Students may satisfy the senior experience requirement within the philosophy department or within some other department. There are two ways to meet the senior experience requirement within the philosophy department:
1. During the Fall semester of your senior year, you may take PHIL 4001 (Senior Experience) and PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) simultaneously.
2. Alternatively, you may write an essay (at least 12 pages, double-spaced, one inch margins) that reflects an intensive study of the best scholarship on a philosophical topic, under the supervision (and with the permission) of a faculty advisor, during the Fall or Spring semesters of your senior year, while enrolled simultaneously in PHIL 4001 and any upper division philosophy course. You must complete the requirements of this upper division course, but your essay will replace the final essay.
By April 1 of your junior year, you must notify the department chair of how you intend to satisfy the Senior Experience requirement: either outside the department, or by taking PHIL 4395 and PHIL 4001 concurrently, or by taking PHIL 4001 and an upper-division course concurrently.
Rising seniors who plan to enroll in PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) should keep the following points in mind:
You may enroll in PHIL 4395 only if you propose a thesis that is acceptable to the department. If your proposal is approved, a thesis committee will be created. Normally, the committee will consist of a director, who will be your principal advisor and supervisor, the instructor of PHIL 4395, who will monitor deadlines and provide feedback on drafts; and a third member of the department with some expertise in the area of the thesis.
A thesis proposal should include the following:
--A previous essay: a thesis will normally refine an essay previously submitted in a philosophy class, with the approval of the instructor to whom the work was submitted. In exceptional cases students may submit an essay which they did not write for course credit.
--A thesis statement: what position will you defend? Will you defend your previous position, or modify it?
--An argumentative strategy: how will you defend your thesis? What new arguments will you construct, and which old arguments will you bolster?
--An annotated reading list: what materials germane to your topic have you already read? What else will you read? You will be expected to master a range of cutting-edge scholarship on your topic.
The thesis course is offered only during the Fall semester. Therefore, if you intend to write a thesis, you will need to sign up for it during spring registration in your junior year, after notifying the department chair.
Rising seniors who plan to meet their senior experience requirement within the philosophy department while taking a class other than PHIL 4395 (Senior Thesis) should keep the following points in mind:
You may meet your senior experience requirement while enrolled simultaneously in PHIL 4001 (Senior Experience) and an upper level philosophy class only if you propose an essay topic that is acceptable to the instructor offering the class. Your instructor will work with you early in the semester to help you shape your proposal.
An essay proposal should include the following:
--A position statement: what position will you defend?
--An argumentative strategy: how will you defend your position?
--An annotated reading list: what materials germane to your topic have you already read? What else will you read? You will be expected to master a range of cutting-edge scholarship on your topic.
You may meet your senior experience requirement during the Fall or Spring semesters of your senior year. Either way you will need to notify the department chair by April 1 of your junior year that you intend to satisfy the Senior Experience requirement by writing an essay, and you will need to sign up for 4001 for the appropriate semester.