Law, Ethics, and Society Concentration
McCausland College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Philosophy
Bulletin Year: 2026-2027

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Semester One (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 101	Critical Reading and Composition (CC-CMW)	3	C
	PHIL 114	Introduction to Formal Logic I (CC-ARP)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3
		Foreign Language4 or other Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC-GFL)	3-4
	UNIV 101	The Student in the University or Carolina Core Requirement3 (PR/CC)	3

Semester Two (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
!	ENGL 102	Rhetoric and Composition (CC-CMW, CC-INF)	3	C		C or better in ENGL 101
		Carolina Core ARP Requirement (CC-ARP)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3-4
		Foreign Language4 or other Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC-GFL)	3

Semester Three (15-16 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		PHIL Major Concentration Course5 (MR)	3	C
		Humanities or Fine Arts (CR)	3
		History6 (CR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 (CC)	3-4
		Foreign Language4 or Carolina Core Requirement3 (CR/CC)	3

Semester Four (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		PHIL Major Concentration Course5 (MR)	3	C
		Cognate or Minor Course7 (PR)	3	C
		Cognate or Minor Course7 (PR)	3	C
		Humanities or Fine Arts (CR)	3
		Social Science (CR)	3

Semester Five (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		PHIL Major Concentration Course5 (MR)	3	C
	PHIL 390	Junior Seminar in Philosophy8 (fall only) (MR)	3	C
		Cognate or Minor Course7 (PR)	3	C
		Humanities or Fine Arts (CR)	3
		Carolina Core Requirement3 or Elective9 (CC/PR)	3

Semester Six (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		PHIL Major Concentration Course5 (MR)	3	C
		PHIL Major Concentration Course5 (MR)	3	C
		Cognate or Minor Course7 (PR)	3	C
		Minor Course7 or Elective9 (PR)	3	C (minor)
		Carolina Core Requirement3 or Elective9 (CC/PR)	3

Semester Seven (15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
	PHIL 490	Senior Seminar in Philosophy (fall only) (MR/CC-INT)	3	C
		Minor Course7 or Elective9 (PR)	3	C (minor)
		Elective9 (PR)	3
		Elective9 (PR)	3
		Elective9 (PR)	3

Semester Eight (13-15 Credit Hours)

Critical	Course Code	Subject and Title	Credit Hours	Min. Grade1	Major GPA2	Prerequisites
		PHIL Major Concentration Course5 (MR)	3	C
		Elective9 (PR)	3
		Elective9 (PR)	3
		Elective9 (PR)	3
		Elective9 (PR)	1-3

Graduation Requirements Summary

Minimum Total Hours	Minimum Major Requirements Hours	Minimum College & Program Requirements Hours	Carolina Core Hours	Minimum Institutional GPA
120	24	52-64	32-44	2.000

1. Regardless of individual course grades, students must maintain a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA.
2. Some colleges require a minimum GPA for major courses. Courses indicated in this column are included in the major GPA for this program of study.
3. The Carolina Core provides the common core of knowledge, skill and academic experience for all Carolina undergraduate students.
4. Students in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the 122 course through course credit or the corresponding foreign language placement score. The foreign languages recommended for students majoring in philosophy are French, German, Greek, and Latin.
5. Law, Ethics, and Society Concentration courses (18 hours):
   1. Ancient Philosophy (3 hours): PHIL 301, 302, 303, 312, 313, 371
   2. Modern Philosophy (3 hours): PHIL 304, 305, 310, 311, 372
   3. Ethics (3 hours): PHIL 103, 211, 213, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 514, 527
   4. Legal, Political, or Social Philosophy (6 hours): PHIL 329, 330, 331, 334, 335, 370, 390, 531, 532
   5. PHIL 201 or above (3 hours)
   6. PHIL 500-level: The courses that fulfill this requirement may be used elsewhere in the major.
   7. One writing-intensive course: PHIL 371, 372, 373 (The course that fulfills this requirement will be used elsewhere in the major. Students majoring in Philosophy are encouraged to take a writing-intensive course prior to taking PHIL 390.

Notes: Courses used to fulfill Carolina Core requirements may not also be used to fulfill major requirements. The Undergraduate Committee of the Philosophy Department, in consultation with the faculty member teaching the class, will determine whether PHIL 370 Special Topics and PHIL 390 Junior Seminar courses can be used in the Legal, Political, or Social Philosophy requirement.

1. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences requires one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History course, both of which must be chosen from the approved Carolina Core GHS courses. Whichever is not fulfilled through the Carolina Core GHS requirement must be fulfilled through this college requirement.
2. The cognate is intended to support the course work in the major. The cognate must consist of twelve hours of courses at the advanced level, outside of, but related to the major. In place of a cognate, a student may choose a minor consisting of at least 18 credit hours of courses concentrated in one area that follow a structured sequence. A second major eliminates the minor/cognate requirement.
3. Students majoring in Philosophy are encouraged to take PHIL 390 during the junior year, or before the final 30 hours of study.
4. No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses. Further clarification on inapplicable courses can be obtained from the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences.

Program Notes

• ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 must be completed in the student’s first 60 semester hours of work in order for these courses to be credited toward graduation.
• All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade that covers the founding documents. This course may fulfill any requirement in the program of study. Courses that meet this requirement are listed in the academic bulletin.
• The Departmental Undergraduate Research Track is available to students majoring in Philosophy who wish to participate in significant research activities in collaboration with, or under the supervision of, a faculty mentor. In addition to the Philosophy major requirements, a student must complete the following: 1) PHIL 495 – Senior Thesis; 2) a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the major; 3) a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30; 4) a public presentation of the Senior Thesis (at an annual meeting of the South Carolina Society for Philosophy, a regular or special session of the Philosophy Department Colloquium Series, USC Discovery Day, or submission to an undergraduate or a professional journal).
• The last 30 credit hours toward your degree must be earned in residence at the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

Code Definitions

University Requirements: Bachelor’s degree-seeking students must meet Carolina Core (general education) requirements.

Code	Definition
CC	Carolina Core
CC-AIU	Carolina Core – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding
CC-ARP	Carolina Core – Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving
CC-CMS	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component
CC-CMW	Carolina Core – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written Component
CC-GFL	Carolina Core – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language
CC-GHS	Carolina Core – Historical Thinking
CC-GSS	Carolina Core – Social Sciences
CC-INF	Carolina Core – Information Literacy
CC-INT	Carolina Core – Integrative Course
CC-SCI	Carolina Core – Scientific Literacy
CC-VSR	Carolina Core – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility
CR	College Requirement
MR	Major Requirement
PR	Program Requirement