The Accelerated M.A. Program

The accelerated MA program in philosophy allows academically strong philosophy majors presently enrolled in Fordham College Rose Hill and Fordham College Lincoln Center to attain both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in philosophy in five years.  Courses on the graduate level begin before completing the BA, enriching the undergraduate departmental experience and serving to distinguish graduation transcripts. The accelerated program offers financial aid to a certain extent, since by double-counting three graduate courses, the MA total tuition bill is less than it would have been otherwise.

Admission to the Program

• The program will be available to philosophy majors who have a cumulative 3.2 overall grade point average or above and at least a 3.5 in philosophy after five semesters of work in the College.
  
  
• Students who qualify will receive a description of the program and an invitation to apply from the Chair or Associate Chair of the department after grades for the Fall Semester (Junior Year) have been posted and before registration for Fall Semester (Senior Year) begins. 
  
  
• In the Spring Semester of junior year students interested in the accelerated program will be required to formally indicate their desire to matriculate by filling out an application to the graduate program and submitting it to the Graduate School Admissions Office.
  
  
• Two letters of  recommendation. 
  
  
• The application fee is waived.
  
  
• The GRE requirement is waived.  (Students admitted to the accelerated program must take the GRE if and when they apply for the doctoral program.)
  
  
• Applicants will be interviewed by the Chair or Director of Graduate Studies.
  
  
• The application will be reviewed by the department's Admissions Committee, which will make a recommendation to the Chair for or against admission to the M.A program, and the department's recommendation will be forwarded to the Graduate School for final action.

Degree Requirements

• Students admitted into the program will take three 5000-level graduate courses in their Senior Year.  The graduate courses count towards the completion of both the BA degree and the MA degree.  Students will participate in the normal BA graduation ceremonies in May following their Senior Year. 
  
  
• Students will take seven graduate courses at the 5000-level or above in the fifth year in order to complete the required 30 credit-hours (10 courses) for the M.A. degree. 
  
  
• The ten courses taken for the degree must include one course in each of the major areas of the history of philosophy: Ancient Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy; Modern Philosophy, and Contemporary Philosophy. Students should consult with their academic advisors and must obtain the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies in selecting the courses that will satisfy these requirements. Each semester the Director of Graduate Studies will identify those courses satisfying each of these requirements.
  
  
• Students must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 in course work.
  
  
• All M.A. students must submit two papers dealing with two different historical periods (ancient, medieval, modern, or contemporary) and two different thematic areas (metaphysics, epistemology, or ethics, including social and political philosophy). These papers must contain a minimum of 5000 words and must not exceed 7500 words.

• All M.A. students must demonstrate, either in course work or by departmental exam, a reading knowledge of one language other than English, normally French or German, though substitutions (e.g., Greek or Latin) may be approved in light of a student's research needs. The courses satisfying the language requirement are FRGA 5090 (French) or GEGA 5002 (German), or above.