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Chair of the Department: R. G. Wengert
105 Gregory Hall
810 South Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-2890
phildept@uiuc.edu
Graduate Degree Programs
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. For the master’s
program, applicants need not have done the coursework in philosophy
expected of applicants to the Ph.D. program, but must show some evidence
of aptitude for graduate study in philosophy. For the doctoral program,
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 coursework 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 required
to take the general aptitude portion of the Graduate Record Examination
(GRE) and to submit their scores. They are further required to submit
a sample of their written work. International applicants whose native
language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL) and submit their scores; a score of at least 600
on the paper-based test (250 on the computer-based test) is required
for regular admission.
Applicants seeking fall admission and expecting to be considered for
financial assistance should file their applications before January
15. Later applications will be considered, depending on the space
and support available. Admissions in the spring are discouraged.
Graduate Teaching Experience
Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience
in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience
in this program.
Master of Arts
Students in the master of arts program may qualify for the degree
by earning at least 32 gh of graduate credit with at least a
3.0 grade- point average (A = 4.0), 24 of which must be earned in
regularly scheduled courses (this excludes PHIL 583 and 590); 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. A master’s
degree earned in this way is usually a terminal one. Students admitted
to the master’s program may, however, petition to the department
for admission to the Ph.D. program either before or upon completion
of their requirements for the master’s degree. (Students in
the Ph.D. program are automatically awarded the master of arts 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 master’s degree.)
Doctor of Philosophy
The Ph.D. program has three stages. The first stage is completed when
a student has earned 32 gh of graduate credit or is deemed completed
if the student has received a master’s degree in philosophy
elsewhere. The second stage is completed when the student has earned
32 additional gh (or, having received a master’s degree
previously, has earned and has been allowed transfer credit for a
total of 64 gh) and has satisfied the preliminary examination requirement,
a course distribution requirement, a foreign language requirement,
and a logic requirement (see below). At least 48 of the 64 units must
be earned in regularly scheduled courses and seminars (this excludes
PHIL 583 and 599), and at least 20 must be earned in seminars. The
third stage is completed when the student has earned another 32 gh
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 coursework
to satisfy the credit requirements for the degree. Credit toward the
satisfaction of these requirements in such cases is limited to 8 gh.
If a student wishes the work to count as an extra-departmental
minor, the minimum number of gh accepted is 8 and the maximum
is 16.
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 a basic reading knowledge of two of
the following languages: German, French, Greek, and Latin. (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.
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 entering the Ph.D. program with a master’s degree in
philosophy from elsewhere lose one semester of eligibility for financial
aid for each four units of credit they have been allowed to transfer. |
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