Philosophy, PhD

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The doctoral program consists of two stages. The first stage is that leading to admission to candidacy; the second, to the awarding of the degree. Normally the first involves at least two years of course work beyond the MA in preparation for departmental and language examinations. The second stage involves writing a dissertation and passing an oral examination in its defense. Students must attain certification for PhD candidacy—that is, fulfill all the requirements for the PhD except for the writing and oral defense of the dissertation—within four years of admission to the PhD program.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission must hold an MA degree or the equivalent in philosophy and have earned a minimum GPA of 3.3 in courses taken for the MA. Students may be required to make up deficiencies upon entry into the PhD program (see requirements for MA degree above). The GRE General Test is required of all program applicants to whom it is accessible.

Degree Requirements

To be eligible for conferral of the doctor of philosophy degree, a student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.3 while completing at least 30 credit hours of course work beyond the requirements for the MA. A minimum of 18 of these credit hours must be taken at or above the 600 level. Students are required to demonstrate competence in 1) history of Western philosophy; 2) contemporary issues; 3) metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and philosophy of science; and 4) ethics, aesthetics, social and political philosophy, and philosophy of law. Course listings made available each semester will indicate the general area or areas within which each course fits. Students are required to pass an examination in an area related to the subject matter of their prospective dissertation, to complete an original dissertation, and to pass a final oral dissertation defense. In addition, students shall demonstrate proficiency in at least one (and where deemed necessary two) philosophically significant language(s) other than English: typically classical Greek, Latin, French, German, Arabic, classical Chinese, Japanese, Sanskrit or Pali.