Philosophy Major, PhD

Requirements

Students will ordinarily hold an MA with a major in philosophy or an equivalent degree when entering the PhD program. However, highly qualified applicants without an advanced degree may be admitted directly to the PhD rather than MA program if that is their preference. For students taking an MA in our department, 24 credit hours of additional graduate course work beyond those applied to the MA degree are required. For students admitted directly into the program without an advanced degree, 48 credit hours of graduate coursework are required. For those admitted with advanced degrees in other fields, the number of credit hours required will be determined by the Graduate Committee. In all cases, this does not include credit hours for work on the dissertation (PHIL 600 ) and the student’s dissertation committee may require additional course work at its discretion. See the department’s graduate student handbook for more specific requirements.

Students must normally demonstrate a reading knowledge of one living foreign language in which there exists a significant body of philosophical literature. (In special circumstances relating to the area of dissertation research, the Graduate Committee may approve a language not satisfying these conditions or the requirement of a foreign language may be waived in favor of other appropriate research skills, if approved by the Graduate Committee upon recommendation by the Director of Graduate Studies.)