Jul 25, 2025

2025-2026 Undergraduate Bulletin

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2025-2026 Undergraduate Bulletin

Philosophy, Religion, and Law BA Degree Requirements (120 hours)

Degree Plan

General Education Curriculum

GEC 01. Written Communication (6 hours)

ENG 101 - Composition One 3 hrs.
ENG 102 - Composition Two 3 hrs.

GEC 02. Natural Science (8-10 hours minimum)

Select 2 courses with labs:

AST 111 - General Astronomy I 3 hrs. AND
AST 111L - General Astronomy I Laboratory 1 hr.
AST 112 - General Astronomy II 3 hrs. AND
AST 112L - General Astronomy II Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 103 - Biology and Society 3 hrs. AND
BSC 103L - Biology and Society Laboratory 1 hr
BSC 107 - Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology 3 hrs. AND
BSC 107L - Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 110 - Principles of Biological Science I 3 hrs. AND
BSC 110L - Principles of Biological Science I Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 111 - Principles of Biological Science II 3 hrs. AND
BSC 111L - Principles of Biological Science II Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 250 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 3 hrs. AND
BSC 250L - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory 1 hr.
BSC 251 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II 3 hrs. AND
BSC 251L - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 104 - Chemistry and Our Environment 3 hrs. AND
CHE 104L - Chemistry and Our Environment Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 106 - General Chemistry I 3 hrs. AND
CHE 106L - General Chemistry I Laboratory 1 hr.
CHE 110 - Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biochemistry 3 hrs. AND
CHE 110L - Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biochem Lab 1 hr.
GHY 104 - Weather and Climate 3 hrs. AND
GHY 104L - Weather and Climate Laboratory 1 hr.
GHY 105 - Land and Water 3 hrs. AND
GHY 105L - Land and Water Lab 1 hr.
GLY 101 - Physical Geology 3 hrs. AND
GLY 101L - Physical Geology Laboratory 1 hr.
GLY 103 - Historical Geology 3 hrs. AND
GLY 103L - Historical Geology Laboratory 1 hr.
MAR 151 - Introduction to Ocean Science 3 hrs. AND
MAR 151L - Introduction to Ocean Science Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 103 - Introductory Physics 3 hrs. AND
PHY 103L - Introductory Physics Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 111 - General Physics I 3 hrs. AND
PHY 111L - General Physics I Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 112 - General Physics II 3 hrs. AND
PHY 112L - General Physics II Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 201 - General Physics I with Calculus 4 hrs. AND
PHY 201L - General Physics I with Calculus Laboratory 1 hr.
PHY 202 - General Physics II with Calculus 4 hrs. AND
PHY 202L - General Physics II with Calculus Laboratory 1 hr.
PSE 190 - Living in a Material World 3 hrs. AND
PSE 190L - Lab for Living in a Material World 1 hr.

GEC 03. Humanities (9 hours)

ENG 203 - World Literature 3 hrs.

Select 2 courses, 1 History required:

HIS 101 - World Civilizations: Beginnings to 1500 C.E. 3 hrs.
HIS 102 - World Civilizations: 1500 to the present 3 hrs.
HUM 201 - Colloquium on the Pre-Modern World 3 hrs.
HUM 202 - Colloquium on the Modern World 3 hrs.
PHI 151 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 hrs. *
PHI 171 - Ethics and Good Living 3 hrs.
REL 131 - Comparative Religion 3 hrs. *

GEC 04. Aesthetic Values (3 hours)

Select 1 course:

GEC 05. Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 hours)

Select 2 courses:

ANT 101 - The Human Experience: A Global Perspective on Human Diversity 3 hrs.
ANT 221 - Introduction to Cultural & Linguistic Anthropology 3 hrs.
ECO 101 - Basic Economics 3 hrs.
GHY 101 - World Geography: Dynamics of a Changing Earth 3 hrs.
HHS 100 - Concepts of Wellness 3 hrs.
PS 101 - American Government 3 hrs.
PSY 110 - General Psychology 3 hrs.
SOC 101 - Understanding Society: Principles of Sociology 3 hrs.
WL 110 - Introduction to Language 3 hrs.

GEC 06. Mathematics (3 hours)

Select 1 course:

MAT 100 - Quantitative Reasoning 3 hrs. ***
MAT 101 - College Algebra 3 hrs.
Higher-level MAT course
ACT Math sub score of 24 or higher
SAT Math score of 560 or higher

GEC 07. Writing-Intensive Requirement (Major Area or 3 hours)

Any upper-level writing-intensive (WI) course
ENG 101 & ENG 102 prerequisites

GEC 08. Speaking Intensive Requirement (3 hours)

Select 1 course:

CMS 111 - Public Speaking 3 hrs. (SI)
CMS 305 - Interpersonal Communication 3 hrs. (SI)
CMS 320 - Professional Communication 3 hrs. (SI)
CMS 330 - Small-Group Communication 3 hrs. (SI)

GEC 09. Capstone Requirement (Major Area)

PHI 480 - Philosophical Discourse 3 hrs. (Capstone)
Must be taken Senior Year; ENG 101 & ENG 102 prerequisites

Note:

*This course satisfies both the GEC requirement and a program requirement for this major.

**This particular GEC course is recommended by this major.

***This course does not satisfy prerequisites for any other math course.

GEC 07 - GEC 09 courses are specific to this major.

For full description of the GEC, see here .

Program Curriculum

DEG 01. Major Area of Study Requirements (30-33 hours)

Complete all three (Foundations in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Ethics & Law):

PHI 151 - Introduction to Philosophy 3 hrs.
PHI 171 - Ethics and Good Living 3 hrs.
REL 131 - Comparative Religion 3 hrs.

Select 1 Course (Logic Requirement):

PHI 253 - Logic 3 hrs. or
PHI 351 - Critical Thinking 3 hrs.

Select 1 Course (Advanced study in Philosophy):

Any 300 or 400 PHI course

Select 1 Course (Advanced study in Religious Studies):

Any 300 or 400 REL course

Select 1 Course (Advanced study in Law Preparation):

PHI 320 - Contemporary Moral Issues 3 hrs.
PHI 356 - Ethics 3 hrs.
PHI 435 - Research Ethics 1 hr.
PHI 451 - Political Philosophy 3 hrs.
PHI 452 - Health Care Ethics 3 hrs.
PHI 453 - Philosophy of Law 3 hrs.
PHI 454 - Disability, Ethics, and Justice 3 hrs.
PHI 457 - Environmental Ethics 3 hrs.

Capstone Requirement:

PHI 480 - Philosophical Discourse 3 hrs.

Select 1 Option:

A. Complete 9 additional hours comprised of PHI or REL courses, or

B. Complete one of the PRL guided pathways:

Pathway: Religion and World Cultures (9 hours)

Complete any three of the following courses:

REL 303 - Introduction to Islam 3 hrs.
REL 304 - Survey of Islamic History 3 hrs.
REL 334 - New Testament 3 hrs.
REL 335 - The Life of Jesus 3 hrs.
REL 336 - The Christian Tradition 3 hrs.
REL 337 - Eastern Orthodox Christianity 3 hrs.
REL 340 - Beyond the Grave: Religion and the Afterlife 3 hrs.
REL 345 - Magic and the Occult 3 hrs.
REL 350 - Religion and Violence 3 hrs.
REL 351 - Theories of Religious Experience 3 hrs.
REL 403 - Introduction to Quranic Studies 3 hrs.
REL 424 - Religion and Healing 3 hrs.
REL 432 - Mysticism 3 hrs.

Pathway 2: Ethics (9 hours)

Complete the following (required):

PHI 356 - Ethics 3 hrs. (WI)

Complete any two of the following courses:

PHI 320 - Contemporary Moral Issues 3 hrs.
PHI 333 - Philosophy of Love and Sexuality 3 hrs.
PHI 435 - Research Ethics 1 hr.
PHI 451 - Political Philosophy 3 hrs.
PHI 452 - Health Care Ethics 3 hrs.
PHI 453 - Philosophy of Law 3 hrs.
PHI 454 - Disability, Ethics, and Justice 3 hrs.
PHI 457 - Environmental Ethics 3 hrs.
PHI 462 - Evil 3 hrs.
REL 460 - Global Religious Ethics 3 hrs.

Pathway 3: Philosophy and Law (9 hours)

Complete the following (required):

PHI 453 - Philosophy of Law 3 hrs.

Complete any two of the following courses:

PHI 351 - Critical Thinking 3 hrs.
PHI 356 - Ethics 3 hrs.
PS 375 - Government and Economics 3 hrs.
PS 380 - Introduction to Law in American Society 3 hrs.
PS 480 - United States Constitutional Law 3 hrs.
PS 489 - U. S. Supreme Court and Civil Liberties 3 hrs.
LGL 401 - The American Legal Tradition 3 hrs.
LGL 430 - Jurisprudence 3 hrs.

DEG 02. Additional Requirements (9-18 hours)

Humanities, Social Science Requirement:

Select 6 credit hours from HUM, ENG, HIS, ANT, SOC, PS at the 300-level or higher. (PS courses cannot count for both DEG 02 and the Philosophy and Law pathway.)

World Language Requirement:

Complete with passing grade either

12 hours total in any combination of world language courses,
202 in one world language, or
SHS 323 , SHS 329 , and SHS 340 .

DEG 03. Electives

Choose electives as needed. (See Hours to Degree below.)

Hours to Degree

120 hours are needed to graduate with a BA in Philosophy. Of the total hours applied to this degree, 30 hours must be in courses numbered at the 300 level or above. The student must earn at least 21 of the last 30 hours of course work and at least 12 hours in the major area of study from Southern Miss. See Residence Hour Requirements for more information.