Philosophy & World Religions

Students Outcomes Assessment

Learning Goals for Philosophy Major

Category I: Skills

Students will:

1. Read and understand philosophical texts

2. Write effectively

3. Engage in reasoned discussion

4. Analyze, evaluate, and construct arguments

Category II: Knowledge

Students will:

1. Acquire knowledge of representative major figures and developments in the history of     Western philosophy and their critics.

2.  Acquire knowledge of major subject areas in philosophy, specifically including ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and elementary logic.

3.  Identify some major problems in historical and contemporary philosophy (e.g., the  mind-body problem, problem of the one and the many, freedom and determinism,  knowledge and belief, the nature of the good).

Category III: Historical Contextualization

Students will:

1. Comprehend and appreciate philosophical problems in historical context.

2. Demonstrate awareness of their own historical context

3. Place their study of philosophy into the horizon of their own and others’ lives and problems.

Learning Goals for Study of Religion Major

Students with a Study of Religion major will:

1.  Have knowledge of the beliefs and practices of major living religions

2. Have knowledge of the major theories and methods in the study of religion.

3. Demonstrate ability to reflect self-critically and critically about themselves and the world in which they live.

4. Are effective readers, writers, speakers, and thinkers.

5. Are able to related the major to their career and future goals.