PREVIOUS | TABLE
OF CONTENTS | NEXT 
Programs of Study, 1997-1999
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
PHILOSOPHY
Chair of the Department: R. G. Wengert
Correspondence and Information: Inquiries and correspondence should be directed, as appropriate, either to the chair, the director of Graduate Studies, or the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, Department of Philosophy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 105 Gregory Hall, 810 South Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 333-2890. E-mail: phildept@uiuc.edu
GRADUATE FACULTY
Professors: M. W. Baron, A. Melnick, R. D. Mohr, R. L. Schacht, F. F. Schmitt, J. D. Wallace, P. G. Winch
Associate Professors: H. S. Chandler, P. Maher, T. G. McCarthy, R. J. McKim, J. McMahan, F. W. Neely, W. R. Schroeder, S. J. Wagner, R. G. Wengert
Assistant Professors: A. Hance, H. Koegler, R. A. Wilson
Emeritus Professors: C. E. Caton, B. J. Diggs, D. S. Shwayder, A. R. Turquette, F. L. Will
MASTER OF ARTS
The normal program of graduate study in philosophy is directed toward the Ph.D., but students who wish to work only for the master of arts degree may also be admitted.
Admission. The Graduate College admission requirements apply. Applicants need not have done the course work in philosophy expected of applicants to the Ph.D. program, but must show some evidence of aptitude for graduate study in philosophy. Application materials required are the same as those for the Ph.D. program.
Program Description. Students in the M.A. program may qualify for the degree by earning at least eight units of graduate credit with at least a 3.0 grade point average (A = 4.0), six of which must be earned in regular courses; by satisfying a one-year residence requirement; by submitting a substantial essay; and by passing an oral examination on this essay. (There are no area, logic, or foreign language requirements for this degree.) An M.A. degree earned in this way is usually a terminal one. Students admitted to the M.A. program may, however, petition to the department for admission to the Ph.D. program either before or upon completion of their requirements for the M.A. degree. (Students in the Ph.D. program are automatically awarded this degree when they complete the second stage of the Ph.D. program and are not required to submit the substantial essay or to pass the oral examination required for the terminal M.A. degree.) Except in very unusual circumstances, admission is only for fall.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Admission. The Graduate College admission requirements apply. In addition, applicants should have had a course in symbolic logic and general courses in the history of ancient and early modern philosophy. Students deficient in these areas may be admitted, but they are required to remedy their deficiencies by taking such courses in their first year. Applicants should also have done some course work in such central areas of philosophical inquiry as ethics and the theory of knowledge. All applications for admission must be supported by three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to comment on the applicant's aptitude for graduate study in philosophy. All applicants are also urged to take the general aptitude portion of the Graduate Record Examination and to submit their scores. They are further urged to submit a sample of their written work. International applicants whose native language is not English should take the TOEFL examination and submit their scores; a score of at least 600 is required for regular admission.
Program Description. The Ph.D. program has three stages. (1) The first stage is completed when a student has earned eight units of graduate credit or is deemed completed if the student has received a master's degree in philosophy elsewhere. (2) The second stage is completed when the student has earned eight additional units (or, having received a master's degree previously, has earned and has been allowed transfer credit for a total of 16 units) and has satisfied the preliminary examination requirement, a course distribution requirement, a foreign language requirement, and a logic requirement (see below). At least 12 of the 16 units must be earned in regularly scheduled courses and seminars, and at least 5 must be earned in seminars. (3) The third stage is completed when the student has earned another eight units of graduate credit (usually in seminars and thesis research) and has satisfied the thesis and doctoral oral examination requirements (see below). A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) is required for the Ph.D. degree. Candidates must also satisfy the Graduate College residence requirement.
Candidates need not take work in a minor field outside the department. In cases in which advanced study in philosophy would be enhanced by study in a related discipline, students may use such related course work to satisfy the credit requirements for the degree. Credit toward the satisfaction of these requirements in such cases is limited to two units. If a student wishes the work to count as an extradepartmental minor, the minimum number of units accepted is two and the maximum is four.
The department offers three main fields of concentration: (1) the history of philosophy (including recent Anglo-American philosophy and Continental philosophy); (2) the theory of knowledge (including philosophy of science and philosophy of language) and metaphysics (including philosophy of mind and philosophy of religion); and (3) ethics and value theory (including social and political philosophy and aesthetics). Students may specialize in any of these areas but must demonstrate competence in all of them. Two graduate-level courses must be taken in each of these three areas (the course distribution requirement). The two-part preliminary examination covers the latter two areas, with a knowledge of the history of philosophy to be demonstrated in each part.
Students must also demonstrate either (1) a basic reading knowledge of two of the following languages: German, French, Greek, and Latin; or (2) high proficiency in one of these languages. (Substitution of another language requires the permission of the chair of the department.) In addition, students must demonstrate competence in symbolic logic, either by passing an approved course in the subject or by passing a proficiency examination administered by the department.
There is no separate master's degree requirement for Ph.D. candidates. The M.A. degree in philosophy is automatically awarded to those who have not earned this degree previously elsewhere when they satisfy the above requirements.
After satisfying these requirements, a candidate for the Ph.D. must submit an acceptable dissertation and pass a final, oral examination on the thesis. The acceptability of the thesis is judged and the final examination administered by the candidate's doctoral committee.
Ph.D. candidates who wish simultaneously to pursue advanced degrees in other disciplines (e.g., medicine or law) are permitted to do so. (For example, see the description elsewhere in this catalog of the Medical Scholars Program.)
FINANCIAL AID
Financial aid is available to many students in the form of fellowships, assistantships, and waivers of tuition and service fees. The maximum period for which students may expect to receive financial aid is five years; exceptions may be made in some cases (e.g., when students are pursuing several advanced degrees simultaneously). Each year, the department reviews the performance of students receiving financial aid in order to determine whether their support should be continued. Students receiving transfer credit for graduate work in philosophy done elsewhere lose one semester of eligibility for financial aid for each four units of transfer credit allowed.
TOP OF PAGE