2023-2024 Undergraduate Bulletin

Philosophy Dual Admission Program with LaGuardia Community College (AA/BA)

As part of the CUNY Justice Academy (CJA), the Philosophy AA/BA Dual Admission program allows students to complete an AA in Liberal Arts at LaGuardia Community College and continue in the BA degree program in Philosophy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Philosophy involves a critical examination of our most fundamental beliefs about truth and reality, right and wrong. In this major, students study the traditional answers to the basic questions in Western philosophy and also the important critiques of that dominant tradition. They will explore ethical and justice issues which are crucial to contemporary legal, political, and public policy debates. Philosophy majors learn sophisticated forms of reasoning and textual analysis, and deepen their understanding of basic human problems and possibilities.

Learning outcomes. Students will: 

  • Explain a section from a philosophical text, a philosophical theory, a philosophical issue, or a philosophical argument. 
  • Identify arguments and distinguish premises and conclusions.
  • Formulate an argument in support of or in opposition to a claim.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with a basic problem or a major theory in a main area of philosophical inquiry.
  • Demonstrate familiarity with a primary claim or critical response to a primary claim in the history of western philosophy. 

Credits Required.

Liberal Arts A.A. - LaGuardia CC
60
General Education at John Jay
3-6
Major Courses at John Jay 27-39
Electives 15-30

Total Credits Required for B.A. Degree

120

Coordinator. Professor Amie Macdonald, Department of Philosophy (212.237.8345, amacdonald@jjay.cuny.edu)

Advising resources. Philosophy Major Advising Resources.   Major Checklist. To contact CJA Advising email cjaadvising@jjay.cuny.edu.

Requirements. Students who are part of the CUNY Justice Academy programs need to complete only 40% of their major courses at John Jay in order to graduate, instead of the usual 50% in residency for non-CJA students. All other graduation requirements remain the same.

Note. To maximize transfer of courses to the Philosophy Major, LGCC students may be advised to enroll in: HUP 101, HUP 102, HUP 104, HUP 105 and HUP 106

Part One: Core Courses

Required
HUP 102 (at LGCC)
Critical Thinking

3

OR

PHI 105Critical Thinking and Informal Logic

3

 

HUP 104 (at LGCC)
Ethics and Moral Issues

3

OR

PHI 210Ethical Theory

3

 

HUP 101 (at LGCC)
Introduction to Ethics

3

OR

PHI 231Big Questions: Introduction to Philosophy

3

 

PHI 310/LAW 310Ethics and Law

3

PHI 330Philosophical Modernity

3

Critiques of Philosophical Modernity

Select One

PHI 343Existentialism

3

PHI 351Classical Chinese Philosophy

3

PHI 354/AFR 354Africana Philosophy

3

Capstone Courses

Select one

PHI 400Senior Seminar in Ethics

3

PHI 401Senior Seminar in the History of Philosophy

3

PHI 402Senior Seminar in Metaphysics and Epistemology

3

Total Credit Hours: 21

Part Two: Ethics and Value Theory

Select one
HUP 106 (at LGCC)
Social and Political Philosophy: Making a World Difference

3

OR ONE OF:

PHI 201Philosophy of Art

3

PHI 203Political Philosophy

3

PHI 214Environmental Ethics

3

PHI 216Ethics and Information Technology

3

PHI 238Philosophy of Comedy

3

PHI 302The Philosophy of Rights

3

PHI 315Philosophy of the Rule of Law: Theory and Practice

3

PHI 317Philosophy of Law in Global Perspective

3

PHI 322/CRJ 322Judicial and Correctional Ethics

3

PHI 333/GEN 333Theories of Gender and Sexuality

3

PHI 423/POL 423Selected Topics in Justice

3

PHI 340Utopian Thought

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Three: History of Philosophy

Select one
PHI 202Philosophical Visions of American Pluralism

3

PHI 326Topics in the History of Modern Thought

3

PHI 32719th-century European and American Philosophy

3

PHI 343Existentialism

3

PHI 351Classical Chinese Philosophy

3

PHI 354/AFR 354Africana Philosophy

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Four: Metaphysics and Epistemology

Select one
HUP 105 (at LGCC)
Philosophy of Religion

3

OR ONE OF:

PHI 104Philosophy of Human Nature

3

PHI 204Symbolic Logic

3

PHI 205Philosophy of Religion

3

PHI 235Philosophy of Science

3

PHI 304Philosophy of the Mind

3

PHI 374Epistemology

3

PHI 377Reality, Truth and Being: Metaphysics

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Five: Electives

All students select three additional philosophy courses at the 300–level or above in consultation with an advisor.

Please note: No course may fill multiple requirements in the major

Total Credit Hours: 9

Total Credit Hours: 39