The Certificate in Philosophy is an independent undergraduate program comprising 24 credits, leading to a diploma, or undergraduate certificate, approved by the Senate.
This certificate allows students to develop critical thinking skills and reflect on the major issues of our society, which contributes to the growth of the human person and his or her integration in society.
Certificate programs are part-time programs; courses cannot be taken on a full-time basis unless prerequisites can be fully respected.
Do not hesitate to contact an Academic Advisor to obtain more information.
Applications: A step-by-step guide
STEP 1: Choose a program of study
STEP 2: Learn about admission requirements
STEP 3: Submit your application
STEP 4: Gather the documents needed for the assessment of your application
STEP 5: Assessment of your application
STEP 6: Accept your offer of admission
STEP 7: Choose your courses
STEP 1: CHOOSE A PROGRAM OF STUDY |
Undergraduate programs:
STEP 2: LEARN ABOUT ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS |
Ontario applicants
From secondary school
Have an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with at least six 4U or 4M level courses, including one 4U level course in English or français.
From Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT)
Our transfer agreements
Saint Paul University has developed a number of transfer agreements with colleges, allowing applicants to receive up to 30 equivalency credits. Find out more by consulting the tab entitled College Credit Transfer.
Quebec applicants
From secondary school
Have a Secondary School Diploma with an average of 84%, including one course in English or français at the Secondary V level.
From Cégep
Have completed 12 courses of general studies (not including physical education and refresher courses), including English (603) or français (601). Applicants who have successfully completed 12 courses of general studies may obtain up to 15 credits of advanced standing, and those who have successfully completed more than 12 courses of general studies may obtain up to 30 credits of advanced standing.
Applicants from the Atlantic and Western provinces
Have a Secondary School Diploma, including one course in English or français at the Grade 12 level.
Applicants from other universities
Applications from other Canadian or international universities will be assessed based on the applicant’s previous secondary and post-secondary studies. University equivalency credits may be granted depending on the studies completed and the program into which the person is admitted.
International applicants
Have a diploma attesting to 12 years of education equivalent to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Persons who have completed a secondary diploma attesting to 13 years of education, such as the Baccalauréat de l’enseignement secondaire français, can receive up to 30 credits of advanced standing.
Mature applicants
When the applicant’s academic record does not meet normal conditions for admission, it is possible to apply as a mature applicant, provided that the person has not been enrolled in full-time studies for at least two consecutive years. In order to be considered for admission, applicants must have experience that can be considered sufficient preparation for pursuing undergraduate studies.
STEP 3: SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION |
You have two options
OPTION 1 |
If you are applying for admission to an undergraduate program at more than one Ontario university, including Saint Paul University:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Because Saint Paul University is federated with the University of Ottawa, you will find programs offered by Saint Paul University listed under the University of Ottawa.
OPTION 2 |
If you are applying for an undergraduate program at Saint Paul University only, or if you are applying for a master’s or doctoral program:
STEP 4: GATHER THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF YOUR APPLICATION |
In order for us to assess your application, you must submit official transcripts for all of your previous studies (secondary, college and university). These transcripts must be sent directly from your academic institution to the following address:
Saint Paul University
Office of Admissions and Student Services
223 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1C4
CANADA
However, to expedite the assessment process for your application, you can scan your documents and e-mail them to the Office of Admissions at admission@ustpaul.ca and then send your official documents through the mail.
STEP 5: ASSESSMENT OF YOUR APPLICATION |
Once the Office of Admissions receives all the required documents, it will begin to assess your application. One of the following decisions will be sent to you at the email address you gave us, as well as to your postal address.
Possible decisions
STEP 6: ACCEPT YOUR OFFER OF ADMISSION |
To accept an offer of admission and a scholarship offer, if applicable, you must sign the form entitled Admission acceptance form that accompanies your offer of admission and send it to Saint Paul University by email, before the deadline, to the following address admission@ustpaul.ca or mail it to:
Saint Paul University
Office of Admissions and Student Services
223 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 1C4
CANADA
STEP 7: CHOOSE YOUR COURSES |
With your offer of admission, you will receive all the information you will need to choose your courses. You will also receive the contact information for our academic advisors; you can meet with them one on one or during information sessions for guidance and to help you finalize your course selection.
Compulsory courses (12 credits)
Optional courses (12 credits)
3 credits from:
3 credits from:
3 credits from:
3 credits from:
Some courses have specific prerequisites.
The Certificate in Philosophy is a part time program.
Explores the various sides of Critical Thinking: the nature of arguments, common errors in reasoning as well as evaluating evidence and information. Enables students to acquire and develop research and writing skills.
This course is a general introduction to logic. The course introduces students to such basic logical concepts as deduction, induction, validity and invalidity, fallacy, the relation of language to logic, and problems arising from workaday, rhetorical forms of argument.
Survey of the major ethical systems in the Western world. Relationship between philosophical and religious thinking in ethical matters. Fundamental questions facing contemporary moral consciousness.
PHI 2154 and PHI 2174 are mutually exclusive. PHI 2154 was previously under course code PHI 3183.
Study of the traditional, universalist, approach to knowledge as well as contemporary standpoint approaches, such as feminist and postmodernist.
Study of different philosophical conceptions of the human being.
Philosophers and religion. Questions raised by the scientific study of religion in the contemporary period. Contributions of linguistic analysis to the study of the expressions of religious faith.
Life, intellectual context, and philosophical thought of Thomas Aquinas. Study of selected texts.
Life, intellectual context, and philosophical thought of Augustine. Study of selected texts.
This course was previously PHI2155.
The question of being. First philosophy. Fundamental notions of Aristotelian metaphysics. Several contemporary critiques.
Study of a particular topic, thinker or tradition. Critical analysis of the link between ethics and politics.
Development of fundamental skills in reasoning and critical thinking through the study of argument types, logical structures, criteria used in the evaluation of arguments, and forms of fallacious reasoning.
The birth of philosophy in Ancient Greece and its development, from the 6th to the 4th century B.C. Introduction to the originality and specificity of philosophical discourse through the study of Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
Also offered as CLA2380.
Introduction to major thinkers of the fifth to fourteenth centuries (Augustine to Ockham) and to some of the great questions of the era, concerning such matters as the nature of universals, of knowledge, and of the mind. Particular attention is paid to developments in epistemology and metaphysics.
Introduction to major philosophers, from Descartes to Kant, and philosophical systems (Rationalism, Empiricism) of the 17th and 18th centuries, with emphasis on developments in epistemology and metaphysics.
An introduction to the philosophy of Plato through the reading in their entirety of a selection of dialogues that represent the diversity of his styles, methods, and ideas.
Prerequisite: 12 PHI credits including PHI2380. Also offered as CLA3370.
Survey of the major trends in 20th-century European philosophy: existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, structuralism, and poststructuralist.
Prerequisites: 15 PHI credits, including PHI 2383.
An introduction to the philosophy of Aristotle through a reading of selected texts representing his wide-ranging interests in psychology, logic, physics, metaphysics ethics, and politics.
Prerequisites: 12 PHI credits, including PHI 2380. Also offered as CLA3380.
Study of major debates and currents in analytic philosophy, with focus on the core theoretical areas of philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics.
Prerequisites: 15 PHI credits, including PHI 2170 and PHI 2383. Previously: PHI3378.
Contact Us
Office of the Associate Vice-Rector, Strategic Enrolment Management
Room 148
Saint Paul University
223 Main Street
Ottawa, ON
K1S 1C4
CANADA
Notice to gmail address holders, be sure to check your junk mailbox regularly, as due to your server's firewalls our email response to your application may end up there.
Telephone: 613-236-1393
Fax: 613-782-3014
admission@ustpaul.ca
Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday | 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. |
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. |
Please leave your documents in the mailbox in front of room 148 when our offices are closed.
223 Main Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1S 1C4
Toll free
1.800.637.6859
613-236-1393
613-782-3005
info@ustpaul.ca