May 09, 2025  
2025-2026 SLCC General Catalog 
  
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2025-2026 SLCC General Catalog

Philosophy and Religious Studies: AA

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Associate of Arts | 60 credits

Program Website
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Program Description

The Philosophy and Religious Studies Program at SLCC offers introductory and specialized courses that engage the history, values, and challenges of diverse ideas and worldviews through explorations of Eastern and Western philosophies and religions. Students explore a range of beliefs and philosophical frameworks that have grounded humanity’s efforts to understand the nature of reality and sources of worth, meaning, truth, and purpose. 

Students develop valuable skills in writing, critical thinking, analyzing and forming arguments, problem-solving, leadership, and presenting ideas clealy. These skills are fundamental for deep engagement with questions at the heart of their professional, civic, and personal lives. 

Program courses explore the ideas and developments of secular and religious systems by analyzing the writings, rituals, histories, and conceptual frameworks of a variety of philosophical, religious, and spiritual traditions. Courses emphasize connecting different perspectives, developing reasoning and communication skills, and understanding how we make meaning, solve problems, and work together.

Career Opportunities

Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates are valued by employers across a wide range of industries for their ability to think critically, reason logically, and communicate clearly. Students develop practical skills that employers highly value, such as learning how to work effectively and ethically with different viewpoints, take initiative, and adapt to new situations.

Graduates in these fields find careers in a wide range of industries including  business, law, education, healthcare, journalism, public administration, human resources, banking, organizational development, management, marketing and advertising. Many graduates thrive in roles like attorneys, legal analysts, policy advisors, program directors, managers, consultants, writers, editors, media analysts, and fundraisers. As new industries emerge, graduates are increasingly sought after in tech companies, non-profit organizations, healthcare, and social justice advocacy, where ethical reasoning, strategic thinking, and problem-solving are critical.

Philosophy majors consistently score at the top on entrance exams for graduate programs, including law and business school. According to Forbes magazine, Philosophy offers the highest return on investment among the Humanities fields, making it a smart choice for students interested in pursuing graduate studies or advancing in their careers.

(Sources: Zippia, PayScale and DailyNous, Payscale and DailyNous, DailyNous, Kiplinger, Sample State Stats (Illinois), Forbes, NACE)

Transfer/Articulation Information
Please refer to the Student Resources section of the SLCC University Transfer webpage. 

Estimated Cost for Students

Tuition and student fees: http://www.slcc.edu/student/financial/tuition-fees.aspx

NOTE: Fees may vary based upon specific registration and are subject to change.

Books: Around $100 per semester for books and supplies.

The Philosophy and Religious Studies program is dedicated to developing Open Educational Resources (OER) for students, and has already done so for several courses, including PHIL 1000 and HUMA 1010.

General Education Requirements

Complete all General Education courses. Refer to Notes for program specific requirements and recommendations.

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Program General Education Notes

  • Courses that meet General Education requirements may be used to meet program requirements unless specified by the program. If this option is chosen, students must complete additional general elective courses to meet the total credit hour requirement. 
  • Like all AA programs, the Philosophy and Religious Studies program has a LANG 1020 (4-credit) language requirement for its degree.  That requirement can be met in a variety of ways.  Dual-language immersion students, heritage speakers, and other students who have adequate proficiency in a second language may satisfy this 4-credit language requirement through a) proficiency testing, b) an AP score of 3 or higher, or c) equivalent prior college-level coursework.  ESL and non-native English speakers may satisfy this requirement through general education coursework in ENGL 1010 and 2010.  Any student who demonstrates the required level of language ability in fewer than 4 credit hours is required to complete a additional general electives to meet the AA degree’s 60 credit hours total.

Program Requirements

Required Courses (6 Credits)

Choose two (2) courses from the following list:

Program Electives (12 credits)

Complete 12 credits from the following:

General Electives (11 credits)

Choose any combination of courses 1000-level or above from any discipline to reach the minimum credit hours needed for the program of study.

Time to Completion & Graduation Map

  • Philosophy and Religious Studies AA: Full-time  
  • Completion time is four (4) semesters for students taking a full-time course load of at least 15 credits per semester. Enrolling in fewer than 15 credits per semester will extend the time needed to complete the program.

Program Learning Outcomes

Program learning outcome alignment with Student Learning Outcomes  in brackets.

  • Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts, major figures, historical events, schools of thought, major questions and belief systems in Philosophy and/or Religious Studies, in order to explore humanity’s attempts to describe the nature of reality and ultimate sources and manifestations of value, meaning, knowledge, truth and morality. [1]
  • Develop and demonstrate skills and methods of analysis within the disciplines of Philosophy and Religious Studies, emphasizing skills of reasoning, problem solving, critical analysis, comparative philosophy, applied philosophy, and philosophical writing. [4]
  • Demonstrate abilities to engage primary philosophical texts and other sources such as art, literature, sacred texts, and music, to analyze relationships between religious, philosophical, and spiritual expressions, concepts, values, and questions interweaving different times, places and/or cultures. [1,4]
  • Demonstrate skills and methods of effective communication, persuasive and ethical analysis, application and argumentation,  primarily through written work. [2]
  • Develop and demonstrate skills of discourse that will enable them to respectfully and effectively participate in public and professional life with those who differ in perspectives and positions on important issues. [7]
  • Demonstrate abilities to recognize and communicate the complexities involved in socially and culturally-pressing questions and challenges within philosophical and religious theories, perspectives and communities; to apply analytical skills and knowledges to propose and evaluate positions, decisions, policies, strategies and goals regarding them; and in general to make informed contributions to a complex international community. [6]

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