How Do I Get a Bachelor of Philosophy Degree?

A bachelor of philosophy is a four-year degree, in most cases, for those students that attend school on a full-time basis. To earn this degree, you will typically need to complete approximately 120 credit hours of work. In most cases, about half of this coursework will come from general education classes, and the remaining half will come from those specific to philosophy. It will be necessary to pass all your courses in order to earn a bachelor of philosophy degree, and some universities will require that you maintain a certain grade point average (GPA) throughout to remain a student in good standing.

The first step to obtaining a bachelor of philosophy degree is actually to apply to the university that is offering the degree. Many students will apply to a variety of colleges just in case they don't get in to their first choice. This will require filling out an application and collecting other required information like transcripts and letters of recommendation. Once you have been accepted to the university and enrolled in a degree program, you will begin taking courses to earn your bachelor of philosophy degree. In most cases this will be a bachelor of arts (BA) degree.

Each university may have different course requirements in order to earn a bachelor of philosophy degree, but it typically requires about sixty credit hours in general education courses -- math, history, English, and so on -- combined with about sixty credit hours specific to philosophy. Most schools will allow you to customize your philosophy degree to a certain extent with the classes you choose to take and the area in which you choose to focus your studies. Some students will also choose to double major while they are earning their degrees, which will then lead to more than 120 credit hours being completed.

In order to earn the bachelor of philosophy degree, you will need to pass all of your courses, often with a C or higher. Many universities require students to maintain a certain grade point average in order to remain in the program as well. Once you have passed all your courses and completed the program requirements, you will likely then need to apply for graduation, and the registrar will determine whether you are eligible to earn your degree. From here, many people will progress to a master's or even a doctoral degree in philosophy in order to teach the subject at a university level.