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Why Study Philosophy at UCCS?

  • Philosophy will equip you to better understand your place in the world.
  • Philosophy will show you how to think more precisely and critically.
  • Philosophy will teach you how to write, as well as argue, clearly, precisely, and logically.
  • We have highly supportive faculty.
  • We offer rigorous, discussion-based classes.
  • We feature courses on a wide variety of philosophical traditions (phenomenology, Buddhist philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Islamic philosophy, etc.) and areas of research in philosophy (philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, political philosophy, etc.).
  • We have some of the simplest requirements for majors in the entire university.
  • We offer a fully-online BA in Philosophy.
Mission Statement
Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) Statement

A Message from the Chair

Dr. Jeffrey Scholes
Department Chair

Welcome to the UCCS Department of Philosophy!

The Philosophy Department was one of the original programs on the UCCS campus. In 1966, one year after the university received the Cragmor acreage, Philosophy was established as an extension of the Boulder department’s offerings under the leadership of Resident Dean, Richard Francis. From its origins as a branch department, the UCCS Philosophy Program soon became an independent department offering a major in Philosophy.

Our Philosophy Department has an exceptionally broad range of courses taught by experts in their respective fields. Our program of study is historically based with courses that focus on four periods in the history of philosophy including full coverage of Eastern traditions and Religious Studies.

We offer courses in all traditional areas, such as Metaphysics, Ethics, and Epistemology, and many courses on the cutting edge of their disciplines that deal with gender, class, and race. We offer an undergraduate major (30 credit hours), a minor (18 credit hours), and specialized minors in Religious Studies, Asian Studies, and Classics (for more information, see our Programs page). The department requires each of our majors the writing an undergraduate thesis as the capstone of their experience as a Philosophy major.

Philosophy Student Success Stories

Char Brecevic
Class of 2013
"Studying philosophy at UCCS not only allowed me to become a more incisive thinker but also a stronger and more efficacious scientist."
Therese Carmack
Class of 2015
Double Major: Philosophy and Music. Attended Graduate School at the Eastman School of Music, New York, Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature.