Quick Facts

Degree Transfer Degree

Areas of Study Humanities

Philosophy AA-T Degree

Provides students with a common core of lower division courses required to transfer and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in the CSU System.

Associate in Arts for Transfer | SC Program: AA-T.1009

A philosophy major is a humanities degree path that will challenge students to examine questions with no right answers. Students will develop valuable career skills, such as understanding complex materials, making logical arguments, explaining ideas clearly, and being able to think about things from multiple perspectives.

This program introduces students to Philosophy. Philosophy is the study or logical analysis of the principles underlying conduct, reasoning, value, knowledge and the nature of the universe. Students will engage in the critical analysis of a number of theories defended by philosophers, who have attempted to answer a number of fundamental and puzzling questions about ourselves and the nature of the universe.

The Associate in Arts in Philosophy for Transfer degree is designed to provide students with a common core of lower division courses required to transfer and pursue a baccalaureate (4- year) degree in Philosophy in the CSU system

Choose your path

Map your education by viewing the program map for the degree or certificate you’re interested in earning below. Meet with a counselor to create your official comprehensive education plan.

A program map shows all the required and recommended courses you need to graduate and a suggested order in which you should take them. The suggested sequence of courses is based on enrollment and includes all major and general education courses required for the degree.

Fall Semester, First Year

16 Units Total

ENGL C1000

GE 4

Academic Reading and Writing

ENGL C1000

Units 4

Note: For students who would benefit from further instruction and individual support while taking their first college-transfer level English course, ENGL C1000E is a recommended alternative to ENGL C1000.

In this course, students receive instruction in academic reading and writing, including writing processes, effective use of language, analytical thinking, and the foundations of academic research. An argumentative research essay is required for the successful completion of the course. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 1A Cal-GETC Area 1A - English Composition

SOC 3

GE 3

Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences

SOC 3

Units 3

This course is an introduction to the basic statistical methods and analyses commonly used in the behavioral sciences. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics; levels and types of measurement; measures of central tendency and dispersion; normal, t, and chi-square distributions; probability and hypothesis testing; and correlation and regression. Applications of statistical software to the behavioral sciences and/or other social science data is required. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 2 Cal-GETC Area 2

POLS C1000

GE 3

American Government and Politics

POLS C1000

Units 3

Advisory: ENGL C1000 or English Placement Level 7 or higher.

This course is an introduction to government and politics in the United States and California. Students examine the constitutions, structure, and operation of governing institutions, civil liberties and civil rights, political behaviors, political issues, and public policy using political science theory and methodology. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 4 Cal-GETC Area 4

PHIL 6

GE M 3

Introduction to Philosophy

PHIL 6

Units 3

Advisory: ENGL 1A with a grade of C or higher or English Placement Level 7.

This is a transfer-level humanities course introducing students to some of the major philosophical issues in the history of philosophy through the critical examination of primary texts. It will both explore what is special about the questions philosophers ask and consider the most famous answers philosophers have given to those questions. Areas covered include philosophy of mind, epistemology, metaphysics, moral philosophy, political philosophy, philosophy of science, aesthetics, and philosophy of religion. The course may be offered in a distance education format.

ETHS 1

GE 3

Introduction to Ethnic Studies

ETHS 1

Units 3

Advisory: Essay-writing skills and eligibility to enroll in a transfer-level English Composition course

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. It examines social justice movements in relation to ethnic and racial groups in the United States to provide a basis for a better understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions among key social groups including, but not limited to, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina/o Americans. This course examines the systemic nature of racial/ethnic oppression through an examination of key concepts including racialization and ethnocentrism, with a specific focus on the persistence of white supremacy. Using an anti-racist framework, the course will examine historical and contemporary social movements dedicated to the decolonization of social institutions, resistance, and social justice. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 6 Cal-GETC Area 6 - Ethnic Studies

Spring Semester, First Year

15 Units Total

ENGL 1B

GE 3

Literature and Composition

ENGL 1B

Units 3

This course emphasizes the development of critical thinking and writing skills through close study of the major genres of literature: poetry, drama, short story and novel. Students receive further instruction and practice in analytical writing, developing arguments about literary works and the critical reception of those works. In discussion and writing, students will also examine arguments as such, learning to identify sound as well as fallacious reasoning in critical assessments of literature. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 1B Cal-GETC Area 1B - Critical Thinking and Composition

COMM C1000

GE 3

Introduction to Public Speaking

COMM C1000

Units 3

In this course, students learn and apply foundational rhetorical theories and techniques of public speaking in a multicultural democratic society. Students discover, develop, and critically analyze ideas in public discourse through research, reasoning, organization, composition, delivery to a live audience and evaluation of various types of speeches, including informative and persuasive speeches. This course may be taught in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 1C Cal-GETC Area 1C - Oral Communication

PHIL 7

GE M 3

Ethics: Understanding Right and Wrong

PHIL 7

Units 3

Advisory: ENGL 1A with a grade of C or higher or English Placement Level 7.

This course critically examines the concept of morality as well as a number of representative ethical theories, such as Kantianism, Utilitarianism, Contractarianism, Divine Command Theory, and Virtue Ethics. It also introduces students to a range of moral and social problems such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, cloning, warfare, gender and sexuality issues, political and economic issues, and the moral status of the natural world. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

HIST 1A

M 3

History of Western Civilization

HIST 1A

Units 3

Advisory: Essay-writing skills and eligibility to enroll in a transfer-level English Composition course, or English Placement Level 6 or higher

A survey of the origins and development of civilization in the western world from pre-history to 1600, with special emphasis on institutions, thought, and culture. The course is designed to show the continuity of western civilization and to overview the heritage of the present generation. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

PHIL 14

M 3

Modern Western Philosophy

PHIL 14

Units 3

This course focuses on Western Philosophy from the 16th to the 18th century, with emphasis on broad epistemological and metaphysical developments of empiricism and rationalism in philosophical thought from Descartes to Kant. It may include proximate precursors and successors. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Fall Semester, Second Year

14 Units Total

ASTR 2

GE 3

Stellar Astronomy

ASTR 2

Units 3

This course is a survey course designed to introduce the science of astronomy concentrating on celestial bodies and phenomena beyond the solar system. This course covers aspects of the history of astronomy, light, telescopes, prominent scientists, the sun, stars, stellar evolution, galaxies, cosmology, gravity wave astronomy, and the possibility of other life forms in the Universe. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 5A Cal-GETC Area 5A - Physical Sciences

PHIL 8

GE M 3

Logic

PHIL 8

Units 3

Advisory: ENGL 1A with a grade of C or higher or English Placement Level 7.

Logic is the science that evaluates arguments. This course introduces principles of reasoning with an emphasis on deductive logic. It will provide students with extensive experience in identifying a range of correct and incorrect argument forms using the tools of formal logic. The course may include a treatment of inductive reasoning and fallacies. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

ADJU 15

M 3

Concepts of Criminal Law

ADJU 15

Units 3

This course offers an analysis of the doctrines of criminal liability in the United States and the classification of crimes against persons, property, morals, and public welfare. Special emphasis is placed on the classification of crime, the general elements of crime, the definitions of common and statutory law, and the nature of acceptable evidence. This course utilizes case law and case studies to introduce students to criminal law. The completion of this course offers a foundation upon which upper-division criminal justice courses will build. The course will also include some limited discussion of prosecution and defense decision making, criminal culpability, and defenses to crimes. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

ELCT

3

Elective - see counselor for options

ELCT

Units 3

ELCT

2

Elective - see counselor for options

ELCT

Units 2

Spring Semester, Second Year

15 Units Total

ART 4

GE 3

World Art

ART 4

Units 3

This is a survey of the visual arts of diverse ethnic and indigenous cultures with an emphasis on both historic and contemporary art. Explored are the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Lectures are focused on the styles, motifs, symbols, rituals and traditions of the cultures by examining their crafts, drawings, sculpture, printmaking and paintings. This course is designed as a Humanities elective, recommended for Art Core Programs, and required for the Art History Concentration. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 3A Cal-GETC Area 3A - Arts

HIST 17A

GE 3

United States History

HIST 17A

Units 3

Advisory: ENGL 1A with a grade of C or higher

This course is a survey of the history of the United States from Pre-Columbian Peoples to the end of Reconstruction. Topics include contact and settlement of America, the movement toward independence, the formation of a new nation and Constitution, westward expansion and manifest destiny, the causes and consequences of the Civil War, and Reconstruction. This course satisfies the CSU requirement for US History (US-1). This course may be offered in a distance education format.

BIOL 10

GE 3

General Biology

BIOL 10

Units 3

Note: BIOL 10 will meet the general education requirement for a laboratory science if taken with BIOL 10L.

This course is an introduction to the major concepts of modern biology. Topics covered include biochemistry, cell biology, heredity, and nature of genes, evolution, diversity of life, and principles of ecology. Emphasis will be placed on those aspects of biology that are rapidly reshaping our culture. This course may be offered in a distance education format. This course will meet the general education requirement for a laboratory science if taken with BIOL 10L.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 5B Cal-GETC Area 5B - Biological Sciences

BIOL 10L

GE Lab 1

General Biology Laboratory

BIOL 10L

Units 1

Note: BIOL 10 will meet the general education requirement for a lab science if taken with BIOL 10L.

This is a laboratory course that offers experiments and demonstrations covering the basic concepts of the lecture course BIOL 10. The laboratory is designed to expose student to biological techniques including microscopy, biochemistry, genetics, evolution, diversity of life, and principles of ecology. This course may be offered in a distance education format.

Alternative Courses

Cal-GETC 5C Cal-GETC Area 5C - Science Lab

ELCT

3

Elective - see counselor for options

ELCT

Units 3

ELCT

2

Elective - see counselor for options

ELCT

Units 2

60

Total Units

Please see a counselor to discuss options for meeting general education requirements for transfer to California State Universities (CSU) and/or University of California (UC) campuses, as well as any specific additional courses that may be required by your chosen institution of transfer.

*Alternative Courses: Please see a Shasta College counselor for alternative course options. You can also view the following to find other courses to meet degree/certificate requirements:

Contact Us for More Information

Counseling & Student Services

Contact Info

Email counseling@shastacollege.edu

Phone (530) 242-7724

Fax (530) 225-4652

Site www.shastacollege.edu/counseling

Academic/Instructional Division Office

Arts, Communications & Social Sciences (ACSS)

Contact Info

Email acssinfo@shastacollege.edu

Phone (530) 242-7730

Degree Requirements and Courses

Learn more about certificate and degree requirements, course content, recommended sequence, and schedule.

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