← Philosophy (PHILOS)

Hardest courses in Philosophy

Plan ahead for courses where students have earned lower grades.

Lowest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.

Find your fit

15 courses

Ranked courses have at least 100 recorded letter grades.

Develops critical skills in evaluating arguments and reasoning within mass communication media contexts.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Gregory Nirshberg

Gregory Nirshberg’s section involved nine problem sets, two midterms, and a non-cumulative final, covering tough material.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Elementary Logic covers the formal characteristics of logical truth and inference.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Peter Vranas

In-class material was easier than the problem sets and exams, which required hours of work and still resulted in low grades for some students.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

GREAT MORAL PHILOSOPHERS covers major themes of moral philosophy from Plato and Aristotle to Bentham and Mill, with critical study of outstanding works.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

History of Modern Philosophy covers various philosophers from the 17th century through the early 20th century.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Explores the nature of mind and its relation to physical states, emphasizing recent advances in philosophy and psychology.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Sarah Paul

One student noted the readings were fairly dense and hoped for clarification, while describing the 40-person course as functioning like an open discussion.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Explores the nature and function of language, covering theories of meaning, semantic and syntactic paradoxes, proper names, private languages, rules, and linguistic relativity.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Introduction to Philosophy covers various philosophical questions and the strategies philosophers use to address them.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Alexander Roberts

Grading focused on only a few assignments, such as in-class essays and section participation, while students also received credit for showing up.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Modern Ethical Theories covers ethical theories and problems from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Examines ethical issues arising from new biomedical technologies including genetic screening, prenatal diagnosis, in vitro fertilization, psychosurgery, and transplantation.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Robert Streiffer

A past student rated the difficulty as moderate, though they did not provide specific details about weekly hours or assessment intensity.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

Introductory Ethics covers moral problems, ethical theory, moral skepticism, practical ethics, and the evaluation of social institutions.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Russ Shafer-Landau

Russ Shafer-Landau provided test questions in advance and selected from them, allowing students to skip readings if they paid attention in lecture.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

History of Ancient Philosophy covering presocratics to Stoics and Epicureans with emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Paula Gottlieb

One student reported that the entire grade was based on three relatively easy tutorials, allowing them to skip lectures and still perform well.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Ethics in Business examines case studies of moral issues in business and the types or reasons appealed to for their settlement.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Casey Rufener

One student reported there was no homework, allowing them to focus on lecture content, while another described the two exams as pretty easy.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

A philosophical study of major moral issues in contemporary society, including abortion, euthanasia, punishment, property, politics, sex, nuclear disarmament, and world hunger.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Harry Brighouse

The course involved two exams, two essays, and weekly discussion posts. One student noted it was not an easy A class, while another found the overall difficulty manageable.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Classical Philosophers offers intensive study of one or more classical philosophers, movements, or problems.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Introductory course on AI and Data Ethics covering moral/political issues, technical concepts like bias/variance tradeoff, and applications in medicine and law.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Burgandy Basulto

Past students found the workload easy and the grading lenient, with generous extensions. The final assessment was an essay, allowing students to choose between an argumentative piece or a media connection essay.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2025–Spring 2026