Philosophy BA/Law JD - Program Requirements

Students interested in our honors program or with general questions about the philosophy major may contact the director of undergraduate studies, Professor Ryan Muldoon, to discuss their interests and receive additional information.

SUNY Seamless Transfer is a SUNY-wide program intended to make transferring to UB and other SUNY Schools simple and efficient for SUNY students. SUNY has defined courses that SUNY students can take before transferring which will apply to the major at UB and ensure timely graduation.

Information about the Transfer Path for this major can be found on the SUNY website.

Students are encouraged to contact their academic advisor or department to discuss how their coursework will apply to their degree.

The Accelerated Philosophy BA to Law JD Program has no prerequisite courses.

Major
Ethics
One of:

• PHI 335 Contemporary Ethical Theory
• PHI 336 History of Ethics
• PHI 338 Law and Morality
• PHI 340 Law and Responsibility
• PHI 341 Social Philosophy
• PHI 342 Political Philosophy
• PHI 345 Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

Logic
One of:

• PHI 115 Critical Thinking
• PHI 175 Introduction to Deductive Logic
• PHI 185 Model-Based Reasoning
• PHI 215 Symbolic Logic

Metaphysics and Epistemology
One of:

• PHI 320 Philosophy of Mind
• PHI 321 Philosophy of Science
• PHI 328 Philosophy of Language
• PHI 329 Metaphysics
• PHI 333 Epistemology

History of Philosophy
Two of:

• PHI 360 Ancient Philosophy
• PHI 366 Medieval Philosophy
• PHI 370 Early Modern Philosophy
• PHI 376 Buddhist Philosophy
• PHI 380 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy from Kant to Freud
• PHI 388 Twentieth-Century Philosophy

Philosophy electives
Six additional courses, of which four must be at the 300/400 level

Electives
Undergraduate Liberal Arts Elective: 18

JD – First-Year Requirements
LAW 509 – Torts (4 credits)
LAW 501 – Civil Procedure (4 credits)
LAW 507 – Property (4 credits)
LAW 515 – Legal Analysis, Writing and Research I (4 credits)
LAW 503 – Contracts (4 credits)
LAW 505 – Criminal Law (4 credits)
LAW 511 – Constitutional Law (4 credits)
LAW 516 – Legal Analysis, Writing and Research II (3 credits)

JD – Second-Year and Third-Year Curriculum
LAW 564 – Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (3 credits)
LAW experiential elective (6 credits) (see experiential list below)*
LAW seminar elective (3 credits) (see seminar list below)**
LAW research or writing-intensive elective (3 credits) (see research/writing list below)***
LAW free electives (44 credits)

*experiential course options
LAW 523 – Judicial Externship (3 credits)
LAW 567 – Greening Buffalo (3 credits)
LAW 637 – Corporate Negotiations (3 credits)
LAW 828 – Innocence and Justice Project (3 credits)

**seminar course options
LAW 529 – Mindful and Pro-Identity (3 credits)
LAW 640 – Trump and the Law (3 credits)
LAW 656 – Privacy: Theories and History (3 credits)

***research/writing options
LAW 977 – Pro Se Civil Litigation Practicum (3 credits)
LAW 956 – Introduction to Appellate Advocacy (3 credits)
LAW 920 – Community Justice Clinic (3 credits)

Senior philosophy majors may apply for the philosophy honors program if they have an overall GPA of 3.000 or higher, have a GPA of 3.250 or higher in their philosophy courses (including at least 2 advanced philosophy courses taken at UB), and have already completed at least 50% of the requirements for their major.

Philosophy majors complete their major “with distinction” if their final philosophy GPA is at least 3.250, “with high distinction” if their final philosophy GPA is at least 3.500, and “with highest distinction” if their final philosophy GPA is at least 3.750.

Students should consult with an academic advisor to determine how any transfer or exam credit might be utilized in meeting general education, prerequisite, or major requirements.

See Baccalaureate Degree Requirements for general education and remaining university requirements.

Total Credit Hours Required represents the minimum credits needed to complete this program, and may vary based on a number of circumstances. This chart should not be used for financial aid purposes.