(April 2012)
Why major in philosophy?
See this page.
For Four-Year Students Entering in 2012 and Later
Information on the four-year major is in this section.
For Three-Year Students Entering in 2010, 2011, 2012
Note: The following guidelines apply to students entering the three-year curriculum in the 2010–11, 2011–12, or 2012–13 academic years. Different regulations will apply to students entering the four-year curriculum in 2012. For students who entered in 2009–10 or earlier, see the section below. Students wishing to major in philosophy at HKU must fulfill the requirements explained below. Besides these requirements, there are several important recommendations associated with the philosophy major. These are also explained below.
Prerequisite Introductory Courses
All majors must complete at least one of the following introductory courses. You are welcome to take more than one.
-
PHIL 1001 Knowledge of the World
-
PHIL 1002 The Human Mind
-
PHIL 1003 Ethics and Society
-
PHIL 1004 Chinese and Western Thought
Note: Beginning in 2011-12, only two introductory courses will be offered:
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PHIL1012 Mind and Knowledge (semester 1)
-
PHIL1034 Ethics and Politics, East and West (semester 2)
Logic
The department does not require majors to complete a course in logic. However, doing so is recommended. Studying logic sharpens your analytical and critical thinking skills and helps you become familiar with many important philosophical concepts. It is a crucial part of basic philosophical training. Philosophy majors should strongly consider completing PHIL1068 Elementary Logic. (PHIL1068 does not count among the nine upper-level courses required for the major, however.) You may also consider PHIL2006 or PHIL2008.
Elective Courses
Majors are required to complete at least nine six-credit second- and third-level courses (54 credits total). If invited, third-year majors should take PHIL 3810, Senior Seminar. (You will be invited to select this course only if your second-year grades are excellent.) PHIL 3810 can count as one of your nine courses. In choosing courses, you should take at least one from each of the four thematic groups into which our upper-level courses are divided. The groups are:
-
Group I: Knowledge and Reality
-
Group II: Mind and Language
-
Group III: Moral and Political Philosophy
-
Group IV: History of Philosophy
You can learn about the courses offered in each group by browsing this page.
Summary
To sum up, philosophy majors should take the following:
-
At least one introductory course (compulsory)
-
A logic course (recommended but not required)
-
Nine electives, including at least one from each of the four groups (compulsory)
-
The senior seminar, if you qualify (optional)
In addition, some students may choose to write a senior thesis, which counts as two elective courses. See below.
Senior Thesis
Philosophy majors may choose to write a senior thesis, which counts as two upper-level courses. The course code for the thesis is PHIL 3910. Writing a thesis is optional, and typically only some students choose to do so. The length of the thesis is typically between 10,000 and 20,000 words. Students who do plan to write a thesis must begin preparations before the end of the second year of study. The thesis title must be submitted by June 15 of the second year, and the completed thesis is due by March 31 of the final year. Students hoping to write a thesis should discuss their plans with one of the professors in the department to determine whether the proposed project is suitable and whether the professor can supervise the student's work. After submitting the thesis title, the student should begin work on the project over the summer and be prepared to demonstrate progress by the beginning of the first semester in September. If the student's progress is adequate, work on the thesis may continue; if not, the student will be asked to take two elective courses instead.
Minoring in Philosophy
Students minoring in philosophy must complete at least one introductory course and at least five second- or third-year courses (30 credits). Again, a course in logic is recommended. If you qualify, you may also be invited to take the senior seminar.
(April 2012)
For Students Entering the Four-Year Curriculum in 2012
Note: The following guidelines apply to students entering the new four-year curriculum in the 2012 academic year or later. Students entering the three-year curriculum, please see the preceding section.
Students wishing to major in philosophy at HKU must fulfill the requirements explained below. Besides these requirements, there are several important recommendations associated with the philosophy major. These are also explained below.
Prerequisite Introductory Courses
All majors must complete at least one of the following 6-credit introductory courses. You are welcome to take more than one. These courses are usually taken in Year 1, but may be taken in any year.
-
PHIL1012 Mind and Knowledge (semester 1)
-
PHIL1034 Ethics and Politics, East and West (semester 2)
In Year 1, you must also take a total of 18 credits from any Arts programmes. The 6 credits from PHIL1012 or PHIL1034 counts toward this total of 18.
Logic
The department does not require majors to complete a course in logic. However, doing so is recommended. Studying logic sharpens your analytical and critical thinking skills and helps you become familiar with many important philosophical concepts. It is a crucial part of basic philosophical training. Philosophy majors should strongly consider completing PHIL1068 Elementary Logic. (PHIL1068 does not count among the nine upper-level courses required for the major, however.) You may also consider PHIL2006 or PHIL2008.
Elective Courses
Majors are required to complete at least nine six-credit upper-level courses (54 credits total). These nine courses plus the 18 credits of introductory courses completed in Year 1 give a total of 72 credits. The nine include the "capstone course" (see below). If invited, third- or fourth-year majors should take PHIL 4810, Senior Seminar. (You will be invited to select this course only if your previous grades are excellent.) PHIL 4810 can count as one of your nine courses in the major. In choosing courses, you should take at least one from each of the four thematic groups into which our upper-level courses are divided. The groups are:
-
Group I: Knowledge and Reality
-
Group II: Mind and Language
-
Group III: Moral and Political Philosophy
-
Group IV: History of Philosophy
You can learn about the courses offered in each group by browsing this page.
"Capstone" Courses
Fourth-year majors (or in some cases third-year majors) must complete a senior "capstone" course giving them the opportunity to apply disciplinary knowledge and methods learned in the first three years of study. The capstone courses available are PHIL4910 Senior Essay (6 credits, one semester) and PHIL4920 Senior Thesis (12 credits, two semesters). These courses count among the nine upper-level courses (54 credits) required for the major. Students should discuss their capstone project with one or more professors in the Philosophy Department and find a professor to supervise them. For details, see the Philosophy Syllabus.
Summary
To sum up, philosophy majors should take the following:
-
At least one of PHIL1012 or PHIL1034 (compulsory)
-
Nine electives, including at least one from each of the four groups (compulsory)
-
A capstone course (compulsory) (counts as one or two of the nine electives)
-
A logic course (recommended but not required)
-
The senior seminar, if you qualify (optional) (may count as one of the nine electives)
Minoring in Philosophy
Students minoring in philosophy must complete at least one introductory course (PHIL1012 or PHIL1034) and at least five upper-level courses (30 credits). Again, a course in logic is recommended. If you qualify, you may also be invited to take the senior seminar.
Double Majors
Philosophy students may, and are encouraged, to complete a double major. Double majors typically combining philosophy with another Arts or a Social Science discipline, but may combine it with other disciplines as well. If the second major is in another Faculty, be sure to fulfill the separate degree requirements of that Faculty.
(August 2009)
For Students Entering in 2009–2010
Note: The following guidelines apply to students entering in the 2009–10 academic year or earlier. Students entering in 2010-11 and later, see the preceding section.
The requirements for majoring in philosophy at HKU are that students must take at least eight second- or third-level courses (assuming these are normal courses counting for six units each). However, there are also several important recommendations associated with the philosophy major. These recommendations are not compulsory: according to the regulations, a student can complete the major in philosophy without following them. But we strongly encourage philosophy majors to plan their studies according to these guidelines.
Prerequisite Introductory Courses
All majors should normally complete at least one of the following first-year introductory courses. ("Normally" means we expect you to take one of these courses unless you can demonstrate that you have already acquired introductory training in philosophy through some other, comparable course.) You are welcome to take more than one.
-
PHIL 1001 Knowledge of the World
-
PHIL 1002 The Human Mind
-
PHIL 1003 Ethics and Society
-
PHIL 1004 Chinese and Western Thought
Logic
The department does not require that majors complete a course in logic. However, doing so is recommended. Studying logic sharpens your analytical and critical thinking skills and helps you become familiar with many important philosophical concepts. Logic is a crucial part of basic philosophical training.
Elective Courses
Majors are required to complete at least eight six-unit second- and third-level courses. Third-year majors should take PHIL 3810, Senior Seminar, if invited (however, you will be invited to select this course only if your second-year grades were excellent). Assuming you take PHIL 3810, then, you must complete at least seven other courses. In choosing these seven courses, we strongly recommend that all philosophy majors take at least one course from each of the four thematic groups into which our upper-level courses are divided. The groups are:
-
Group I: Knowledge and Reality
-
Group II: Mind and Language
-
Group III: Moral and Political Philosophy
-
Group IV: History of Philosophy
You can learn about the courses offered in each group by browsing this page.
Senior Thesis
Philosophy majors may choose to write a senior thesis, which counts as two upper-level courses. The course code for the thesis is PHIL 3910. Writing a thesis is optional, and typically only some students choose to do so. The length of the thesis is typically between 10,000 and 20,000 words. Students who do plan to write a thesis must begin preparations before the end of the second year of study. The thesis title must be submitted by June 15 of the second year, and the completed thesis is due by March 31 of the final year. Students hoping to write a thesis should discuss their plans with one of the professors in the department to determine whether the proposed project is suitable and whether the professor can supervise the student's work. After submitting the thesis title, the student should begin work on the project over the summer and be prepared to demonstrate progress by the beginning of the first semester in September. If the student's progress is adequate, work on the thesis may continue; if not, the student will be asked to take two elective courses instead.
Summary
To sum up, we expect philosophy majors to take the following:
-
At least one introductory course
-
At least one logic course
-
Eight electives, including at least one from each of the four groups
-
The senior seminar, if you qualify (taking this means you need to take only seven electives instead of eight)
In addition, some students may choose to write a senior thesis, which counts as two of the eight elective courses.
Minoring in Philosophy
Students minoring in philosophy should complete an introductory course and at least four second- or third-level courses. Again, a course in logic is strongly recommended. If you qualify, you may also be invited to take the senior seminar.
