Philosophy and Religious Studies

Alice A. Keefe, Chair
Room 488C, Collins Classroom Center
Phone: 715-346-3205
Email: philosophy@uwsp.edu
Web: www.uwsp.edu/philosophy

Environmental Ethics Program Coordinator
Chris Diehm, Professor
Phone: 715-346-2334
Email: cdiehm@uwsp.edu

This department is in the School of Humanities and Global Studies within the COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCE .

Philosophy Faculty: C Diehm, C Horn, D Warren, J Zinser.
Religious Studies Faculty: A Keefe, S Luft, R O’Leary, L Whitmore.

Mission: The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, housing the disciplines of philosophy and religious studies, trains you in the skills of critical thinking, ethical reasoning, written and oral communication, and empathetic engagement with diverse worldviews and religions. The training we offer equips you with the skills needed for a wide variety of professional careers and with the ability to adapt to the inevitable changes and challenges they will face after graduation.

Philosophy is the rigorous examination of issues that cannot be resolved through empirical observation or experiment, such as the status of ethical judgments, the existence of God, and what counts as good reason for belief.

Religious Studies is the cross-cultural and comparative examination of humanity’s diverse religious traditions.

Philosophy Honors Program

The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies offers an honors program for students majoring in philosophy, philosophy with a concentration in environmental ethics, or philosophy with a concentration in religious studies. To apply for admission:

Have at least 30 university credits.
Have 6 credits in philosophy or religious studies with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Contact the department chair or department honors adviser.

Requirements for philosophy honors are:

Complete all the requirements for the major with a GPA of at least 3.5 for courses in the major.
Complete a minimum of 6 honors credits in philosophy and/or religious studies courses with a grade of “A Honors.”
Complete one credit “Independent Study: Honors Project” in PHIL 399 or REL 399 .

Test-out Policy for Philosophy and Religious Studies

You may apply to test out of any course in philosophy or religious studies that meets one or more of the General Education Program (GEP) requirements . The department chair will make arrangements for the test. You will work with a designated faculty member who will confer with you regarding date, site, question format, etc. The faculty member will prepare a comprehensive written exam, grade it and inform you in writing of your grade within two weeks of taking the exam. If you receive a grade of B or higher, the corresponding GEP requirement will be waived.

The department assumes no responsibility for preparing you for test-out examinations. You may not apply to test out of a course in which you are currently enrolled. You may not attempt to test out of a course more than once.

Academic Standards for Philosophy

To ensure that your program is as well planned as possible, the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department requires each major or minor to have a departmental adviser.
You must have your adviser’s approval on all philosophy courses you select to apply to the major or minor.
You may apply selected upper division religious studies courses with adviser approval to your philosophy major or minor if it will strengthen your program.
To be accepted and retained as a major or minor and approved for graduation, you must have a minimum grade point average of 2.50 in courses counted toward the major or minor, including transfer credits and regardless of any declaration of academic forgiveness. Courses taken pass/fail or with a grade lower than C- may not be counted toward the major or minor. You may repeat a course in the major or minor only if you follow the policy on repeating courses found in the Grade-related Policies section of this catalog.
Courses in philosophy are open to all students who meet the prerequisites.

Academic Standards for Religious Studies

To ensure that your program is as well planned as possible, you must have a religious studies adviser.
You must have your adviser’s approval for all courses you select to apply to the major or minor.
To be accepted and retained as a major or minor and approved for graduation, you must have a minimum grade point average of 2.50 in courses counted toward the major or minor, including transfer courses and regardless of any declaration of academic forgiveness. Courses taken pass/fail or with a grade lower than C- may not be counted toward the major or minor.

Women’s and Gender Studies Minor

Definition: Women’s and gender studies emphasizes the multidisciplinary study of issues in gender, women’s studies, and sexuality with attention to methodological and/or theoretical approaches.

Credit-by-Exam Policy for Women’s and Gender Studies

Credit-by-exam is available for WGS 105 . To arrange for an exam, contact the coordinator. Exams will include objective and essay questions. Course credit is given for scores equal to or greater than 80 percent of the total points on the exam. You may take the exam only once.

Programs

Bachelor Degrees

Minors

Undergraduate Certificates

Environmental Ethics Certificate

Courses

Philosophy

Religious Studies