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Philosophy

About Us

The Department of Philosophy at UCCS provides students with an exceptionally broad range of courses taught by nationally and globally recognized experts in their respective fields.

In addition to a robust menu of courses in all traditional areas, such as metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology, the department offers cutting-edge courses on gender, class, race, protest, political violence, and current constructions of truth. We offer a general undergraduate major and minor as well as specialized minors in Religious Studies, Asian Studies, and Classics.

Academic Programs

The academic focus of the Department of Philosophy at UCCS is historically based, with courses that focus on four periods in the history of philosophy, including full coverage of Eastern traditions and Religious Studies.

Explore current course offerings

Mission Statement

Department Mission Statement

Philosophy teaches analytical and critical thinking, develops oral and written communication skills, and contributes to interdisciplinary understanding.  Philosophy as a discipline attempts to answer perennial questions about values, human existence, and the nature of reality.   

The Department of Philosophy sets out to teach philosophy as a formal course of studies for the major in order to satisfy College and University requirements, to teach Philosophy to qualified students for their personal enrichment, and to prepare interested students for graduate and professional work.  It also seeks to foster a climate of scholarly research in Philosophy.  It is committed to serving the College, UCCS campus, and University in the areas of Critical Thinking, Ethics, and related philosophical areas of study.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) Statement

Department Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) Statement

The UCCS Philosophy Department resolutely strives to foster a welcoming and affirming culture in the classroom, in our research, and in community outreach, so that each and every student is able to cultivate a sense of belonging through the use of inclusive pedagogical techniques.  As a department, we continually strive to bring underrepresented and marginalized voices and approaches into the classroom so that students can see and analyze their own cultural perspectives as well as the cultural perspectives of their global neighbors.
  
Our research centers on foundational issues, concepts, and concerns that are relevant to the human community (such as the meaning of life, the nature of virtue and the good life, the existence of God, the nature and grounding of truth, etc.), and on practical issues (such as questions regarding autonomy and individual responsibility, respect for persons, the nature of oppression, contemporary persecution, the importance of logical and critical thinking, and global perspectives of thought and experience). These considerations are of vital importance in diverse contemporary societies. 
 
Because of our respect for personhood, we explicitly value work related to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in our AMR and RPT criteria. This valuation is borne out by the fact that our majors and minors in Philosophy are a diverse group of students who report feeling included in our department, connected and inspired by time-honored philosophical ideas, and engaged in "doing" philosophy. 

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.