Philosophy and Religion Minor

A Minor in Philosophy and Religion, offered through the Liberal Arts Division invites dedicated students to develop their analytical and research skills in the two scholarly fields of philosophy and religion.

Students may apply to enter the minor after successfully completing a course in either of the two disciplines. To fulfill the minor, students will take two required introductory courses in the respective fields (Introduction to World Religions and Topics in the History of Philosophy) plus three other Philosophy and/or Religion courses in any combination.

Students may withdraw from the minor – or be asked to withdraw – at any time without penalty. Completed courses will then be counted as Liberal Arts electives, or free electives.

Philosophy and religion plus the history of these fields provides an essential connection between the fine arts and the liberal arts. The minor also serves the students’ manifest interest in philosophy and religion. It can help students in several majors to develop skills important to their primary study. The actor, director, filmmaker, animator, graphic or industrial designer, and journalist who master the philosophy and religion disciplines will have a deeper and wider intellectual foundation for their artistic endeavors and, therefore, will be more adaptable and competitive than many of their colleagues.

The specific educational goals of the Philosophy and Religion Minor are these:

1.    to provide expanded knowledge of world intellectual history and culture;
2.    to provide insight into scholarly approaches and theories in the fields of philosophy and religion;
3.    to develop analytic and research skills across the disciplines;
4.    to help students recognize the relationships between arts and various philosophical and religious topics and movements.

A faculty advisor will monitor and ensure the students’ progress through the minor.

In order to complete the work for the minor, students may use any combination of liberal arts elective credits and free elective credits. A grade of B or better will be required in each of the five courses to remain in the Minor.

Philosophy and religion courses presently in the UArts Catalog:

In addition to philosophy and religion courses, we also recommend certain period interpretation and literature courses to complement the minor: