Philosophy (PHIL)


PHIL 1001  Foundations in Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Explores fundamental philosophical questions about human nature, moral value and the meaning of life, looking at answers proposed by past and present philosophers working in a range of traditions. Includes an introduction to Catholic, Jesuit thought and a discussion of social justice. Invites students to reflect on their own experiences to identify their deepest philosophical questions and guiding commitments.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Foundation  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science, Ethics  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Summer Term  
PHIL 1001H  Honors Foundations in Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Explores fundamental philosophical questions about human nature, moral value and the meaning of life, looking at answers proposed by past and present philosophers working in a range of traditions. Includes an introduction to Catholic, Jesuit thought and a discussion of social justice. Invites students to reflect on their own experiences to identify their deepest philosophical questions and guiding commitments.
Prerequisite: Admission to Marquette University Honors Program.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Foundation  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science, Ethics  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term  
PHIL 2000  Critical Reasoning: Informal Logic in Real-World Contexts  (3 credits)  
Introduces fundamental principles and forms of good reasoning, as well as methods for distinguishing good reasoning from bad reasoning and for recognizing common fallacies. Clarifies the distinction between validity and truth and the difference between inductive and deductive arguments. Develops skills by analyzing natural language examples, such as political speeches, op-eds, advertisements, and scientific and legal texts. Trains students to become intellectually honest, rigorous and persuasive reasoners.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term  
PHIL 2010  Introduction to Cognitive Science  (3 credits)  
Introduces the interdisciplinary study of the mind, drawing on and integrating concepts and tools from disciplines such as psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, linguistics, anthropology and others. Asks foundational questions in cognitive science and examines how the various disciplines that comprise the field come together to offer a framework for an investigation into the fundamentals of cognition. Same as INCG 2010.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: NSM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term  
PHIL 2310  Ethical Reasoning: Theory and Dialogue in Real-World Contexts  (3 credits)  
Introduces ethical theories from multiple philosophical and cultural traditions, emphasizing the use of ethical theory to engage in constructive ethical dialogue and the collaborative development of solutions to ethical dilemmas facing us today. Structured around the analysis of Ethics Bowl case studies, with a focus on problems that are rooted in our social systems and structures and impact our lived experiences.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Engage Social Systms & Values 1  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 2420  Philosophical Perspectives on Persons  (3 credits)  
Investigates conceptions of the person that emerge in a range of different philosophical, cultural and religious traditions. Normally introduces Catholic views on personhood as well as Buddhist conceptions of the self; considers some of the ethical quandaries raised, especially in medical and legal contexts, by an underlying conception of the person; and explores some of the challenges raised to our understanding of personhood by recent scientific and technological advances, including artificial intelligence.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
PHIL 2460  Philosophical Perspectives on Free Will  (3 credits)  
Investigates the age-old philosophical question, Do we have free will? Introduces compatibilist and incompatibilist conceptions of free will; explores what science tells us—and does not tell us—about the existence of free will; and considers whether morality and responsibility depend on a free will.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
PHIL 2720  Philosophical Perspectives on Equality  (3 credits)  
Analyzes the idea of equality in depth. Uses both historical and contemporary philosophical accounts as a lens to consider how equality should be understood, what genuine equality would require of us, and how equality relates to justice. Looks at different forms of equality and inequality in modern life, as well as the social, political and economic conditions and forces that give rise to and sustain inequality.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Engage Social Systms & Values 1  
PHIL 2900  Philosophy of Sport  (3 credits)  
Delves into sport, a rich site for philosophical inquiry into fundamental questions about human nature, ethics and society, drawing on both classical philosophical texts and contemporary scholarship. Analyzes the meaning of play, the pursuit of excellence, the nature of competition, the role of rules in shaping fair play, and such ethical and political issues as gender equity, doping and commercialization. Equips students to engage thoughtfully with debates about the purpose of sport, its role in reflecting and challenging cultural value, and its significance in individual and collective life.
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Individuals & Communities  
PHIL 2955H  Honors Introduction to Philosophical Debate  (1 credits)  
Develops skills in philosophical reasoning, critical analysis and constructive debate through facilitated discussions that bring philosophical texts and theories to bear on current events. Some sections may focus on a specific topic; in such cases, the topic will be announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: Admission to Marquette University Honors Program, cumulative GPA of 3.200 and cumulative Philosophy GPA of 3.330, or cons. of dept.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term  
PHIL 3350  Philosophy of the Environment  (3 credits)  
Engages in philosophical inquiry into nature and its transformation by people, as well as the moral, scientific and social problems posed by global environmental crises. Specific topics can include the status of natural objects and systems, the morality of trade-offs between species, the ethics of consumption, the connection between environmental degradation and illness, and the role of culture in demarcating the natural and the non-natural.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness, Environmental Studies, Environmental Ethics, Ethics, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Summer Term, 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 3360  Engineering Ethics  (3 credits)  
Explores the ethical obligations and ethical quandaries that arise for engineers, who are tasked with designing safe tools and environments in a variety of spaces—including electrical, medical, infrastructural (buildings, bridges, roads), digital, entertainment, and communication-based spaces. Assesses potential solutions or responses to these professional ethical challenges.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
PHIL 3370  Philosophy of Art  (3 credits)  
Undertakes philosophical examination of art and its place in human life. Among possible topics are cognitive aspects of art, art and cultural understanding, the contribution of philosophy to the understanding and appreciation of art, the definition of art, art and morality, the objectivity of judgements of aesthetic value, the nature of aesthetic experience, the ontology of art, art as vehicle of social change, and the role of the artists' intentions in interpreting and evaluating works of art.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2016 Fall Term  
PHIL 3380  Asian Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Introduces the major systems of philosophy of India and China: early Vedic and Upanishadic systems; Buddhism, including Chan/Zen Buddhism; Brahmanism; Hinduism; Confucianism; and Daoism. Emphasizes key ideas in Eastern philosophy.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Asian Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term, 2010 Fall Term  
PHIL 3390  Latin American Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Introduces significant figures, issues and texts in Latin American Philosophy. Investigates the global and comparative nature of philosophical dialogue and debate by reading texts by philosophers and pensadores from Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Crossing Boundaries  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Latin American Studies, Latinx Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2016 Fall Term  
PHIL 3410  Metaphysics  (3 credits)  
Investigates fundamental questions about the nature of reality, especially those not amenable to purely empirical resolution. Possible topics include: theories of substance, the nature of physical objects, the existence of the soul, essences and natural necessity, time and space, the reality of possible worlds, the existence of universals, the nature of causation and the distinction between primary and secondary qualities.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term  
PHIL 3450  Epistemology  (3 credits)  
Studies the sources, nature, structure and extent of knowledge and justified belief. Possible topics include: skepticism, theories of perception, a priori knowledge, testimony as a source of knowledge, theories of truth, internalist and externalist theories of knowledge, the analysis of knowledge and foundational and coherence theories of the structure of knowledge.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term  
PHIL 3460  Philosophy of Language  (3 credits)  
Studies fundamental issues about the nature of symbolic systems, including language. Possible topics include: intention-based, use-based, truth-conditional and verificationist theories of meaning; the indeterminacy of translation; proper names and reference; theories of definite descriptions; the nature of demonstrative and indexical expressions; and theories of metaphor.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term  
PHIL 3470  Philosophy of Technology  (3 credits)  
Explores philosophical problems raised by new technologies and technological change. Identifies and reflects critically on the ethical impacts of new technology. Specific course topics may include the ethics of AI, algorithmic bias, bioengineering and biotechnological enhancement.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term  
PHIL 3501  Philosophy of War and Peace  (3 credits)  
Examines historical and contemporary ethical debates about the justification of war, the conduct of war and the means of fighting wars. Possible topics include: just war theory, pacifism, terrorism, humanitarian intervention, war crimes, the privatization of war and the ethical implications of new military technologies.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2019 Fall Term  
PHIL 3502  Narrating Freedom: Gender, Race and Mass Incarceration  (3 credits)  
Approaches some traditional philosophical questions in an experiential and interdisciplinary way and aims to bridge the gap between academic philosophy and everyday life. Through the lens of institutionalization and incarceration, explores questions regarding the nature of institutional oppression and different forms of freedom and resistance drawing from scholarly texts and from the social positions we live. The course partners with a Milwaukee community organization that supports currently or formerly incarcerated individuals and enrolls participants from the organization as students at MU.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Engage Social Systms & Values 2  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Gender and Sexualities Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 3503  The Ethics of Intimacy  (3 credits)  
Engages in critical exploration of the relationship between individuals and communities and the construction of notions of intimacy on both the local and global level. Specifically investigates the assemblages of intimacy as it intersects with various social positionalities: race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, migration, religion and sexuality.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Individuals & Communities  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness, Gender and Sexualities Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term  
PHIL 3505  Philosophy and Film  (3 credits)  
Explores the relationship between philosophical ideas and film, especially narrative film. Discusses various accounts of the nature of film, film genres and ways of interpreting films. Attends to the ways that narrative films are susceptible to philosophical reflection and, more controversially, the way that narrative films might exemplify a way of doing philosophy.
Prerequisite: ENGL 1001 or HOPR 1955H; PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc, Writing Intensive  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2024 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 3506  Philosophy of Race  (3 credits)  
Explores the role that race and race-related ideas (such as proto-race, ethnicity, nationality and indigeneity) play in how we define a diverse society and how individuals identify themselves. Examines the meaning of race from various philosophical perspectives, as well as the nature of race, xenophobia, antiblackness, islamophobia and antisemitism. Develops an understanding of the nature of race in order to challenge racism and racial injustice.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Individuals & Communities  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term  
PHIL 3507  Global Justice  (3 credits)  
Explores five issues of global justice: war and violence; human rights, development and global institutions; immigration and refugees; gender; and democracy and communication. Argues that such problems outstrip the resources of the nation-state and cannot be addressed by political institutions and theories that focus on the state as the primary agent for ensuring justice.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Engage Social Systms & Values 2, HUM Crossing Boundaries  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Gender and Sexualities Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term  
PHIL 3508  Caribbean Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Engages in an examination of the rich intellectual tradition of the Caribbean oriented around issues of colonization, decolonization, resistance, emancipation and identity. Examines transnational ideas forged in and through the Caribbean, including its diaspora; considers the meaning of the Caribbean as a geopolitical space; investigates how identities are forged in the Caribbean; and shows how social and political problems emerge as a result of colonialism and globalization. Introduces major figures and philosophical problems in ethics, metaphysics and epistemology.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Crossing Boundaries  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Gender and Sexualities Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term  
PHIL 3509  Philosophy of Disability  (3 credits)  
Explores a range of perspectives on the philosophy of disability, from positions presenting disability as a fundamental “lack” of the body to those that constitute it as “mere difference” to more transformative understandings that politicize and historicize the category “disability” itself. Core class concepts include “normalcy,” “disability,” “health,” “well-being” and “quality of life.” Answers fundamental questions about body/mind functioning and flourishing through phenomenological, ethical, political, metaphysical and epistemological approaches.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice, HUM Individuals & Communities  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness, Gender and Sexualities Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Summer Term, 2025 Spring Term  
PHIL 3550  Moral Psychology  (3 credits)  
Examines the fundamental claims and presuppositions of moral philosophy in light of theoretical and empirical advances in philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. Explores such topics as moral cognition and moral motivation; freedom and responsibility, as well as the related phenomena of weakness of will and addiction; the nature of moral emotions, such as guilt, shame, and disgust; moral character, situationism, and the problem of moral luck; and the challenges to moral theorizing raised by such conditions as psychopathy and “disorders of agency.”
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
PHIL 3610  Ancient Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Examines ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, from the pre-Socratic philosophers through the Hellenistic schools, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Other philosophers studied may include: Heraclitus, Parmenides, Pythagoras, Plotinus, Epicurus, Seneca and Sextus Empiricus. Explores such topics as the soul, immorality, knowledge, eros, and fate and freedom.
Prerequisite: ENGL 1001 or HOPR 1955H; PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons, Writing Intensive  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2016 Spring Term  
PHIL 3620  Medieval Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Examines select issues and philosophers of the medieval period. Philosophers covered may include: Augustine, Boethius, Averroes, Avicenna, Maimonides, Anselm, Aquinas, Bonaventure, Scotus and Ockham. Topics discussed may include: free will, universals, the nature of the soul, proofs of the existence of God, and the relation between faith and reason.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2006 Spring Term  
PHIL 3640  Twentieth-Century Anglo-American Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Engages in critical examination of a number of 20th-century Anglo-American philosophers and philosophical movements. Movements considered include some of the following: "common sense" philosophy, logical atomism, logical positivism and ordinary language philosophy. Philosophers discussed may include: G.E. Moore, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, J.L. Austin, Elizabeth Anscombe, Willard Van Orman Quine, Thomas Nagel and Saul Kripke.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2012 Spring Term, 2008 Fall Term  
PHIL 3650  Early Modern Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Investigates 17th- to 18th-century philosophy, especially in light of individualism and scientific discovery. Philosophers studied may include, but are not limited to: Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. Typical themes discussed include theories of mind and matter; personal identity; God and the cosmos; and the relations between philosophy, science and religion.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term  
PHIL 3660  Marx and Marxism  (3 credits)  
Explores Marx's intellectual transition from "leftist" Hegelianism to dialectical materialism and from the study of political economics to Das Kapital. Also examines developments and adaptations of Marx's thought by various schools of Marx interpretation.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term  
PHIL 3665  Phenomenology and Existentialism  (3 credits)  
Studies major figures and themes from phenomenological and existentialist traditions, such as Kierkegaard, Husserl, Heidegger and Sartre.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term  
PHIL 3710  Political Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Engages in a philosophical inquiry into the nature of social and political life. Topics discussed may include: the nature of political liberty; the relation between the individual and larger institutions such as the state; the nature of justice; human rights; the meaning of the individual as a social being; the social aspects of individual identity; and the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of the use of force.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice, HUM Individuals & Communities  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term  
PHIL 3751  Philosophy and History of Crime and Punishment  (3 credits)  
Examines crime and punishment, using an interdisciplinary lens that combines philosophical and historical perspectives. Explores the European as well as the American experience.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Law and Society  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2020 Summer Term, 2019 Summer Term  
PHIL 3770  Feminist Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Provides a historical and critical introduction to the views of women philosophers and to different types of feminism, such as liberal, existentialist, radical, Marxist and socialist feminism. Explores feminist theories of knowledge, feminist political theory and feminist ethics.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Gender and Sexualities Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 3780  Africana Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Introduces central philosophical issues and figures from Africa and the African Diaspora. Approaches perennial issues in philosophy of human nature and social/political philosophy from an Africana perspective. Topics of discussion may include: the ontological status of race, the nature of racism, the relation between race and personal identity, contemporary race relations, global feminism and the existence of a distinctly "African" philosophy. Philosophers studied may include: Zera Yacob, Kwame Appiah, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Frantz Fanon, Paget Henry, Sylvia Wynter, Angela Davis, Charles Mills and Lewis Gordon.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Crossing Boundaries  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Africana Studies, Ethics, Gender and Sexualities Studies, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2014 Fall Term  
PHIL 3955H  Honors Readings in Philosophy  (1 credits)  
Engages in close reading and sustained discussion of a single text or select few texts. Develops strategies for working through an extended, challenging text, as well as skills of articulating and defending an interpretation of a text. May be taken twice. Specific text(s) announced in Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; either admission to Marquette University Honors Program, cumulative GPA of 3.200 and cumulative Philosophy GPA of 3.330, or cons. of dept.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term  
PHIL 4000  Modern Logic  (3 credits)  
Introduces modern symbolic logic, with primary emphasis on translation into symbolic form and natural deduction. Covers propositional logic and predicate logic with identity. Possible additional topics include the philosophical implications of modern logic.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; either Jr. stndg. or cons. of dept.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term  
PHIL 4310  History and Theory of Ethics  (3 credits)  
Investigates the moral dimension of human life and the process of moral deliberation. Covers the principal traditions in Western moral philosophy, including natural law theory. May also introduce significant work in contemporary moral philosophy.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term  
PHIL 4320  Contemporary Ethical Problems  (3 credits)  
Explores select ethical issues of contemporary significance, such as human rights, the demands of social and racial justice, war and international relations, the expression of dissent, and sexual conduct and the nature of consent. Some sections may focus on a single topic or explore a set of thematically related topics; in such cases, details will appear in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2017 Spring Term  
PHIL 4330  Business Ethics  (3 credits)  
Applies theories of ethics to the moral dimensions of business endeavors and their effects on individuals, organizations and society. Topics explored may include: corporate responsibility; discrimination and affirmative action in the workplace; whistleblowing; economic justice; environmental impact; and the effects of globalization.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Summer Term  
PHIL 4335  Biomedical Ethics  (3 credits)  
Examines fundamental ethical issues that arise in the practice of medicine and other health care professions. Possible topics include: the definition of death, the morality of suicide and euthanasia, patient-physician confidentiality, informed consent, refusal of lifesaving medical treatment, the morality of abortion, genetic engineering, human cloning and the allocation of scarce medical resources.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Basic Needs & Justice  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness, Ethics  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Summer Term, 2024 Summer Term  
PHIL 4336  Applied Ethics for the Health Sciences  (1 credits)  
Introduces issues in professional health care ethics, providing a bridge to the professional phase of study for students in the College of Health Sciences. Topics discussed include: the dignity of life, codes of medical ethics, the nature of the patient-medical provider relationship, confidentiality, the determination of patient competence, critical patient care, and justice in health care.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; enrolled in Health Sciences.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Health and Illness  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term  
PHIL 4450  Philosophy of Mind  (3 credits)  
Explores some of the philosophical problems concerning the nature of mind and its interaction with the physical world. Topics may include the traditional mind-body problem and various significant historical and contemporary responses; the causal efficacy of content; neurophysiology vs. folk psychological approaches; other minds; intentionality; consciousness; and the reconciliation of contemporary science and our natural first-person conception of the mind.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term  
PHIL 4470  Philosophy of Science  (3 credits)  
Examines fundamental epistemological and metaphysical issues that arise in the practice of science. Among possible topics are theories of scientific method; problems of confirmation; models of scientific explanation; scientific revolutions; the observational-theoretical distinction; the reality of theoretical entities; the relation between science and religion and between science and art; and the limits of scientific knowledge.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Expanding Our Horizons  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
PHIL 4510  Philosophy of Religion  (3 credits)  
Explores some of the oldest and most enduring philosophical questions: questions about the existence of God and the nature of religion. Typically considers arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of faith and the relation of faith to reason, whether morality depends on the existence of God, and whether science is compatible with the existence of God.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2011 Spring Term  
PHIL 4540  Philosophy of Education  (3 credits)  
Engages in critical examination of important principles, methods and conclusions of various philosophical theories and their implications for education. Focuses on professional ethics and the development of the student's own philosophy of education. Same as EDUC 4540.
Prerequisite: ENGL 1001 or HOPR 1955H; PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Writing Intensive  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term  
PHIL 4750  Philosophy of Law  (3 credits)  
Inquires into the nature and philosophical foundations of law. Possible topics include: natural law; legal positivism and rights-based theories of law; theories of punishment and responsibility; and the relationship between law and morality.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Ethics, Law and Society, Peace Studies  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term  
PHIL 4931  Topics in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
Explores a philosophical issue that, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. Specific topics are designated in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; either Jr. stndg. or cons. of dept.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term, 2024 Spring Term  
PHIL 4953  Seminar in Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Initiates a group of qualified students in the techniques and discipline of scholarly research by concentrated work in a defined subject area. Requires critical reading and analysis of sources. Specific subjects of seminars are announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; either Jr. stndg. or cons. of dept.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
PHIL 4954  Writing-Intensive Seminar in Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Initiates a group of qualified students in the techniques and discipline of scholarly research by concentrated work in a defined subject area. Requires critical reading and analysis of sources, as well as the development of a piece of formal philosophical writing. Specific subjects of seminars are announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Prerequisite: ENGL 1001 or HOPR 1955H; PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; PHIL major and Jr. stndg. or cons. of dept.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Writing Intensive  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term  
PHIL 4955H  Honors Supplement  (1 credits)  
Enables the exploration of select course topics (or topics closely related to course topics) in greater depth through student-designed individual or small-group activities and projects. Available for concurrent registration to students enrolled in a 3000- or 4000-level Philosophy course. Must be arranged with the course instructor and the director of the Philosophy Disciplinary Honors Program at the start of the semester. May be taken twice.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; admission to either Marquette University Honors Program or the Philosophy Disciplinary Honors Program. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term  
PHIL 4986  Internship in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
Integrates philosophically engaged experiences outside the classroom with Philosophy degree. Can involve public philosophy, philosophical outreach, teaching, public service, the digital humanities or other forms of public-facing philosophical activity. Interested students must, in consultation with the humanities internship coordinator, arrange the internship and complete an internship agreement specifying requirements that are commensurate with credit hours but normally include weekly timesheets and a written reflective component. Students work three hours per week per credit hour.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; PHIL major; Jr. stndg. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term  
PHIL 4995  Independent Study in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
Engage in faculty-supervised independent study of a specific area or topic in Philosophy.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; PHIL major; Jr. stndg. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term  
PHIL 4999  Senior Project  (3 credits)  
Provides approved students the opportunity to complete a senior research project under the direction of an adviser.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; PHIL major; Sr. stndg. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term, 2008 Fall Term, 2008 Summer Term  
PHIL 4999H  Honors Senior Project  (3 credits)  
Provides approved students the opportunity to complete a senior research project under the direction of an adviser.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or PHIL 1001H; PHIL major; Sr. stndg.; and admission to Philosophy Disciplinary Honors Program. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Undergraduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term  
PHIL 5000  Modern Logic  (3 credits)  
Introduces modern symbolic logic, with primary emphasis on translation into symbolic form and natural deduction. Covers propositional logic and predicate logic with identity. Possible additional topics include the philosophical implications of modern logic.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Interdisciplinary Studies: Cognitive Science  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term  
PHIL 5310  History and Theory of Ethics  (3 credits)  
Investigates the moral dimension of human life and the process of moral deliberation. Covers the principal traditions in Western moral philosophy, including natural law theory. May also introduce significant work in contemporary moral philosophy.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: HUM Cgntn, Lang, Mmry/Intlgnc  
PHIL 5510  Philosophy of Religion  (3 credits)  
Explores some of the oldest and most enduring philosophical questions: questions about the existence of God and the nature of religion. Typically considers arguments for the existence of God, the problem of evil, the nature of faith and the relation of faith to reason, whether morality depends on the existence of God, and whether science is compatible with the existence of God.
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 5931  Topics in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
Explores a philosophical issue that, because of its topicality, is not the subject of a regular course. Specific topics are designated in the Schedule of Classes.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term  
PHIL 5953  Seminar in Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Initiates a group of qualified students in the techniques and discipline of scholarly research by concentrated work in a defined subject area. Requires critical reading and analysis of sources. Specific subjects of seminars are announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term  
PHIL 5954  Writing-Intensive Seminar in Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Initiates a group of qualified students in the techniques and discipline of scholarly research by concentrated work in a defined subject area. Requires critical reading and analysis of sources, as well as the development of a piece of formal philosophical writing. Specific subjects of seminars are announced in the Schedule of Classes.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Marquette Core Curriculum: Writing Intensive  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term  
PHIL 6330  Problems in Ethics  (3 credits)  
Considers various metaethical and normative problems, such as: values; the justification and nature of ethical norms; moral responsibility; moral failure; the relation of morality to religion, law, and aesthetics.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term  
PHIL 6340  Aesthetics  (3 credits)  
Considers one or more of the following problems in aesthetic theory: expression, representation, art and knowledge, aesthetics and society, and method.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term  
PHIL 6420  Philosophy of Language  (3 credits)  
Studies topics such as the structure and function of language, philosophy and linguistics, and language and mind. Considers philosophers such as Austin, Morris and Chomsky.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2014 Spring Term, 2011 Spring Term  
PHIL 6430  Philosophy of Knowledge  (3 credits)  
A study of major epistemological problems and theories of knowledge.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2024 Fall Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 6440  Philosophy of Science  (3 credits)  
A survey of basic problems and methods in contemporary philosophy of science. Topics may include demarcation of science, realism and antirealism, representation, models and idealizations, reduction and emergence, laws of nature, inductive inference, underdetermination, revolution and meaning change, rationality in theory choice, experiment and simulation, causation, explanation, and values in science.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2016 Fall Term, 2001 Spring Term, 1996 Spring Term, 1992 Spring Term  
PHIL 6450  Philosophy of Mind  (3 credits)  
A study of what mind is and its relation to the body; various concepts related to the mental and to human action.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2012 Spring Term, 2008 Fall Term  
PHIL 6460  Philosophy of Freedom  (3 credits)  
A systematic investigation of problems involved in the assertion of human freedom.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term, 2005 Spring Term, 2000 Fall Term  
PHIL 6470  Problems in Metaphysics  (3 credits)  
Studies doctrines on the nature of ultimate reality; associated topics such as substance, relation, process or change, causality, universals, particulars, space, time, eternity, freedom, necessity; and the meaning of metaphysics as a philosophical discipline.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2011 Spring Term  
PHIL 6605  Plato  (3 credits)  
A study of Plato's thought, especially his ethics, epistemology, psychology and metaphysics.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Spring Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term  
PHIL 6610  Aristotle  (3 credits)  
A study of key themes in Aristotle’s thought.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term  
PHIL 6620  Augustine  (3 credits)  
The early philosophical dialogues and The Confessions, The City of God, and The Trinity, considered in their significance as sources of Christian thought.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2019 Fall Term, 2017 Spring Term, 2011 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
PHIL 6630  Neo-Platonism  (3 credits)  
A study of the origin and character of neoplatonic thought, especially its metaphysics, epistemology and psychology. Concentration on writers such as Plotinus and Proclus; medieval neoplatonists may also be included.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2021 Spring Term, 2012 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term  
PHIL 6640  St. Thomas Aquinas  (3 credits)  
A study of St. Thomas Aquinas' philosophy, especially his metaphysics, epistemology and psychology.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2016 Spring Term  
PHIL 6650  Descartes  (3 credits)  
A study of some principal works of Descartes.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2015 Fall Term, 2013 Spring Term  
PHIL 6652  17th and 18th Century European Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Readings and discussions on problems ranging from the existence of laws of nature to problems in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of religion, ethics, and political philosophy. Readings are drawn from such thinkers as Descartes, Cavendish, Hobbes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Astell, Mandeville, Newton, Gassendi, Bayle, Wollstonecraft, Locke, Berkeley, Shepherd, Cudworth, Shaftesbury and Hume.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2011 Spring Term, 2006 Fall Term, 2004 Spring Term, 1999 Fall Term  
PHIL 6660  Kant  (3 credits)  
A study of some principal works of Kant including the Critique of Pure Reason.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2022 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term  
PHIL 6664  Husserl  (3 credits)  
A textual study of some principal works.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2013 Fall Term, 2010 Spring Term  
PHIL 6680  Analytic Philosophy  (3 credits)  
A study of selected figures and problem areas in analytic philosophy. Philosophers may include Frege, Russell, Moore, Ayer, Carnap, Goodman, Quine, Ryle, Austin, Kripke, Putnam, Nagel, Davidson, Sellars, McDowell, Anscombe, Williams, Foot, Thomson, and others. Selected problems may include metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, ethics, applied ethics, and philosophical methodology.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2017 Spring Term, 2009 Fall Term, 2001 Fall Term, 1992 Fall Term  
PHIL 6690  German Phenomenology-Existentialism  (3 credits)  
Reading and discussion of the works of such thinkers as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Jaspers and Scheler.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2008 Fall Term  
PHIL 6695  French Phenomenology-Existentialism  (3 credits)  
A study of problems, such as meaning vs. absurdity, theism vs. atheism, and intersubjectivity vs. solipsism, in such thinkers as Sartre, Marcel, Camus and Merleau-Ponty.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2019 Fall Term, 2010 Fall Term, 2006 Spring Term  
PHIL 6710  Political Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Consideration of the genesis and justification of the state; questions concerning the best form of government; problems especially germane to democracy, such as the nature and justification of equality and liberty, and of the balance of power and the majority rule.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2018 Fall Term  
PHIL 6750  Philosophy of Law  (3 credits)  
A study of the various philosophical approaches to the basic problems and values in law.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2021 Spring Term, 2007 Spring Term, 2001 Fall Term, 1995 Spring Term  
PHIL 6953  Text/Seminar on Ancient Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Either the study of a specific period within Ancient Philosophy, such as Pre-Socratic thought or Roman moral philosophy; or the intensive reading of a major work such as Plato's Sophist or Theaetetus or Aristotle's Metaphysics or Nicomachean Ethics; or the investigation of a theme running through Ancient Philosophy such as problems with the veracity of perception, the ontological status of ideas, or Aristotle and the Peripatetics.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2017 Fall Term  
PHIL 6954  Text/Seminar on Early or High Medieval Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Either the study of individual thinkers, such as St. Anselm, St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great; or on specific texts, such as St. Thomas' Treatise On Spiritual Substances; or on problems, such as the nature of man according to St. Bonaventure or doctrines on Divine Illumination in the 13th century.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2023 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2007 Spring Term  
PHIL 6955  Text/Seminar on Later Medieval or Renaissance Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Either the study of individual thinkers, such as William of Ockham, Duns Scotus, Nicholas of Cusa, Giordano Bruno, Niccolo Machiavelli; or on themes running through these periods, such as the nature of man, or theories of knowledge, or the Platonism of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2014 Spring Term, 2009 Fall Term, 2004 Fall Term, 1999 Spring Term  
PHIL 6957  Text/Seminar on Nineteenth-Century Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Either the study of major philosophers, such as Marx, Fichte, or Peirce; or on major texts, such as Hegel's Logic, or Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript; or on philosophical problems, such as the individual and the social order, or pragmatic views of knowledge and truth.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2020 Spring Term, 2015 Spring Term, 2013 Spring Term  
PHIL 6958  Text/Seminar on Twentieth-Century Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Either the study of philosophical movements, such as existentialism, phenomenology, analysis, or pragmatism; or of specific philosophers, such as Sartre or Russell; or of major philosophical works, such as Philosophical Investigations, or Being and Time.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2016 Spring Term  
PHIL 6959  Seminar in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
Subjects and credits according to arrangement.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term, 2024 Spring Term  
PHIL 6960  Seminar in Professional Philosophy  (3 credits)  
Prepares students for a variety of professional careers, with a focus on the skills developed through the pursuit of an advanced degree in philosophy. Focuses on: (1) the practice of philosophy in/as the public humanities; (2) career discernment; (3) professional ethics, equity, and inclusion training in relevant career paths; and (4) the development of professional narratives and job materials that communicate with a broad range of audiences, including non-scholarly.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2018 Spring Term, 2012 Spring Term  
PHIL 6965  Practicum in Philosophy  (3-6 credits)  
Internship designed to develop a student's ability to use philosophical thinking and concepts in dealing with problems which arise in the context of a specific job, vocation, or institutional setting. Students arrange placement on an individual basis. S/U grade assessment.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term, 2022 Summer Term  
PHIL 6970  Philosophical Methods Seminar  (3 credits)  
Familiarizes students with current standards of philosophical writing. Identifies exemplars in specific areas of philosophy and analyzes these exemplars to arrive at an understanding of how they instantiate general skills of philosophical writing. Also constitutes as an introduction to the theory and practice of teaching philosophy, especially at the introductory level.
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term, 2022 Fall Term, 2021 Fall Term  
PHIL 6995  Independent Study in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
Faculty-supervised, independent study/research of a specific area or topic in Philosophy.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept. ch. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Summer Term, 2025 Summer Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2023 Spring Term  
PHIL 6998  Professional Project in Philosophy  (1-12 credits)  
S/U grade assessment.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dir. of graduate studies. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2024 Summer Term, 2012 Spring Term  
PHIL 8097  Career Discernment/Career Diversity Skills  (0 credits)  
Provides students with an understanding of the career realities of their discipline and to offer them the opportunity to discern their career values and how to obtain the skills and experiences that will match that valued career direction.
Prerequisite: Enrolled in the PHIL Ph.D. program. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 8098  Communication Skills  (0 credits)  
Provides students with the ability to effectively communicate and lead discussions across various academic and non-academic audiences within various contexts, formats and media.
Prerequisite: Enrolled in the PHIL Ph.D. program. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 8099  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Skills  (0 credits)  
Provides students with foundational understandings of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) along with practical tools to engage across difference. Discusses how, in today’s interconnected world, understanding DEI is essential for professional growth, effective communication, fostering inclusive communities and reimagining our physical and social realities for greater accessibility. Designed to equip students with knowledge, skills and perspectives necessary to examine how they might engage in more equitable and inclusive practices in their future careers.
Prerequisite: Enrolled in the PHIL Ph.D. program. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 8995  Independent Study in Philosophy  (1-3 credits)  
The mode of instruction offers a student the opportunity to study or do in-depth research on a topic or subject matter not usually offered in the established curriculum, with a current Marquette faculty of the student's choice and independent of the classroom setting.
Prerequisite: Cons. of dept.; cons. of graduate prog. dir. Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term  
PHIL 8999  Doctoral Dissertation  (1-12 credits)  
S/U grade assessment.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term  
PHIL 9964  Master's Qualifying Paper Preparation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week toward their master's qualifying paper.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 9965  Master's Qualifying Paper Preparation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week toward their master's qualifying paper. May be taken in conjunction with credit-bearing or other non-credit courses to result in the status indicated, as deemed appropriate by the department.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 9966  Master's Qualifying Paper Preparation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week toward their master's qualifying paper. May be taken in conjunction with credit-bearing or other non-credit courses to result in the status indicated, as deemed appropriate by the department.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term  
PHIL 9967  Doctoral Qualifying Paper Preparation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week toward their doctoral qualifying paper.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 9968  Doctoral Qualifying Paper Preparation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week toward their doctoral qualifying paper. May be taken in conjunction with credit-bearing or other non-credit courses to result in the status indicated, as deemed appropriate by the department.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
PHIL 9969  Doctoral Qualifying Paper Preparation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week toward their doctoral qualifying paper. May be taken in conjunction with credit-bearing or other non-credit courses to result in the status indicated, as deemed appropriate by the department.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term  
PHIL 9970  Graduate Standing Continuation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Designated as less than half-time status only, cannot be used in conjunction with other courses, and does not qualify students for financial aid or loan deferment.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2025 Fall Term, 2024 Summer Term, 2024 Spring Term, 2023 Fall Term  
PHIL 9974  Graduate Fellowship: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Designated as full-time status. If a student is already registered in other courses full time, this continuation course is not needed.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term  
PHIL 9975  Graduate Assistant Teaching: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Designated as full-time status. If a student is already registered in other courses full time, this continuation course is not needed.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Spring Term, 2021 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term  
PHIL 9976  Graduate Assistant Research: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Designated as full-time status. If a student is already registered in other courses full time, this continuation course is not needed.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2018 Fall Term, 2016 Spring Term, 2014 Fall Term, 2013 Fall Term  
PHIL 9979  Field Placement Continuation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week at their field placement.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2012 Spring Term, 2008 Spring Term, 2007 Fall Term  
PHIL 9993  Professional Project Continuation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week on their professional project. Any professional project credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Professional Project Continuation.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2012 Spring Term, 2011 Fall Term, 2009 Fall Term, 2008 Fall Term  
PHIL 9997  Doctoral Dissertation Continuation: Less than Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of less than half-time status. Requires that the student is working less than 12 hours per week on their doctoral dissertation. All 12 dissertation credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Doctoral Dissertation Continuation.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2022 Fall Term, 2020 Fall Term, 2019 Spring Term, 2018 Fall Term  
PHIL 9998  Doctoral Dissertation Continuation: Half-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of half-time status. Requires that the student is working more than 12 to less than 20 hours per week on their doctoral dissertation. All 12 dissertation credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Doctoral Dissertation Continuation.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term  
PHIL 9999  Doctoral Dissertation Continuation: Full-Time  (0 credits)  
Fee. S/U grade assessment. Allows a student to be considered the equivalent of full-time status. Requires that the student is working 20 hours or more per week on their doctoral dissertation. All 12 dissertation credits required for the degree should be completed before registering for non-credit Doctoral Dissertation Continuation.
Prerequisite: Consent required.  
Level of Study: Graduate  
Last four terms offered: 2026 Spring Term, 2025 Fall Term, 2025 Spring Term, 2024 Fall Term