2024-2025

Philosophy, Politics and Law, Bachelor of Science

Department of Philosophy

College of Arts and Letters

This Philosophy, Politics, and Law BS is interdisciplinary, drawing from Philosophy, History, Political Science, and Economics. It prepares students for careers in law, government, business, public service, administrative work, or graduate school (especially law school).

This plan is available for students as of Fall 2025

  • To receive a bachelor's degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete at least 120 units of credit that minimally includes a major, the liberal studies requirements, and university requirements as listed below.

    • All of Northern Arizona University's diversity, liberal studies, junior-level writing, and capstone requirements.
    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s).
    • At least 30 units of upper-division courses, which may include transfer work.
    • At least 30 units of coursework taken through Northern Arizona University, of which at least 18 must be upper-division courses (300-level or above). This requirement is not met by credit-by-exam, retro-credits, transfer coursework, etc.
    • A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on all work attempted at Northern Arizona University.

    The full policy can be viewed here.

In addition to University Requirements:

  • 51 - 57 units of major requirements.

  • Up to 9 units of major prefix courses may be used to satisfy Liberal Studies requirements; these same courses may also be used to satisfy major requirements.

  • Elective courses, if needed, to reach an overall total of at least 120 units.

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 120
Major GPA 2.0
Highest Mathematics Required MAT 114
University Honors Program Optional
Progression Plan Link Not Available

Purpose Statement

The Philosophy, Politics, and Law BS is interdisciplinary. Philosophy courses are the backbone of the program, but the program also includes mathematics and statistics, political science, and history, and allows students to study economics (as a concentration). Each of these disciplines emphasizes a different, but complementary, set of intellectual tools¿moral and political theory, logical inference, quantitative analysis, historical analysis, or economic theory. Learning to use all these tools enables students to understand better¿and critically evaluate¿the structure of society/law/politics. While the PPL BS requires breadth, it also allows students to pick an area of concentration, to study one of its constituent disciplines (i.e., philosophy, history, political science, or economics) in greater depth.

Rather than training students to enter one particular field, the Philosophy, Politics, and Law BS cultivates a general set of critical thinking and communication skills: understanding complicated problems, dissecting arguments, identifying errors in logical or quantitative reasoning, exegetical and argumentative writing, and the ability to interrogate background assumptions that are elsewhere taken for granted. This skill set is the basis for success in various pursuits, including law (as paralegals, lawyers, or judges), graduate work (in philosophy, political theory, or business), entrepreneurship, administrative work, teaching, and public service.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
    • Develop competence in the following:
      • Formal logic.
      • Examining and critiquing arguments expressed in formal logical systems.
      • Prose writing.
      • Constructing arguments of their own.
  • Effective Communication (Exegetical and Argumentative Writing)
    • Develop competence in the following:
      • Rendering others¿ arguments in a way that showcases the arguments¿ strengths (i.e., not constructing a straw man).
      • Assessing the internal coherence of others¿ arguments.
      • Assessing the external validity of others¿ arguments (i.e., determining whether an internally coherent position conflicts with other well-established facts.
      • Creating new arguments that enhance internal coherence and external validity.
  • Analyze the Structure of Law/Society/Politics 
    • Develop an understanding of these philosophical concepts, and their historical context, through reading and class discussion. 
    • Trace the influence of these concepts on past social and political practices.
    • Trace the influence of these concepts on present social and political practices present.

Major Requirements

  • This major requires 51 - 57 units distributed as follows:

    • Lower-Division Requirements: 24 units
      • Philosophy Courses: 9 units
      • History and Politics Courses: 9 units
      • Logic and Reasoning Courses: 6 units
    • Upper-Division Philosophy Courses: 15 units
    • Concentration: 12 units
    • Practicum: 0 - 6 units


    Take the following 51 - 57 units:

    • A Grade of "C" or better is required in each course.

  • Lower-Division Requirements (24 units)

  • Upper-Division Philosophy Requirements (15 units)

    • Select from the following (9 units):
    • PHI 348W which meets the junior-level writing requirement (3 units)
    • Select from the following which meet the senior capstone requirement (3 units)
      • PHI 414C
      • Capstone from another department
        • Must be approved by the Philosophy, Politics, and Law faculty advisor committee.

  • Required Philosophy, Politics, and Law Seminars

    Students are required to complete a Philosophy, Politics, and Law seminar milestone and attend at least two seminars with distinguished visiting lecturers. Typically, a seminar will consist of no more than 15 students in a roundtable session with a guest lecturer. Students will read and be prepared to raise questions about an excerpt of work in progress by the guest. A Philosophy, Politics, and Law advisor's signature on the student's graduation form indicates completion of these requirements.

  • Recommended Practicum (0 - 6 units)

    Students are advised to complete one or more of the following practicum(s) listed below, which will require the completion of an application and specific requirements:

    • Research project in collaboration with a faculty member.
    • Internship such as a legislative internship (HIS 466 or PHI 466) or with a law firm or business (PHI 408).
    • Service learning such as leading philosophy sessions in local high schools (PHI 408).
    • A semester of external study as an international or national exchange student.

  • Students enrolled in this plan may not enroll in or pursue the following due to the number of overlapping units:

General Electives

  • Additional coursework is required if, after you have met the previously described requirements, you have not yet completed a total of 120 units of credit.

    You may take these remaining courses from any of the academic areas, using these courses to pursue your specific interests and goals. You may also use prerequisites or transfer credits as electives if they weren't used to meet major, minor, or liberal studies requirements.

    We encourage you to consult with your advisor to select the courses that will be most advantageous to you.

Additional Information

  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.