as crimes and torts, and theories of ethics and political philosophy that influence jurisprudence. Philosophy majors consistently receive the highest scores on the law school admissions test (LSAT). This program positions them to excel in law and public policy.
The enterprise of philosophy requires sharpening the skills necessary for clarifying premises, uncovering presuppositions (one's own and those of others), weighing the pros and cons of conflicting values, and analyzing concepts and issues, all of which are crucial for graduate programs in law and public policy. Courses in philosophy serve to develop and enhance these skills. Some courses concentrate on specific philosophical issues. Others provide an overview of an entire area of human inquiry or endeavor (such as the sciences, the arts, political theory and law, medicine, social justice, and how our minds, senses, and emotions work) or of the philosophical foundations that characterize a historical period.
The department welcomes students from other majors or programs who wish to acquire excellent training for law schools, public policy programs, and the competitive admissions processes to these programs.
The Concentration in Philosophy and Law includes three units from related fields. This gives students an opportunity to integrate courses offered by other departments into the major, so long as those courses are substantially concerned with law and approved by an advisor. Undergraduate advisors are also authorized by the department to designate units obtained in other departments as satisfying unit requirements. Neither students nor advisors should view this as an escape clause which enables a student who has not quite satisfied the requirements of the Philosophy and Law Concentration to do so. Units outside the department are to be designated for use in the major on the basis of their contribution to the student's major program. To avoid confusion on this point, students should obtain written approval from an advisor before obtaining non-department units to be utilized in the major.
Students who have not taken PHIL 110 may begin the program but should complete this course or its equivalent at the earliest opportunity. Equivalencies must be approved by a departmental advisor.
The Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy: Concentration in Philosophy and Law culminates in a one-unit personalized learning outcomes course in which students reflect philosophically on their own development of skills and knowledge. This learning outcomes course, PHIL 696, should be taken in the second semester of the student's senior year.
To best take advantage of the program's tremendous resources in preparing students for law school, students pursuing the concentration in philosophy and law are urged to lay out a tentative program of courses with their advisors early in their tenure at the university. Depending upon the student's area of specialization, up to six units of courses outside the philosophy department may be approved by a department advisor as elective units for the B.A.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Gain knowledge of the history or current state of the discipline of philosophy.
- Develop a grasp of representative philosophical issues and ways of dealing with them.
- Develop a capacity to apply philosophical methods to intellectual problems.
- Develop a sense of how philosophy bears on other disciplines.
- Develop a sense of how philosophy bears on human life more generally.
- Develop a critical mind.
- Develop analytic skills.
- Develop interpretive skills.
- Apply philosophical conventions and tools.
- Develop the ability to apply normative philosophical arguments in legal contexts.
- Develop an understanding of the nature of law.
- Develop an understanding of the justification of law.
Philosophy (B.A.): Concentration in Philosophy and Law — 44-45 units
Required Courses (23 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 205 | Formal Logic I | 3 |
| PHIL 300 | Academic and Professional Pathways in Philosophy | 1 |
| PHIL 303 | Modern Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 320GW | Philosophical Analysis - GWAR | 3 |
| PHIL 321 | Being and Knowing | 3 |
| PHIL 330 | Political Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 380 | Philosophy of Law | 3 |
| PHIL 450 | Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 696 | Directed Reading: Learning Outcomes | 1 |
Disjunctive History (3 units)
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 301 | Ancient Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 302 | Medieval Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 410 | Topics in the History of Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 516 | Islamic Philosophy | 3 |
Metaphysics and Epistemology (6 units)
Select Two:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 350 | Philosophy of Science | 3 |
| PHIL 351 | Philosophy of Risk | 3 |
| PHIL 605 | Metaphysics | 3 |
| PHIL 610 | Theory of Knowledge | 3 |
| PHIL 620 | Philosophy of Mind | 3 |
| PHIL 621 | Minds, Brains, and Computers | 3 |
| PHIL 630 | Philosophy of Language | 3 |
Normative Issues (9 units)
Select Three:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 304 | Ethics Bowl | 3 |
| PHIL 315 | Introduction to Global Peace Studies | 3 |
| PHIL 335 | Law and Society | 3 |
| PHIL 373 | The Ethics of Migration and Membership | 3 |
| PHIL/GPS 375 | Peace Law and Human Rights in the U.S. | 3 |
| PHIL 378 | Philosophy of Criminal Law | 3 |
| PHIL 383 | Ethics in Medicine | 3 |
| PHIL 384 | Philosophy of Research Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 395 | Ethical Issues: Science and Technology | 3 |
| PHIL 435/I R 436 | Human Rights in Global Perspective | 3 |
| PHIL 436 | Islamic Political Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 451 | Feminist Moral Issues | 3 |
| PHIL 455/SXS 569 | Sex and the Law | 3 |
| PHIL 470 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| PHIL 494 | Philosophy and Personal Development | 3 |
Additional Course (3-4 units)
Select one course from the following list or on advisement:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| AFRS 375 | Law and the Black Community | 3 |
| AIS 205 | American Indians and U.S. Laws | 3 |
| AIS 330 | American Indian Law | 3 |
| ANTH/LABR 343 | Women and Work | 3 |
| BECA 324 | Media Law | 3 |
| C J 435/LTNS 430 | Race, Crime, and Justice | 3 |
| C J 501 | Criminal Law | 3 |
| EDAD 763 | Law and Education | 3 |
| GPS/PHIL 375 | Peace Law and Human Rights in the U.S. | 3 |
| HIST 470 | The U.S. Constitution to 1896 | 3 |
| HIST 471 | The U.S. Constitution Since 1896 | 3 |
| HIST 472 | The Supreme Court and Social Change in U.S. History | 3 |
| I R 330 | World Law | 4 |
| JOUR 307 | News Media Law | 3 |
| JS/HIST 318 | The Holocaust and Law: Complicity, Dissent, and Correction | 3 |
| PLSI 308 | Research and Writing for Public Law | 4 |
| PLSI/I R 422 | Law and Courts in Comparative Perspective | 4 |
| PLSI/SXS/WGS 470 | The Politics of Sex and Reproduction | 4 |
| PLSI 478 | Judicial Process | 4 |
| PLSI 552 | Individual Rights and the Constitution | 4 |
| PLSI 553 | Legal Issues | 4 |
| PLSI 561 | Jurisprudence | 4 |
| RRS 250 | Race, Ethnicity and Power in America | 3 |
| USP/PLSI 513/GEOG 668 | Politics, Law, and the Urban Environment | 4 |
| SXS 455 | Sex, Power, and Politics | 3 |
| WGS 536 | Gender, Globalization, and Women's Human Rights | 3 |
| WGS 563 | Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Disability | 3 |
Complementary Studies for Philosophy Majors
Twelve units of Complementary Studies are required of all candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy. These units must come from courses bearing a prefix other than PHIL, and not cross-listed with PHIL. Philosophy majors may pursue a multitude of pathways toward completing this requirement, designed by the student with approval of a department advisor.
First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)
The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Year)
For students with an AA-T in Philosophy.
PHIL ADT Roadmap
For students with an AA-T in Social Justice Studies.
SJS ADT Roadmap
For students with an AA-T in Law, Public Policy and Society.
LPPS ADT Roadmap
This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in Social Justice Studies
California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T).
Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.
An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.
Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.
Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.
A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:
- How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.
Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.
General Advising Information for Transfer Students
- Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
- The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
- a course in U.S. History
- a course in U.S. & California Government
For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.
Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.
Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).
Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.
Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.
Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.
Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs
Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.
Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.