Distinguished Majors Program (DMP)

The Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) is designed for students who wish to pursue their studies in philosophy beyond the requirements of the regular major. It requires both the study of a broad range of philosophical areas and a more concentrated examination of a single topic in the form of a senior thesis. DMP students must complete 36credits of course work in philosophy at the 2000 level or above. The area requirements for the DMP are the same as for the major (see here: https://philosophy.virginia.edu/major), except that:

(i) the logic requirement must be fulfilled by taking PHIL 2420, 3400 or 4410 (so it cannot be fulfilled by PHIL 1410) and

(ii) Distinguished Majors must take a Seminar for Majors (PHIL 4010, 4020, or other designated course.)

In addition, six of the required 36 credits must be used for the thesis and allocated as follows: PHIL 4993 (Directed Readings) to be used as a pre-thesis research course and PHIL 4999 (Senior Thesis). (The Seminar for Majors and PHIL 4993 will satisfy the college DMP requirement for 6 credits of advanced course work.) Depending on program performance, Distinguished Majors will graduate with Distinction, High Distinction, or Highest Distinction. Students normally apply to the DMP at the end of their third year. Students applying at this time must have completed at least six philosophy courses, and must have and maintain a GPA of at least 3.4 in all philosophy courses taken. In addition, they should have an overall GPA close enough to 3.4 to make it likely that they will be able to satisfy the College requirement of a final cumulative GPA of 3.4 for graduation with distinction.

Application materials: (i) a brief proposal of a thesis topic; (ii) an up-to-date transcript; (iii) a note from a faculty member indicating that he or she is willing to supervise the applicant’s thesis; (iv) a writing sample.

If you are interested in applying for the DMP, speak to the director of the undergraduate program, Ross Cameron (cameron@virginia.edu)