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The UniversityChartered in 1789 and formally opened in 1795, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first state university to admit students. Located in the Research Triangle, the university enjoys not only the resources of a first-rate university, but also the benefits of having both Duke Univeristy and North Carolina State Univeristy, as well as the National Humanities Center, close by. The result is an unusually rich intellectual and cultural environment, in a part of the country that is stunningly beautiful, economically healthy, and exceptionally hospitable. Philosophy at Chapel HillThe philosophy department maintains a congenial, cooperative, and vital atmosphere. Faculty and graduate students alike have offices in Caldwell Hall and the vast majority spend a great deal of time working and talking in the department. With a graduate enrollment of about fifty students and a full-time faculty of twenty (plus visitors), the philosophical community is substantial, yet seminars are small and close faculty-student association is common. To complement the course offerings, people regularly organize informal discussion groups on various topics (e.g., ancient philosophy, set theory, modal logic, philosophy of mind, connectionism, truth and objectivity, feminism, moral epistemology, continental political theory). The department provides an extensive program of speakers throughout the year, with an average of one talk every two weeks. Last year's speakers, for instance, included Paul Boghossian, Claudia Card, Tamar Gendler, Allan Gibbard, Paul Horwich, Jonathan Lear, Ruth Millikan, Christopher Peacocke, and Graham Priest, among others. Every fall, the Chapel Hill Colloquium brings together a large number of philosophers for three days of papers and discussion. In addition, the National Humanities Center brings several distinguished philosophers to the area for the year, while Duke, North Carolina State, and UNC/Greensboro each sponsor active speakers' programs and specialized conferences. The Graduate ProgramThe
department offers a large number of seminars each year along with
extensive opportunities for intensive work on individual research
projects. The graduate program is designed to take five years to complete.
In the first year everyone takes an advanced logic course and then an
intensive proto-seminar (taught by two faculty members). In the second
semester of the second year students work closely with a small committee
on their M.A. theses. The department does not set comprehensive exams;
instead, students take, in their third year, an exam on their chosen area
of specialization. And there is no program-wide language requirement.
Students are, however, required to satisfy various distribution
requirements, and competence in specific languages is expected of those
working in some areas (Greek if working in Ancient Philosophy, Latin if in
Medieval, German if on Kant...). A synopsis of the graduate program
requirements is
available.
Cooperative Program with Duke UniversityThanks
to a cooperative program with Duke University, graduate students
registered at either UNC or Duke University are able to enroll in
courses offered at the other school. And Duke faculty are available
to serve on the dissertation committees of UNC students. The Duke
faculty are: Robert Brandon (philosophy of science); Allen
Buchanan (ethics); Fred Dretske (philosophy of mind);
Iris Einheuser; Michael Ferejohn (ancient philosophy); Owen
Flanagan (moral theory and philosophy of mind); Martin Golding
(philosophy of law, ethics); Güven Güzeldere (philosophy
of mind); Andrew Janiak (modern philosophy); Elizabeth
Kiss (ethics); Alexander Rosenberg (philosophy of science);
David Sanford (Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic);
Tad Schmaltz (modern philosophy); Susan Sterrett (philosophy
of science and philosophy of mathematics); Benjamin Ward
(existentialism and aesthetics); David Wong (ethics, metaethics).
Placement The Department Placement Committee works closely with students finishing their PhDs to help them find good jobs. The recent external review of our graduate program notes that we have had "enviable success" on that front, as our placement record shows. Detailed information (going back to 1992) about our placement record and the dissertation topics of our graduates is available HERE. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Director of Placement, Professor Jesse Prinz, via email at: jesse@subcortex.com Financial SupportVirtually
all students receive full financial support for five years. Our
students have done very well, too, in securing national fellowships
once here. A variety of Chapel Hill fellowships and assistantships
are available, some from the Graduate School, others from the Department.
This support currently carry stipends ranging from $14,500 to $18,000.
Those who wish to be considered for fellowships from the Graduate
School should have their have their applications in by January 1.
In any case, the Department strongly recommends that applications
be postmarked by January 15, although applications postmarked after
that date may be considered. If you have any questions, please feel
free to contact the Director of Admissions, Professor Keith Simmons,
at: ksimmons@email.unc.edu.
AdmissionsInformation for those interested in applying for graduate study in
the Chapel Hill Philosophy Department is available HERE.
To request
for information about our graduate program, please click HERE (or
send a request via email using our Philosophy Department
E-Mail.) Alternatively, requests can
be sent via regular mail with letters addressed to
Prof. Keith Simmons, Director of Graduate Admissions, Research and Graduate Teaching Interests of the FacultyEpistemology -- Bar-On, Hofweber, Long, Lycan, Neta, Prinz, Resnik, Rosenberg, Sayre-McCord.History of Philosophy -- Hill, Nelson, Neta, Postema, Prinz, Reeve, Resnik, Rosenberg, Sayre-McCord, Simmons. Metaphysics -- Hofweber, Lange, Long, Lycan, Nelson, Neta, Prinz, Reeve, Resnik, Roberts, Rosenberg, Sayre-McCord, Simmons. Moral Theory and Political Philosophy -- B. Boxill, J. Boxill, Brennan, Hill, Knobe, MacLean, Nord, Postema, Reeve, Sayre-McCord, Wolf. Philosophy of Language -- Bar-On, Hofweber, Long, Lycan, Prinz, Rosenberg, Simmons. Philosophy of Mind -- Bar-On, Knobe, Long, Lycan, Neta, Prinz, Rosenberg, Simmons. Philosophy of Science -- Lange, Lycan, Nelson, Roberts, Rosenberg. |
