Degree Requirements for
the Ph.D. Program
- All Ph.D.
students are required to take 48 hours of course work
(16 courses) or, if entering with an M.A. in philosophy, 30 hours of course
work (10 courses).
- These courses must
include nine courses in the four major areas of the history of
philosophy:
- Ancient Philosophy: two courses.
- Medieval Philosophy: two courses.
- Modern
Philosophy: two courses.
- Contemporary Philosophy: three courses, one in “analytic”
philosophy, one in “continental” philosophy, and one in an area of
contemporary philosophy other than analytic or continental
philosophy, e.g., American philosophy or contemporary Thomism or
feminist 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. Students are encouraged to diversify the
figures and trends studied in fulfillment of the requirements. Each
semester the Director of Graduate Studies will identify those courses
satisfying each of these requirements.
- Students
entering with an M.A. will have their graduate transcripts evaluated
by the Director of Graduate Studies in order to determine which of
these course requirements have already been satisfied at the graduate
level.
- No more
than three 5000-level courses may be taken toward the satisfaction of
the 48-credit requirement for the Ph.D. Students entering with an M.A.
must take all their courses at the 6000-level or above.
- Students
must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5 in course work.
- All Ph.D.
students must demonstrate, either in course work or by departmental
exam, a reading knowledge of two languages other than English, normally
French and 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.
- All Ph.D.
students must demonstrate, either in course work or by departmental
exam, an understanding of the elements of symbolic logic. The course
satisfying the logic requirement is PHGA 5100. For more information regarding the departmental logic exam, click here.
- N.B. This following four requirements have time limits for completion. Students who fail to maintain satisfactory progress toward the degree as defined by this schedule are at risk of probation and loss of financial aid.
- All Ph.D. students must submit two papers of publishable quality 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). A
paper will be deemed publishable just in case a reader judges that it is
worthy of submission to a professional journal (click here to see the kinds of questions readers have in mind when evaluating papers). The qualifying papers
must contain a minimum of 5000 words and must not exceed 7500 words.
- The
papers are to be prepared for blind reviewing, and must include a word count on the first page of the paper. Each paper will be
read by a board of two readers chosen by the Director of Graduate
Studies. Students must receive a grade of at least High Pass from both readers on each paper. A paper will be graded High Pass just in case it is of publishable quality as defined above.
Each reader will prepare a statement regarding the strengths and
weaknesses of the paper and, if necessary, of what needs to be done to
improve the paper so that it is of publishable quality.
- If one
reader assigns a grade of High Pass (or higher) and the other
assigns a grade lower than High Pass, a third reader will be
assigned, and the student must receive a grade of High Pass (or
higher) from the third reader. Students receiving an overall grade
below High Pass on one or both papers will receive the readers’
statements regarding their papers. Students receiving an
overall grade below High Pass on one or both papers may
resubmit a revision of that paper only once for reevaluation.
- Students
receiving a grade below High Pass on any resubmitted paper will
not be allowed to continue in the program. If both papers have earned
a grade of at least Pass, the student will receive a terminal
M.A. degree.
- This
requirement must be completed by the end of the fourth
semester (second semester for students entering with an M.A. in
philosophy). This does not mean merely that the papers must be submitted by that time. Hence, students should plan accordingly and allow themselves time to revise their submitted papers and have them evaluated before the end of the fourth term. Students are strongly encouraged to have one paper completed in the first year or certainly no later than the fall semester of the second year. Students wishing to have the review of qualifying paper completed by the end of a fall semester must submit the paper by October 15 and students wishing to have the review of a qualifying paper completed by the end of a spring semester must submit the paper by March 15.
- All Ph.D.
students must develop a reading list tied to the student’s
dissertation research area broadly construed. The reading list is to be developed in
consultation with the student’s chosen mentor and approved by a
qualifying committee comprising the student’s mentor and two examiners
appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the
mentor.
- The
reading list must be both substantial and manageable, and should
include, in addition to the primary and secondary works most essential
to the dissertation research area, the most relevant works from
- One
historical area (i.e., ancient, medieval, or modern), and,
- Two
contemporary areas (i.e., analytic, continental, or some tradition
in contemporary philosophy other than analytic or continental
philosophy, e.g., American philosophy, contemporary Thomism, or
feminist philosophy).
- Students must
gain approval of the list from the qualifying committee by the end of
their fifth semester (third semester for students who enter with an
M.A. in philosophy).
- All Ph.D.
students must pass an oral qualifying examination based on the reading
list.
- The oral exam
will be administered by the qualifying committee. After the exam each
member of the committee will write a report detailing the reasons for
the grade he or she assigns. These reports must be submitted to the
Director of Graduate Studies within three days of the examination.
- Students must
earn a grade of at least High Pass on the exam by earning a
grade of High Pass or higher from at least two of the
examiners. No student receiving a grade of Fail from any
examiner can achieve an overall grade of High Pass for an exam.
Students may retake this examination no more than once, and a retake
must be completed by the end of the eighth semester (sixth semester
for students entering with an M.A. in philosophy). Students not
earning a grade of High Pass on the retake will not be allowed
to continue in the program and will receive a terminal M.A.
- Students must sit
for their qualifying exam by the end of the seventh semester (fifth
semester for students entering with an M.A. in philosophy).
- All Ph.D.
students must obtain approval of a dissertation proposal; topics for
dissertations are approved upon the student's successful defense of a
proposal before a panel of four faculty members. The dissertation
proposal will normally be defended by the end of the eighth semester
(sixth semester for students entering with an M.A. in philosophy). For more information regarding the dissertation stage, please see the departmental flyer “Departmental Guidelines for the Dissertation Proposal, the Dissertation, and the Dissertation Defense.”
- All Ph.D.
students must complete a dissertation (normally of no more than 350
pages).
- All Ph.D.
students must publicly defend the dissertation before a panel of five
faculty members, which includes the mentor and two readers and two
examiners.
(By agreement with the medieval studies program, a special
qualifying examination must be taken by doctoral students enrolled in
that program.)
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