Standard requirements for admission are an undergraduate degree with a major or minor concentration in philosophy, a strong academic record, particularly in philosophy courses, and a good performance on the Graduate Record Examinations. In addition to the items the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requires for a complete application - GRE scores, transcripts (for your convenience an unofficial transcript can be uploaded as part of your application although an official transcript will be required if you are accepted into the program), statement of purpose, and application fee - we ask you to include with your application three rather than two letters of recommendation (to be submitted electronically through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences online application system); letters from philosophers who have taught you will carry more weight than those from people outside the discipline. We also ask you to upload a sample of your philosophical writing. We urge you to choose a paper or part of a paper or thesis that shows you as a philosopher and as a potential graduate student to best advantage; a focused paper displaying your philosophical understanding, reasoning, and argumentative skills would be a good choice for this purpose. The length of the paper is your choice, but we suggest a maximum of 5000 words.
Your application must be received by December 15, 2011 in order for you to be considered for admission for the academic year 2012-2013. (N.B. This deadline is different from the one used in previous years. It is important to make sure your application is complete by the deadline, so please make sure your letter writers submit their letters by December 15th)
Specific questions about admission to the graduate program in philosophy should be sent to Paul Humphreys. (But please check the Frequently Asked Questions section of this page before doing so.)
You must apply online; the application can be found here.
You will need to register for an account, fill out the application, and
submit it electronically. All materials should be submitted
electronically, including the writing sample, which can be
uploaded
into the Image Now system.
You should also read the Graduate Admissions Catalog, which is
available on the Admissons webpage.
We do not attach decisive importance to any one factor but instead
weigh all
five sources of information present with the application: the writing
sample,
letters of recommendation, GRE scores, grades in courses (particularly
grades
in philosophy courses), and statement of purpose. A weakness in one
area can be
counter-balanced by strength in another: modest GRE scores can be made
up for
by a fine piece of writing, an ill-chosen writing sample by strong
letters and
GRE scores or grades. We are trying to form an estimate of how you will
do in a
demanding graduate philosophy program, and we look at all the evidence
available. The strength and reputation of your undergraduate college
can also
carry some weight, but we are well aware that outstanding philosophers
have
come from colleges with modest reputations. We are also looking for
evidence
that you have a deep and genuine interest in doing philosophy; you are
unlikely
to have the motivation and commitment to carry you through the
difficulties of
pursuing a philosophical career unless you have such an interest.
In recent years, the average GRE scores and GPA's of those offered
admission
have been as follows: verbal GRE, 650; quantitative GRE, 690;
undergraduate
GPA, 3.74; GPA in the major, 3.87; GPA in the final two years, 3.8. We
receive
over one hundred and fifty applications in a given year, and make
approximately
ten
offers of admission. With few exceptions, these offers come with full
financial
support consisting of tuition remission and a stipend. A new system of
financial aid is in place that provides higher levels of support for
most admitted students. It begins with those applying to enter in fall
2012.
Aside from applications to the J.D./M.A. program, we treat all
applications
as applications to the Ph.D. program and, unlike some departments, do
not
regard the M.A. as a different program with lesser qualifications
required.
Ph.D. students normally get an M.A. along the way to a Ph.D., although
some
students, if their performance falls below expectations, are not
allowed to continue past the M.A. You should not apply to our Ph.D.
program if your intention is to transfer to another program after
receiving the M.A.
The University requires a minimum TOEFL score of 600. In philosophy,
perhaps
more than in some other subjects, it is necessary to have a mastery of
English
in order to participate intelligently in seminar discussions, write
good
papers, and lead discussion sections and grade papers as a Teaching
Assistant.
Even if you want to specialize in a technical subject like logic, it is
necessary to do much work in areas that will require an understanding
of the
subtleties of the English language. For these reasons, we would like to
see a
higher score than the minimum and will in no case recommend admission
for
anyone who scores below 600. We do understand, however, that applicants
for
whom English is a foreign language cannot be expected to do as well on
the
verbal part of the GRE test as native speakers do. Indeed, we
understand that
international students, whether English-speaking or not, who are unused
to
standardized tests like the GRE's and have not been coached in
strategies for
taking them as have many American students, cannot be expected to do as
well on
them as some American students do. We make the appropriate allowances
for
this.
Admission decisions are made first, then aid decisions. Usually by March 1 offers of aid have gone out to the top applicants. Anyone offered admission by March 15 is high on the list for aid if and when it becomes available, and it becomes available only when someone initially offered it decides to go somewhere else. Across the country, the strongest applicants, at least as perceived by philosophy departments, have received a number of offers from among which they must choose. Often such decisions are not made until the first two weeks of April, at which point there are further offers, often a cascade of them, from this and other departments. Hence if you were offered admission by March 15, there is a good chance that some aid will become available.
Keep the Graduate Admissions Director informed of your interest,
preferably
by e-mail; he can tell you where you stand and what your chances are.
In late February and early March we send out acceptances to our top
applicants and rejections to those with no chance of admission. The
rest are
put on a wait-list, pending the results of our first round of offers.
We
sometimes make a few further offers of admission from the wait-list,
but not
many. The chances of financial aid for anyone on the wait-list are
slim. Again,
the Director of Graduate Admissions can tell you where you stand and
what your
prospects are. If you have a very strong interest in joining our
program, you
should let him know.
Applicants who have been accepted in the first round of admissions
offers
are invited to come to the University for a weekend in March to meet
faculty,
already enrolled graduate students, and other applicants also
considering
whether to join the program. At present, we can subsidize travel
expenses of
some of the top applicants up to $500. Any applicant is welcome to
visit the
department at any time on his or her own and will usually be able to
talk to
the admissions director, other faculty members, and graduate students,
as well
as see the facilities of the department and the University. It would be
wise to
advise the admissions director of such a visit.
The program can in principle be completed in four years, and some
students
have managed this. But we consider five years to be standard: any
student good
enough to be admitted should be capable of completing the program in
five years
of full-time work. (Obviously, part-time attendance, leaves of absence,
or
other special circumstances could extend the number of calendar years
it takes
to get the degree.) Beyond
five years, there is no presumption of
eligibility
for financial aid. Students with an M.A. in philosophy from
another
institution
are expected to complete the requirements and finish the program one
year
earlier than those who enter without an M.A.
The department has a Placement Director and Placement Committee to assist graduates in finding academic employment. Placement services include departmental compilation and mailing of student dossiers, committee review of dossiers and letters of recommendation, regular advising and placement meetings to prepare prospective job candidates, departmental representation at major philosophical conventions, mock job interviews, and financial assistance to help defray the costs of job-hunting and presenting papers at conferences. Graduate students also receive assistance in the preparation of papers for presentation and publication. (Click here to take a look at the departmental guide for job-seekers.)
Graduate teaching is taken very seriously in the department, and
almost all
graduate students will either serve as teaching assistants, teach small
courses
of their own design, or both during their time in the program. Teaching
assistants serve as discussion leaders and graders for sections of
(primarily
introductory) lecture courses. Graduate students may also submit to the
faculty
proposals for teaching small courses of their own design, either during
the
normal academic year or the summer. This way of acquiring pedogogical
experience
has proven to be a significant credential for our job seekers.
Click here to see our placement record since 1994.