Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy
Rooted in the Great Books. Formed by the Trivium. Ordered to Truth.
At St. Leo the Great University, there is only one undergraduate major—because one is enough.
Our Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy is a comprehensive four-year course of study rooted in the Great Books tradition, ordered by the structure of the Classical Trivium, and oriented toward the Catholic intellectual heritage as embodied in the thought of the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the Magisterium.
This is a degree for those who long not merely to acquire knowledge, but to contemplate wisdom.
📚 The Curriculum
The undergraduate curriculum at St. Leo’s is integrated, chronological, and dialectical. Students begin with the ancients and progress through the medieval, modern, and contemporary worlds—always in dialogue with the perennial questions of philosophy and theology.
🔎 Core Areas of Study
- Logic and Argumentation
- Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy
- Ethics and Moral Theology
- Political Philosophy
- Philosophy of Religion
- Sacred Scripture and Patristics
- History of Philosophy: Ancient, Medieval, Modern
- Senior Thesis and Oral Defense
All instruction is conducted in the seminar model, with no lectures. Students are active participants in their education—reading, discussing, and writing daily.
🧠 The Trivium Model
Our formation is shaped by the Trivium:
- Grammar (Years 1–2): Mastering language, symbolism, and foundational texts
- Logic (Year 2–3): Developing precise thinking, clear argumentation, and dialectical skills
- Rhetoric (Year 4): Articulating truth beautifully, persuasively, and faithfully in both written and spoken form
Students complete a senior thesis defended before a faculty tribunal in the Hall of the Forum.
🗓️ Sample Four-Year Plan
Year 1: Foundations
- Introduction to Classical Logic
- The Iliad & The Odyssey
- Platonic Dialogues
- Sacred Scripture I: Genesis to Ruth
- Latin I & II
Year 2: Discernment of Being
- Aristotle’s Organon & Ethics
- Boethius, Augustine, and the City of God
- Natural Law & Natural Theology
- Sacred Scripture II: The Gospels
- Latin III & IV
Year 3: The Medieval Synthesis
- Aquinas: Summa Theologiae
- Bonaventure, Anselm, and the Scholastics
- Islamic and Jewish Medieval Thought
- Medieval Political Philosophy
- Sacred Scripture III: Pauline Epistles
Year 4: Integration and Expression
- Philosophy of Modernity: Descartes to Nietzsche
- Rhetoric and the Art of Persuasion
- Senior Thesis Seminar
- Philosophy of the Person & Catholic Social Thought
- Sacred Scripture IV: Revelation and the Apocalypse
🏅 Honors Track
Select students may be invited into the Royal Honors Collegium, an intensified course of study with independent tutorials in Greek, Aramaic, and advanced Aristotelian metaphysics. Members receive the title Scholarius Regalis upon graduation.
🏛️ Life Beyond the Books
Graduates of the B.A. in Philosophy go on to:
- Seminaries and religious life
- Graduate studies in theology, law, education, or public service
- Roles in Catholic education, writing, and media
- Or, return to the Kingdom as esteemed Royal Philosophers-in-Residence
✨ Admission to the B.A. Program
We seek students with:
- A love of reading and contemplation
- An openness to truth, tradition, and beauty
- A desire to be formed as whole persons in mind, heart, and soul