2026-2027 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog [In Progress]
Computing and Philosophy Minor
This 24-to-25-credit minor provides students majoring in any discipline with a combination of basic skills in computing and a grounding in philosophical thinking related to computing. Students take four courses in each field: computer science and philosophy. They are required to take one programming course (CIS 160, CIS 161, or CIS 162) and three computer science courses that involve various applications of computing (AI, data analysis, data structures, or visualization of data and information). Students are also required to take one course in logic (PHI 103 or PHI 203), one course on ethics, philosophy, and digital technology (PHI 204 or DS 360), and one 400-level philosophy course on foundational issues in philosophy (PHI 420, PHI 430, PHI 440, PHI 450, or PHI 470) plus one PHI elective of 200-level or above, tailored to their interests in computing and information.
Required Courses
Philosophy
PHI 103 - Logic OR PHI 203 - Intermediate Logic (3 credits)
PHI 204 - Knowledge, Politics, and Social Media (3 credits) OR DS 360 - Ethics of Digital Culture (3 credits)
Foundational Theoretical Questions (one of the following)
- PHI 420 - Philosophy of Science (3 credits)
- PHI 430 - Mind, Brain, Consciousness: Philosophy of Mind (3 credits)
- PHI 440 - Perception, Hallucination, Trust: Perspectives on Knowledge (3 credits)
- PHI 450 - Reality, Identity, Change: Metaphysics (3 credits)
- PHI 470 - Truth, Meaning, Communication: Philosophy of Language (3 credits)
One additional PHI elective, at 200-level or above (3 credits)
Computing
Programming (one of the following)
- CIS 160 - Learn to Code in Python (3 credits)
- CIS 161 - Computing for Data Science Applications I (3 credits)
- CIS 162 - Computer Science I (4 credits)
Applications in Computing (3 of the following)
- AI 201 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (3 credits) OR CIS 265 - Understanding Artificial Intelligence (3 credits) OR CIS 365 Applied Artificial Intelligence (3 credits)
- CIS 263 - Data Structures and Algorithms (3 credits)
- CIS 310 - Introduction to the Structure and Mechanics of Social Networks (3 credits)
- CIS 320 - Visualization of Data and Information (3 credits)
- CIS 331 - Data Analysis Tools and Techniques (3 credits) OR CIS 335 - Data Mining (3 credits)