Program Summary

Schedule Outline

First Year:

For the M.A. in Philosophy:

For the Ph.D. in Philosophy:

To ensure the scope and comprehensiveness of a student’s philosophical training, each student is required to include in their program of studies courses distributed as follows:

For the M.A. Degree:

For the Ph.D. Degree:

PHIL 700 (Proto-Seminar) and courses taken on a reduced writing basis may not be counted toward the satisfaction of the Distribution Requirement. Additionally, PHIL 455 and 458 may not be used to satisfy a Distribution Requirement when they are also being taken to satisfy the Formal Methods Requirement (see below). A student who has substituted a more advanced logic course for the Formal Methods Requirement, however, may count the substituted course toward the satisfaction of the Logic & Philosophy of Science distribution requirement.

Formal Methods Requirement

In addition to the Distribution Requirements detailed above, students must satisfy a Formal Methods Requirement by the end of the second year of studies (unless they intend to terminate their graduate work with the M.A. degree). Students will normally satisfy the Formal Methods Requirement by passing PHIL 455 (Symbolic Logic) or 458 (Formal Techniques in Philosophy). Students entering with substantial previous training in logic may elect to substitute a more advanced logic course to satisfy the Formal Methods Requirement. Another option is to demonstrate proficiency on a Departmental Logic Placement Test before the beginning of the Fall semester of the first year. Students exercising this option must also take a more advanced logic class, which may also be counted toward satisfaction of the Distribution Requirement in Logic and Philosophy of Science.

Program for the First Year

Courses for the First Term:
Prior to registration for the first term, each student will meet with their advisor (or the Director of Graduate Studies) in order to work out a program of studies. The program should include four courses (12 hours) during the first semester of the first year of studies. One of these will be the Protoseminar (PHIL 700), a special intensive seminar for all and only first-year students. This seminar aims to develop the student’s skill in philosophical thinking in both oral presentations and written essays. Critical and constructive commentary and close faculty-student contact are standard features of the course. The Department further strongly advises, although it does not require, that an entering student plan from the outset to include courses in the history of philosophy in their program. (See the formal Distribution Requirements above.)

Courses for the Second Term:
During the second semester of the first year of studies, a student should take four regular courses (12 hours). The Department strongly advises, although it does not require, that an entering student plan from the outset to include courses in the history of philosophy in their program. (See the formal Distribution Requirements above.)

Program for the Second Year  

During the first semester of the second year of studies, a student should take three regular courses (9 hours), one of which may be the Master’s Thesis Research Course, in addition to their teaching assignment, or four courses (12 hours) if there is no teaching assignment. Courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor, with an eye to the Distribution Requirements outlined above.

Courses for the Fourth Term:
During the second semester of the second year, a student should take three courses (9 hours), including the Master’s Thesis Research Course if not previously taken in the Fall, in addition to their teaching assignment, or four courses (12 hours) if there is no teaching assignment.

The Master’s Thesis: The Department regards the writing of a Master’s thesis as a valuable part of a student’s preparation for doing professional, constructive, and creative work in philosophy. The master’s thesis should be a substantive essay of 20 to 30 typewritten pages. Two good models to keep in mind would be a high-quality, revised and polished, well-defined term paper and a sharply-focused, articulate essay in a philosophical journal.

Students will normally satisfy the Formal Methods Requirement by passing PHIL 455 (Symbolic Logic) or 458 (Formal Techniques in Philosophy) before the end of the second year of studies.

Program for the Third Year

Courses for the Fifth Term:
During the first semester of the third year, the student should take three courses (9 hours) in addition to their teaching assignment, or four courses (12 hours) if there is no teaching assignment (or approved equivalent). In either case, one course will be the pre-dissertation seminar. The remaining courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor and should contribute to completion of the Departmental Distribution Requirements.

One of these courses should be, to the extent possible, a course relating in theme and orientation to the student’s field of specialized study and the contents of its working Area Bibliography. The student’s advisor may wish to suggest a course outside the Department that is appropriate for this purpose, should no suitable courses be available among the Departmental offerings.

The second course during this semester should be used to further deepen or broaden the student’s command of some aspect of the discipline before embarking on more narrowly-focused work during the seventh and subsequent terms. In exceptional circumstances, the student’s second course during the fifth term may be a PHIL 901 (Directed Readings) course, conducted by a member of the relevant Area Subcommittee or some other suitably qualified person, the course to be devoted to study of the literature included in the student’s Area Bibliography. Students who have had the relevant introductory course(s) in a research area, however, should normally be able to complete reading the remaining parts of the selected Area Bibliography on their own. A Directed Readings course is appropriate only when a student has not completed the relevant introductory course(s), either because they have not been available during the student’s first five terms or because the student is moving into a new area of concentration.

Courses for the Sixth Term:
During the second semester of the third year, the student should take three courses (9 hours) in addition to their teaching assignment, or four courses (12 hours) if there is no teaching assignment (or approved equivalent). In either case, one course will be the pre-dissertation seminar.

Examination in the Field of Specialization: In February of the sixth term, the student will take a written examination in the field of specialization (based on the appropriate Area Bibliography).

Towards the end of the sixth term, but before the end of the semester, a student should jointly meet with the prospective director of their Ph.D. dissertation and at least one other prospective member of the committee.

Program for the Fourth Year

A student’s fourth year of study will be devoted largely to the designing and then writing of the dissertation. This should be done with the help and guidance of the dissertation director and in close consultation with the two principal readers. The student should register for one Ph.D. Dissertation Research course (3 hours) during each of the seventh and eight terms. In addition, students are strongly encouraged to audit at least one course each term and to participate actively in the academic life of the Department.

Dissertation Proposal Oral Examination: In November, the student will submit to the Department a concise dissertation proposal, including a description of the envisioned research project and a brief bibliographic survey of the principal relevant literature. An oral examination will be administered to the student by the Departmental faculty as a whole.

Program for the Fifth Year

A student’s fifth year of study will normally be largely devoted to writing, revising, and then polishing the dissertation. It is expected that the student will register for one Ph.D. Dissertation Research course (3 hours) during each of the ninth and tenth terms in order to permit access to University resources. Submission and final oral defense of Ph.D. dissertation should normally be scheduled for the tenth term, although students sometimes defer completion, submission, and oral defense of the dissertation into a sixth year.

*A full and detailed description of the program’s requirements (including a list of courses that meet various requirements), descriptions of the areas specified in the Distribution Requirements, add/drop policies, etc., can be found in the Department’s internal Handbook of the Graduate Program in Philosophy document. For Graduate School requirements, see The Graduate School Handbook.