Strategically located within academic study, the discipline of philosophy offers students the opportunity to study diverse and competing worldviews. Through critical reading, thinking and writing, students will be challenged to acknowledge and respect diversity, promote equity, and seek opportunities of inclusion. Philosophy is concerned with perennial questions and is focused on reading carefully, thinking critically, understanding deeply, and imagining richly.
We will explore the nature of reality, truth and value, the human response to death and suffering, and ask big questions. For example: Who am I? Why am I here? What is truth? How do I know anything? What is good and what is evil? Philosophy courses require critical analysis, clarity, and understanding. These skills are achieved through careful and close reading of texts, images, and symbols, as well as through descriptive and analytic writing. You can expect the reward of an active, teachable, and inquisitive mind as well as a rich imagination.
The Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) in Philosophy offers a challenging opportunity to explore how to learn and you will learn about your potential contributions within our world. This challenging and exciting endeavor can help us make sense of the events taking place in the world around us. Most of all, by studying philosophy, you will learn about yourself. Studying philosophy provides students with invaluable skills transferable to nearly all vocations. The law states that students will have guaranteed admission to a California State University (CSU) campus upon successful completion of the specified program requirements.
Students should consult with an academic counselor to determine whether this degree is the best option for their career and/or transfer goals.
To earn this AA-T degree, students must complete the following Associate Degree for Transfer requirements:
- completion of the following major requirements with a minimum grade of “C” (or “P”);
- completion of a minimum of 60 CSU transferable semester units with a grade point average of at least 2.0; and
- certified completion of the CSU General Education-Breadth (CSU-GE) or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) for CSU, which requires a minimum of 39 units.
It is highly recommended that students complete courses that satisfy the U.S. History, Constitution, and American Ideals requirement as part of CSU-GE or IGETC before transferring to a CSU.
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses: | ||
| PHIL 103 | Introduction to Logic: Argument and Evidence | 3 |
| PHIL 101 | Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
| or PHIL 101H | Introduction to Philosophy - Honors | |
| or PHIL 105 | Introduction to Ethics | |
| List A - One course from the following (or any course not used in required courses): | ||
| PHIL 102 | Critical Thinking and Writing | 3 |
| ENGL 102 | Intermediate Composition and Critical Thinking | 4 |
| or ENGL 102H | Intermediate Composition and Critical Thinking - Honors | |
| COMMST 125 | Critical Thinking Through Argumentation and Debate | 3 |
| READ 102 | Critical Reading as Critical Thinking | 3 |
| List B - Two courses from the following (or any course not used in List A): | ||
| PHIL 109 | Philosophy of Religion | 3 |
| RELIG 101 | Introduction to World Religions | 3 |
| ENGL 175 | The Literature and Religion of the Bible | 3 |
| or RELIG 175 | The Literature and Religion of the Bible | |
| PHIL 180 | Death and Dying | 3 |
| or RELIG 180 | Death and Dying | |
| List C - One course from the following (or any course not selected from List A or List B): | ||
| PHIL 112 | Philosophy in Literature | 3 |
| RELIG 100 | Introduction to Religious Studies | 3 |
| or RELIG 100H | Introduction to Religious Studies - Honors | |
| RELIG 115 | Magic, Witchcraft, Cults, and New Religious Movements | 3 |
| RELIG 135 | Religion in America | 3 |
| RELIG 150 | Introduction to Mythology | 3 |
| RELIG 176 | Jesus and His Interpreters | 3 |
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Major Total | 18-19 | |
| Total Units That May Be Double Counted | 9-12 | |
| General Education (CSU-GE or IGETC) Units | 37-39 | |
| Elective (CSU Transferable) Units | 11-17 | |
| Total Units | 60 | |
See Section on Degree, Certificate, and Transfer Information for additional information on the Associate Degrees for Transfer.
To earn an SBVC Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) students must complete one of the following general education patterns:
Program Learning Outcomes
At the completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Identify and analyze the structure of arguments, including recognizing conclusions, premises, and inference indicators by writing a response to a particular writing prompt.
- Analyze and evaluate issues dealing with the tradition of philosophy, including but not limited to ethical, epistemological, metaphysical, and political philosophical issues, and/or the impact of Eastern traditions by using both descriptive and analytical writing.
- Apply the ideas and concepts in the tradition of philosophy to contemporary experience by writing a response to a particular writing prompt.