Undergraduate Programme in Philosophy

To earn a Philosophy Major, students must complete at least 12 courses (48 credits) in Philosophy. These can be completed as the student’s declared (pure) Major during their undergraduate studies, which requires 100 credits overall – 48 credits from the Philosophy Major, (depending on the batch) up to 36 credits from FCs, 4 credits from co-curricular courses, and 12 credits from other elective courses (not to be confused with Philosophy Electives, though students may of course elect to take more Philosophy courses than required for the Major).

These 12 courses can also be completed after the UG graduation, during the Ashoka Scholars Programme (ASP). In the latter case, completing the requirements specified for the Philosophy Major will lead to a Second Major Equivalent in Philosophy.

Which courses do aspiring Philosophy Majors need to take? See the next section.

The 12 courses students must take to complete a Philosophy Major must include

• the two Required Courses, i.e. 
  • PHI-1000 Intro to Philosophy and
  • PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic
• two courses from the Indian & Non-Western Philosophy category, such as e.g.
  • PHI-2370 Intro to Indian Philosophy,
  • PHI-3401 Indian Philosophy Through the Eyes of Bimal Matilal, or
  • any courses listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
• two courses from the History of Western Philosophy category, such as e.g.
  • PHI-2420 Intro to Ancient Philosophy,
  • PHI-3530 19th Century Philosophy, or
  • any courses listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
• three courses from the Contemporary Core category, such as e.g.
  • PHI-2000 Metaphysics,
  • PHI-2240 Philosophy of Science,
  • PHI-2600 Normative Ethics,
  • PHI-2610 How to be Free and Happy,
  • PHI-3665 Ethics and Technology,
  • any courses listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
• three Electives​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​Note: Note that to meet your Philosophy Major requirements, you can take up to a maximum of 2 cross-listed courses that are offered by non-Philosophy faculty members. There is no corresponding cap on the number of cross-listed courses offered by Philosophy faculty members.

Note that

• first semester students cannot take more than 4 courses;
• unless special provisions apply, students must take at least 16 credits and may take up to 22 credits in semesters 2-6 each (i.e. 4 or 5 courses for 4 credits each plus 1 Co-Curricular course or one Teaching Assistantship for 2 credits);
• students who are able and willing can take further courses in the summer semester; 
• the more different credentials a student want to complete, the more important is it for them to properly plan their trajectory. To do so they may consult any of the following:
  • their Faculty Mentor,
  • their Academic Advisor,
  • the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA),
  • HODs or faculty members of the relevant departments (meet our faculty here),
  • student representatives of the relevant departments (meet the Philosophy student reps here).

The sample curricula below are just three of many possible examples. Almost every student’s trajectory through Ashoka will be different. This freedom is intentional – at Ashoka, we want you to be able to follow what you are interested in. But don’t confuse freedom with ऐशो-आराम laissez-faire. It pays off to think about what you want to do early on!

Case 1: Simply the Major

As mentioned above, the minimum credit load per semester is 16 credits. That said, in order to get to 100 credits in 6 semesters, one clearly needs to take 100-(6*16) = 4 more credits – that’s where the 2 Co-Curriculars courses come in.

Suppose Charmi takes two gateway courses in her second semester, falls in love with Philosophy, and decides to give the Philosophy courses that she will take towards her Major her full and undivided attention (a wise choice!). Charmi, we will assume, takes 4 regular courses every semester (plus the 2 Co-Curricular courses) and spends the summers at home with family and friends or doing internships. This is what Charmi’s curriculum might look like:        

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 5	Foundation Course 7	Foundation Course 9	Philosophy Course 7	Philosophy Course 10
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 6	Foundation Course 8	Philosophy Course 4	Philosophy Course 8	Philosophy Course 11
Foundation Course 3	Philosophy Course 1: Introduction to Philosophy	Philosophy Course 2: Symbolic Logic	Philosophy Course 5	Philosophy Course 9	Philosophy Course 12
Foundation Course 4	Gateway course to another Major	Philosophy Course 3	Philosophy Course 6	Elective	Elective
XXXXXXXXXXX	Co-Curricular Course 1			Co-Curricular Course 2

 

Note that Charmi ends up with three electives. She can simply decide to take three courses that she finds interesting (not necessarily in Philosophy, but perhaps in English, Creative Writing, or in Mathematics). If she likes one of these areas a lot, she could consider taking one more course and complete a Concentration. If she took three more courses, she could even complete a Minor. 

But she might also just keep it simple and focus on the Major – which is a perfectly good thing to do! In fact, it might be a very healthy thing to do. Most students take on too much rather than too little, which can lead to stress and anxiety especially around exam time. And if Charmi stayed on for the ASP, she could still add a Minor or, if she played her cards well, pooled all her three electives on one other 12-course Major, and the courses offered fit together, she might even complete a Second Major Equivalent!

At any rate, not everyone can or wants to be as healthy as Charmi – the following two cases are illustrations of curricula of students who are quite ambitious. Again, there is no need for such ambition. Everyone must find their own pace and a healthy limit – keeping an eye on this is important! That said, it is still instructive to see what is possible.

Case 2: Major and Minor(s)

Anuradha, suppose, is completing a Philosophy Major, does not take summer courses, takes 5 courses each semester from semester 2 onwards, and combines the Philosophy Major with a Minor in Computer Science:

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 5	Foundation Course 7	Foundation Course 9	Philosophy Course 7	Philosophy Course 10
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 6	Foundation Course 8	Philosophy Course 5	Philosophy Course 8	Philosophy Course 11
Foundation Course 3	Philosophy Course 1: Introduction to Philosophy	Philosophy Course 3: Symbolic Logic	Philosophy Course 6	Philosophy Course 9	Philosophy Course 12
Foundation Course 4	Philosophy Course 2	Philosophy Course 4	Computer Science Course 3	Computer Science Course 5	Computer Science Course 6
XXXXXXXXXXX	Computer Science Course 1: Introduction to Programming	Computer Science Course 2	Computer Science Course 4	Elective Course	Elective Course
XXXXXXXXXXX		Co-Curricular Course 1	Co-Curricular Course 2

Note that Anuradha still has two electives left, one each in semesters 5 and 6. Anuradha could use these to take any courses she likes. She could also decide to take it slower during the last two semesters and complete not 5, but 4 courses each in those two semesters.

If able, willing, and very ambitious, Anuradha could also complete up to 4 further courses – by taking FCs or other suitable courses in the summer – and this way fit in a Concentration or even a second Minor.  

Case 3: Major and Concentrations

Bharat combines the Philosophy Major with a Concentration in Political Science and a Concentration in Media Studies. Since Bharat anticipates that he will eventually want to work with big data, he believes that he will need some higher Math and thus takes the Calculus Enabler in the first semester. Bharat takes one FC (here: FC 6) in the summer.

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 4	Foundation Course 7	Philosophy Course 5	Philosophy Course 7	Philosophy Course 10
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 5	Foundation Course 8	Philosophy Course 6	Philosophy Course 8	Philosophy Course 11
Foundation Course 3	Philosophy Course 1: Symbolic Logic	Foundation Course 9	Political Science Course 2	Philosophy Course 9	Philosophy Course 12
Calculus Enabler	Philosophy Course 2: Intro to Philosophy	Philosophy Course 3	Media Studies Course 1	Political Science Course 3	Political Science Course 4
XXXXXXXXXXX	Political Science Course 1: Western Political Thought I	Philosophy Course 4	Media Studies Course 2	Media Studies Course 3	Media Studies Course 4
XXXXXXXXXXX		Co-Curricular Course 1			Co-Curricular Course 2

To earn a Minor in Philosophy, students must complete at least 6 courses (24 credits) in Philosophy. These 6 courses

• can be completed as the student’s declared Minor during their undergraduate studies,
• can be completed in part during the student’s undergraduate studies and in part during the Ashoka Scholars Programme (ASP),
• can be completed fully during the ASP.

A Minor in Philosophy is a great addition to any Major as it provides students with the rigorous training in analytic reasoning, thinking, and writing skills that are characteristic of good philosophical work – skills which will enhance the student’s academic performance in any other academic discipline.

Students who complete a Minor in Philosophy during their undergraduate studies can expand it into a Second Major Equivalent during the ASP by taking the remaining courses required to meet all the area requirements governing the Major.

To complete a Philosophy Minor, students must take six philosophy courses, including

• up and incluiding UG23: two courses from the Required Courses category:
  • PHI-1000 Intro to Philosophy
  • PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic
• UG24 and later:
  • PHI-1000 Intro to Philosophy​​​​​​​
  • PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic, while no longer required, remains highly recommended
• all: one course from the Indian & Non-Western Philosophy category, such as e.g.
  • PHI-2370 Intro to Indian Philosophy,
  • PHI-3401 Indian Philosophy Through the Eyes of Bimal Matilal, or
  • any course listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
• all: one course from from the History of Western Philosophy category, such as e.g.
  • PHI-2420 Intro to Ancient Philosophy,
  • PHI-3530 19th Century Philosophy, or
  • any course listed as belonging to this category (for an overview of the system, see here)
• all: one course from the Contemporary Core category, such as e.g.
  • PHI-2000 Metaphysics,
  • PHI-2240 Philosophy of Science,
  • PHI-2600 Normative Ethics,
  • PHI-2610 How to be Free and Happy,
  • PHI-3665 Ethics and Technology, or
  • any course listed as belonging to this category
  • (for an overview of the system, see here), and
• all: one Elective.

To complete a Philosophy Minor, students need to take at least 4 courses taught by Philosophy faculty at Ashoka. This is important if they consider taking courses that are cross-listed.

A Minor in Philosophy combines well with every other Major and as mentioned above, we think that taking a Philosophy Minor supports your studies in any other area (we are of course biased, but we truly believe that this is true). How labour-intensive it is to complete a Philosophy Minor next to one’s Major during one’s undergraduate studies will depend in part on the what the requirements are that govern the Major. Below are two cases that serve to illustrate the difference. 

Case 1: English Major and Philosophy Minor

Devang, suppose, is pursuing an English Major. But Devang is also interested in Philosophy. He decides to complete a Philosophy Minor. The following is what his curriculum could look like.

Note that since this is the page of the Philosophy Department, we may not give you 100% accurate information about the English Major – or, for that matter, any other Major. Accordingly, if you want to learn more about some other Major and its specific requirements, authoritative information should not be expected here, but be looked up on the relevant departmental website.

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 5	Foundation Course 7	Foundation Course 9	English Course 8	English Course 11
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 6	Foundation Course 8	English Course 5	English Course 9	English Course 12
Foundation Course 3	English Gateway Course 1: Forms of Literature	English Course 3	English Course 6	English Course 10	Philosophy Course 5
Foundation Course 4	English Gateway Course 2: Intro to Literary Theory	English Course 4	English Course 7	Philosophy Course 3	Philosophy Course 6
XXXXXXXXXXX	Philosophy Course 1: Symbolic Logic	Philosophy Course 2: Intro to Philosophy		Philosopy Course 4
XXXXXXXXXXX		Co-Curricular Course 1	Co-Curricular Course 2		Teaching Assistantship in English

 

Note that in his ASP year, Devang could choose to complete a Second Major Equivalent in Philosophy. He could even do this while pursuing an Advanced Major in English!

Case 2: Physics Major and Philosophy Minor

Shruti loves Physics and wants to pursue a career in it. But she also knows her history and thus knows that most brilliant Physicists in the past were either Philosophers or at the very least philosophically inclined. Shruti thinks – quite accurately – that her attempt to understand the foundations of Physics will be well supported by her getting used to rigorously reflecting on conceptual foundations and philosophical presuppositions. Since this is the kind of training she knows Philosophy will provide, she decides to complement her Major in Physics with a Philosophy Minor. If she tried to complete this during her undergraduate studies, the following is what her curriculum might look like (the same caveat applies as in Case 1). Note that the Physics Major alone requires 15 Major courses. Therefore, Shruti has to take a few courses in the summer to fit everything in. In the scenario imagined, she takes two FCs (here: FC 6 and 7) in the summer after her first year. 

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 4	Foundation Course 8	Foundation Course 9	Physics Course 10	Physics Course 14
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 5	Physics Course 3: Classical Mechanics	Physics Course 6	Physics Course 11	Physics Course 15
Foundation Course 3	Physics Course 1: Mathematical Physics	Physics Course 4	Physics Course 7	Physics Course 12	Philosophy Course 4
Calculus Enabler	Physics Course 2: Lab I	Physics Course 5: Lab II	Physics Course 8	Physics Course 13	Philosophy Course 5
XXXXXXXXXXX	Philosophy Course 1: Intro to Philosophy	Philosophy Course 2: Symbolic Logic	Physics Course 9	Philosophy Course 3	Philosophy Course 6
XXXXXXXXXXX		Co-Curricular Course 1			Co-Curricular Course 2

 

Note that Shruti’s plan is quite ambitious. She might ease her load during the regular semesters by taking a second summer semester, perhaps take one Philosophy course and one FC then. For this to work, the right courses must be offered in both summer semesters. At any rate, since the requirements governing the Physics Major are higher, getting this done, while not impossible, is harder, requires good planning on Shruti’s part, and may require some extra expenses to pay for the summer courses.

Similar considerations apply with respect to other Majors that have higher course requirements. That said, Shruti can of course always decide to complete her Philosophy Minor during the ASP. Here are two options:

• Instead of taking any summer courses, Shruti takes the two FCs during her undergraduate studies, completes  not a Minor, but a Concentration in Philosophy and expands it either to a Minor or even to a Second Major Equivalent during the ASP.  
• Shruti wants to reduce her overall course load by two courses or take two more Physics electives. She thus just takes the two Required Courses in Philosophy during her undergraduate studies and takes the remaining four during the ASP.

The PPE Major is an interdisciplinary major between Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics. Students declaring and completing this credential during their UG studies must complete 116 credits total (instead of the 100 credits required for the completion of a pure Philosophy Major).

Note that students pursuing a PPE Major, just like students pursuing a Concentration or a Minor must take at least four philosophy courses taught by Philosophy Faculty. This matters when students consider taking cross-listed courses.

• PPE Major students taking four philosophy courses must complete the same requirements as a student completing a Concentration in Philosophy. Note that all four courses must be taught by Philosophy faculty (so watch out for who teaches cross-listed courses in case you want them to count toward your four Philosophy courses).
• PPE Major students taking five philosophy courses must complete the same requirements as a student completing a Concentration in Philosophy plus one elective.
• The requirements for PPE Major students who are taking six or more philosophy courses are the same as those for the Philosophy Minor.

Note that students cannot both major in PPE and minor in philosophy. Students may, however, major in PPE with a specialization in philosophy by fulfilling the requirements for the minor and taking two additional philosophy courses.

Students completing a PPE Major can also expand their Philosophy-specific credentials to a Second Major Equivalent or (by showing some rare devotion) to an Advanced Second Major Equivalent in Philosophy during their ASP year by taking the courses that remain towards the completion of the respective requirement.

The Philosophy department’s PPE coordinator is listed on the Contact section of this website.

To earn a Concentration in Philosophy students must complete at least four courses (16 credits) in Philosophy. These four courses can be completed

• as the student’s declared Concentration during their undergraduate studies,
• in part during the student’s undergraduate studies and in part during the Ashoka Scholars Programme (ASP),
• fully during the ASP.

A Concentration in Philosophy nicely complements any other Major by giving students some of the benefits in terms of the training of their analytical skills that a Major would offer and a taste of the interesting questions philosophers tackle.

Now, we don’t have too many students who take a Concentration. For if students like what we offer, they often want to do more than a Concentration. And if, alternatively, they find the rigour Philosophy requires too demanding (given that the main focus of their study lies elsewhere), they don’t pursue the Concentration further.

Still, we do have students who wish to complete a Concentration in Philosophy and do so – either during their undergraduate studies or during the ASP. The requirements are listed below.

Requirements

A student completing a Concentration in Philosophy must take four philosophy courses, including

• for everyone up to UG23, the two Required Courses are
  • PHI-1000 Introduction to Philosophy and
  • PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic,
• beginning UG24, PHI-1060 Symbolic Logic is no longer required, just highly recommended
• two further courses in two different categories from among the following:
  • Indian & Non-Western Philosophy
  • History of Western Philosophy, and
  • Contemporary Core.

(To learn more about these course categories, look here.)

Note that all courses you take to complete your Concentration must be taught by Philosophy faculty (so watch out for who teaches cross-listed courses in case you want them to count toward your Concentration).

If you keep this in mind, there really isn’t much that can go wrong here. And on the off chance that for some reason, a student is really intent on taking the two required courses and then two courses that fall into the same category, they can always decide to take one more Philosophy course. (And if they do that, they might as well do yet one more course and complete a Philosophy Minor).

What if taking five courses does not fit in a student’s schedule and they really really want to take these two excellent courses that fall into the same category? Then they may reach out to the Head of the Department and request an exceptional waiver. We won’t let anyone drop the required courses, but we have been rumoured to be slightly more accommodating with respect to the other categories. (If you do this, please make sure you do secure an email confirming the waiver, so that you don’t get into trouble with the Office of Academic Affairs when the time of the degree check comes.)

Since a Concentration in Philosophy requires only four classes, fitting it in is not very hard – even if one’s Major has a higher number of required Major courses. This is even more so since from Monsoon 2020 onwards, each of the two Required Courses is offered every semester.

The two cases below provide two interesting combinations, though many more are possible. Remember that you can always reach out to your Faculty Mentor, your Advisor, Heads of Department, faculty members, the OAA, or to the various student representatives (meet ours here) if you need help to figure out how to proceed further.   

Case 1: Computer Science Major

Simran is majoring in Computer Science. She already has a knack for and enjoys analyzing and structuring complex issues. She wants to improve her writing skills, her ability to think outside the box, and her logical reasoning, which she knows is of great help when it comes to designing code. She decides to complete a Concentration in Philosophy and to start her journey in Philosophy with what is closest to her: Symbolic Logic. Below is what her curriculum might look like.

A caveat: Since these are the pages of the Philosophy Department, we cannot guarantee that the information provided about other programmes is accurate and up-to-date. For authoritative information about the Computer Science programme, please visit their website or reach out to them.

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 5	Foundation Course 7	Foundation Course 9	Computer Science Course 9	Computer Science Course 13
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 6	Foundation Course 8	Computer Science Course 6	Computer Science Course 10	Computer Science Course 14
Foundation Course 3	Computer Science Course 1: Introduction to Computer Programming	Computer Science Course 3	Computer Science Course 7	Computer Science Course 11	Computer Science Course 15
Foundation Course 4	Computer Science Course 2: Discrete Mathematics	Computer Science Course 4	Computer Science Course 8	Computer Science Course 12	Philosophy Course 4
XXXXXXXXXXX	Philosophy Course 1: Symbolic Logic	Computer Science Course 5	Philosophy Course 2: Intro to Philosophy	Philosophy Course 3
XXXXXXXXXXX		Co-Curricular Course 1	Co-Curricular Course 2

As you can see, her schedule requires that Simran take 5 regular courses for four semesters (six if you count the Co-Curriculars). She could ease her load by taking summer courses or, on the contrary, use these extra courses to shift up to four courses into the summer (Foundation Courses are frequently offered then) and use the slots freed up that way to do more CS electives or other electives. 

Of course, she could also just take one or both Required Courses, take more or other electives during her undergraduate studies, and complete her Concentration in Philosophy during the ASP, or even complete it during the ASP entirely – depending on what works best for her.

Case 2: History and IR Major

Firoze is a history buff and has a keen interest in international relations. He decides to pursue an interdisciplinary Major in History and International Relations. As a budding historian, he knows that gaining a proper understanding of other cultural contexts and political structures and institutions – but also one’s own! – is propelled by getting a better sense of how political and social structures have developed, have been shaped, and continue to be shaped by various conceptions about the good life and about the legitimation of societal constructions proposed by philosophers both in the past and in the present. He decides to complement his Interdisciplinary Major with a Concentration in Philosophy. The following shows what his curriculum might look like.

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Introduction to Critical Thinking (=Foundation Course 1)	Foundation Course 5	Foundation Course 7	Foundation Course 9	History and IR Core Course 9	History and IR Core Course 13
Foundation Course 2	Foundation Course 6	Foundation Course 8	History and IR Core Course 5	History and IR Core Course 10	History and IR Core Course 14
Foundation Course 3	History and IR Core Course 1	History and IR Core Course 2	History and IR Core Course 6	History and IR Core Course 11	History and IR Core Course 15
Foundation Course 4	Philosophy Course 1: Intro to Philosophy	History and IR Core Course 3	History and IR Core Course 7	History and IR Core Course 12	History and IR Core Course 16
XXXXXXXXXXX	Philosophy Course 2	History and IR Core Course 4	History and IR Core Course 8	Philosophy Course 3: Symbolic Logic	Philosophy Course 4
XXXXXXXXXXX	Co-Curricular Course 1		Co-Curricular Course 2

Like any Interdisciplinary Major, History and International Relations requires their students to complete 16 major courses. And yet, Firoze could complete it and a Concentration in Philosophy without taking any Summer courses. If interested, he could then expand this Concentration to a Philosophy Minor or even a Second Major Equivalent in Philosophy during the ASP, which would leave him with an impressive set of credentials.

Alternatively, Firoze could also take summer courses, thus easing the work load during the semester and taking good care of his mental health. In general, requirements, needs, and the ability to perform and focus on many courses differ across students and may change over time and with changes in circumstances. Students are therefore strongly encouraged to remain open to making changes as needed and to make full use of the time provided during the ASP.