Philosophy
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This website contains all the relevant information about the Department, as found in the official college catalog and the publication, Philosophy at MSCD.
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Student Advising
The full-time faculty have the principal responsibility for advising students enrolled in the department’s major or minor (and for students considering the major or minor). The goal of the Department’s advising program is to assist students in planning their academic programs and in understanding the value of the college’s General Studies requirements. Each student should be assigned a faculty advisor when they have declared a major and have earned at least 24 semester hours. Departmental advisors will monitor student’s progress toward graduation, advise on courses that will satisfy the requirements for the major, offer advice on graduate and professional schools, as appropriate, and provide information about special support services and enrichment activities offered by the college.
Generally speaking, students are encouraged to take a number of introductory and intermediate courses before attempting those at the more advanced level, and to take whatever "basic courses" (e.g., in the history of philosophy and logic) may be required as early as possible once they have decided to major in philosophy. Moreover, while there can and should be no strict rule, it is further possible to suggest a general pattern that might usefully be recommended to students seeking guidance in the planning of their studies leading to a major, reflecting common practice in many other departments.
First year: a general introductory course in philosophy and/or first courses in ethics and critical thinking.
Second year: Areas One and Two.
Third year: Areas Three, Four and Five.
Fourth year: Area Six and other advanced courses in which the student has close contact with faculty members, including the senior seminar, and possibly independent study course or honors thesis, or other variable offerings and electives.
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Transfer Credits
Transfer credits below the introductory level are remedial and will not be considered for transfer credit. Courses taken elsewhere with both a course content and a course level comparable to existing MSCD classes may be transferable for credit toward the major or the minor. Students must submit supporting documentation including (but not limited to) a course syllabus and/or official course catalog description for subsequent adjustment of the CAPP report, if credit is appropriate.
The appropriateness of transfer courses for General Studies credit will be judged on a course-by-course basis. The standards are the College goals specified for each category. Narrow, specialized topics are not typically acceptable for General Studies credit. The Department has no capacity to override or excuse the requirements set by the College as a whole (for general skill requirements). Once again, supporting documentation will be required and only courses correlating to existing offerings of the Philosophy Department already approved for credit can (typically) be considered.
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Faculty-Student Disagreements
Disputes between faculty and students, while rare, are not unknown. The Department demands the same standard for all students in its courses. First, the student should seek informal resolution with the instructor of the course. Only if this informal resolution is unsuccessful may the student proceed to the next level and request intervention by the Department Chair. Only if this stage of the resolution procedure is unsuccessful may the student formally appeal to the LAS Dean’s Office. Students who violate this protocol will be referred back to the appropriate level to begin the process of conflict resolution there.
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Program Assessment Methodology
Our method for program assessment employs four distinct approaches, all of which are conducted in the “capstone course,” The Senior Seminar. This course is devoted to reflection upon and synthesis of prior learning and, usually, to the creation of substantial paper to be included in the student portfolio. The portfolio includes a self-assessment and formal surveys of the members of the seminar are also conducted.
A. The capstone project:
Students will be required to complete "a paper of substantial length and import" in the course of the Senior Seminar [direct method]. (This paper should be included among those found in the portfolio).
B. The survey of graduating seniors:
The director of The Senior Seminar will administer a formal but anonymous “survey” to each member of that particular section [indirect method].
C. The portfolio:
The “portfolio” is, in the main, a collection of student papers that provides a longitudinal survey of student work, over the entire course of their undergraduate career [direct method]. (For further information, see the form The Portfolio: Instructions for Students, appended to this document.)
D. The self-evaluation:
Included with the portfolio is a “self-evaluation”: a short self-assessment by the student that contains their reflections on their own development and their overall level of satisfaction with the program itself (noting both its achievements and shortcomings) [indirect method].
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