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The programs in philosophy are designed to develop skill in philosophical
analysis, to enable the student to think clearly, systematically, and
independently on philosophical issues, and to achieve a thorough acquaintance
with major classics and contemporary works in philosophy. Philosophy classes
are conducted so that students may develop philosophical skills by class
discussions and by the writing of carefully directed papers.
The following is an outline of the main features of the graduate program.
For full details, please write the Department of Philosophy directly.
Graduate Degrees
The graduate program in philosophy is primarily a doctoral program. Admission
as a graduate student normally implies that, in the opinion of the department,
the student is a promising candidate for the Ph.D. degree. The Master
of Arts degree, however, may be awarded to students in the program who
desire it, and who meet the requirements specified below.
The Degree of Master of Arts
The departmental requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in addition
to the divisional requirements are as follows:
- Completion of six graduate philosophy courses with grades of B or
better. Reading and research courses do not count toward satisfying
this requirement.
- A thesis written under the direction of a faculty member and approved
by the departmental faculty or three papers written for Department of
Philosophy courses during graduate study and approved for A.M. credit.
Any other papers will have to be approved by the departmental faculty
as a whole.
The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
The divisional and University requirements for the Ph.D. degree must
be fulfilled. Departmental requirements are as follows:
Course requirements. First-year students will enroll in the first-year
seminar, a year-long course meeting four or five times a quarter and graded
on a pass-fail basis. During the first two years of study, a student must
complete twelve additional graduate courses, at least ten of which are
in the Department of Philosophy listings (excluding reading and research
courses). Four of these courses (at least three in the Department of Philosophy)
should be completed by the end of the second quarter, and ten by the end
of the fifth quarter. For a course to count toward the requirement, the
student must earn a grade of B or better in it. Among the twelve courses
there must be at least one graduate seminar in philosophy, and one course
in logic (unless the student has passed with a grade of B+ or higher a
course equivalent to or more advanced than Elementary Logic, as approved
by the logic instructor for the year). The courses in philosophy must
be chosen so as to satisfy a distribution requirement. Many, though not
all, graduate courses in philosophy are identified as belonging to one
of four fields: (I) value theory; (II) logic, philosophy of science and
mathematics; (III) metaphysics and epistemology; (IV) history of philosophy.
Students must take at least one course in each field and at least two
in each of two different fields, e.g., one in each of Fields I and III,
two in each of Fields II and IV.
Foreign language requirement. The student must pass an examination
in French, German, Latin, or Greek. Students are urged to take this examination
as soon as possible after they begin graduate study; however, it must
be completed by the end of the autumn quarter of the 4th year or before
the topical examination, whichever comes first. Departmental language
exams will be given twice a year for first- and second-year students only.
No student may take the departmental exam more than twice. Students who
have not passed a departmental language exam by the end of the second
year will be required to satisfy the Ph.D. language requirement by receiving
a “high pass” on a University language examination.
The preliminary essay. In the spring quarter of their second year
students will register for the first quarter of a three-quarter (spring,
summer, autumn) workshop for writing the preliminary essay. The workshop
will meet in the spring and autumn quarters for discussion of all aspects
of the writing of the essay and for students to present their work in
progress. By the end of the eighth week of the spring quarter at the latest
each student will submit to the director of graduate studies a proposed
topic and a ranked list of possible readers in the Department of Philosophy.
The graduate program committee will evaluate proposed topics; if the topic
is approved, the committee will form a preliminary essay committee consisting
of a director (who becomes the student’s advisor) and a second reader.
In choosing a committee, the graduate program committee will conform as
closely as possible to the student’s preferences. The criteria for
accepting a topic will be whether it is a suitable topic in philosophy,
whether a committee can be formed within the department for that topic,
and whether the student is capable of pursuing it. The committee will
supervise the writing of a 20–30 page research paper, the final draft
of which is to be submitted by the end of tenth week of the winter quarter
of the student’s third year at the latest.
Topical examination. After completing the preliminary essay, students
turn to their dissertations, working on determining a topic and a dissertation
committee. By the end of the autumn quarter of the fourth year at the
latest they should submit to the director of graduate studies a proposed
dissertation topic, along with a ranked list of potential readers. The
graduate program committee is responsible for approving the topic and
selecting a committee of three members, a director and two readers. The
dissertation committee works with the student to prepare for the topical
examination.
When the student is ready to take the topical examination, each member
of the committee is to be given a dissertation proposal and bibliography.
The proposal should be a substantive discussion of some specific problem
or issue with which the proposed dissertation will deal. The topical examination
normally consists of a two-hour oral conducted by the student’s committee.
The examination tests the student’s knowledge of the area of the
dissertation topic and competence to write a dissertation on the topic.
Students should take their topical exam by the middle of the spring quarter
of their fourth year at the latest. If they have not done so by the end
of the winter quarter of their fourth year, they should indicate in writing
to the Director of Graduate Studies when the exam is scheduled to take
place in the spring.
Admission to candidacy. A student is granted admission to candidacy
when the four requirements just described have been satisfied.
Dissertation and final oral examination. When the dissertation
committee judges that the dissertation is ready, thecommittee as a whole
requests a final oral examination. The student should submit 25 copies
of a 10-page abstract of the dissertation, and one copy of the complete
dissertation. The final oral examination, which should take place by the
end of the sixth year at the latest, can be scheduled no sooner than two
weeks from the submission of the formal request from the dissertation
committee, and the submission of materials by the candidate.
This text was last revised on 10/20/2003.
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