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March 12, 2021

Life on a PhD Waitlist: Is There Anything You Can Do?

Anyone who’s been on an admission waitlist can tell you that it’s a frustrating place to be! On the other hand, the fact that the committee has waitlisted you shows that you’re very close to the top of their admit list. 

Consider the fact that your materials have been read, brought into the committee room, and heavily debated by a group of faculty in comparison with other applicant materials. The fact that you were not rejected outright means that someone on the committee advocated for you based on genuine interest in your research goals and confidence in your capacity to succeed in a PhD program. Thought it’s a painful position to be in, remember that this signal of confidence is something to celebrate! 

If you’ve been waitlisted by a PhD program, what should you know, and what can you do?

There are some important things to consider and be aware of when you’ve been waitlisted at a PhD program.

Do you want to stay on the PhD waitlist?

First, consider whether you want to stay on the waitlist. Ask yourself:

• Do you have other offers?
• Is this your top-choice school?
• Is it the only school you were waitlisted at (with rejections everywhere else)?
• Has anyone from the department reached out to you privately to express genuine interest in your research goals? 

If you definitely want to stay on the waitlist, look carefully at the correspondence you received from the program and see whether there’s anything you need to do or to let them know. For example, do you need to confirm that you want to remain on the waitlist? If so, you can take that as an opportunity to briefly affirm your interest in their program with a formally written Letter of Continued Interest that covers topics like: 

• If the program truly is your first choice and you did not demonstrate that in your application materials, now is your chance to clearly state that you would halt any other admissions processes if offered a spot in the program. 
• Furthermore, this would be a good opportunity to provide a few details about what specific aspects of the program (courses, faculty research, university resources) truly will support your concrete research goals. 

Most PhD programs aren’t interested in having a lot of contact from you, and you don’t want to turn them off by being overly chatty, so make sure that you compose a formal and efficient explanation of your continued interest in a letter that is a maximum of 1-page in length, single spaced, and in 12-point font. If you have letterhead from a current employer or university, now is the time to use it. Remember to keep your letter short and to-the-point, and certainly don’t send the committee any other unasked-for materials. Conversely, if they ask for academic updates since your application deadline, be sure that you supply them!

If a professor from the program has contacted you personally with a note expressing interest in your work or providing additional explanation about your placement on the waitlist, politely ask that professor if he or she might have time to schedule an appointment with you to discuss research interests (not your chances of admission). In a given year, professors aren’t always able to take on additional students due to personal, professional, or institutional reasons, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in your work. It can’t hurt to initiate a dialogue about your research and, if you keep the conversation to research, you have the chance to give the faculty member even more confidence in your capacity to handle academic stress with poise. Just by listening, you might also learn something about what parameters shaped the composition of the admitted cohort that were out of your control. 

The PhD notification timeline

Second, understand the timeline you’re dealing with. For most U.S. PhD programs, April 15 is the final date for accepted students to provide notification of intent to enroll. Schools require a commitment from admitted students by that deadline in order to fill their cohort. If there’s movement off the waitlist, you can expect to hear something as April 15 approaches (and even slightly afterward) as the department solidifies its final list of incoming PhD students.

Another thing to keep in mind: if you’ve received notification that you’re on a waitlist, you’re dealing with a program that is at least being transparent about its waitlisting procedures. In many cases, you could be on a waitlist and not even know it. Most programs start letting admitted and rejected students know their status in late February or early March, but as they wait to learn which admitted students will say yes or no, the process lasts until mid-April or later. 

Many schools will rank candidates below their “admit” list, but not send a notification of any kind unless a space opens up – in other words, you might not hear anything at all from the school until they determine, in April, whether they have space for you. (Talk about frustrating!) Schools that do this will send their final rejection notifications in April, too.

If you’re on the waitlist and you haven’t heard anything as April 15 approaches, you can consider contacting the admissions chair to ask what your rank is on the waitlist – that will give you a clearer picture of whether you have a realistic chance.

Financial Implications of the PhD waitlist

Third, consider whether there would be any financial aid or funding implications to being admitted to a program late (if you do decide to remain on the waitlist and are admitted). Some programs may have distributed all of their fellowship funds early to students at the top of their list. If you are in a position to accept a spot in the cohort without funding, it is worth mentioning this in your letter of continued interest. Many universities will only admit the number of PhD students for whom they can guarantee a five-year funding package, which includes teaching appointments. However, if the committee knows that you are willing to pay for the degree on your own or have secured extramural grants to support your research, they may open an additional space in their cohort. As you progress through the degree, you can search for additional teaching opportunities and grant applications to support you. 

Bottom line

Unfortunately, being on the waitlist does require some patience, but the fact that you’re waitlisted at a very competitive program means that your application is strong, and that the admissions cycle isn’t over yet. And of course, if you aren’t admitted in the final stages of the cycle but you’re certain that the PhD is your path, keep in mind that the doctoral degree is just the beginning of a lifelong research career. If you were placed on the waitlist, that means the committee believed you were qualified for the degree. Though aspects of the admissions process over which you have no control (like the candidate pool, annual funding, availability of certain advisors, or institutional parameters) may have knocked you out of the running this year, those variables are not likely to be the same next year.  

Do you need help making sense of your waitlist status and determining your next admissions move? Accepted’s expert advisors can help you with that (and with any other element of your PhD application). Check out our Waitlist Services for more information on how we can help you get ACCEPTED.

Related Resources:

• Plotting Your Way to a PhD: 8 Topics in PhD Admissions , a free guide
• How to Be a Competitive PhD Applicant and Apply to the Best Programs for You
• Your Guide to Getting off the Waitlist in 2021

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• Requirements for our PhD Program
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The online application is usually available starting in early September. But there's no strategic advantage to applying early; we review all our applications at the same time. Just make sure all your materials get to us by January 7 if you are applying for the PhD program.

The application is accessible online. The deadline for PhD admissions is January 7 (or the first business day after that), and the application must be submitted online . There is an application fee . (Some students in special circumstances are eligible for a fee waiver .)

One part of your application is the online form. In addition to the form, you will also submit several kinds of supporting material. 

You will be asked to provide:

A 1-2 page statement of academic purpose, describing past and present work as it relates to your intended field of study, and anything unusual we should know when evaluating your application.

The application will also prompt you to submit an optional personal history statement. The personal history statement is truly optional. If you do feel that there is information relevant to your application, a brief paragraph will normally suffice. It will not be held against you if you choose not to include a personal history statement.

A CV or resume

A writing sample

This should be an example of polished, substantive philosophical writing. It should display your philosophical abilities at their strongest, and will need to manifest analytical skills on a par with students already in our program. It may be the most important part of your application. A reasonable length for this is 20-25 double-spaced pages. Some applicants submit more than one writing sample; this is alright if, for example, they display very different aspects of your philosophical capacities (for example, a paper in philosophical logic and one in ancient philosophy). If they don't, we'll most likely only look at one of the papers submitted. Short 10-page papers of the sort written for a class or a tutorial rarely show us enough of a candidate's ability to be successful, and sending several of these is no better. Applications to our PhD program are intensely competitive. You're best off taking extra time to select your best philosophical work and develop it into a mature, interesting piece of writing.

Sometimes students send us sections of longer pieces of writing; this is ok in principle but what you submit should be self-contained and should be enough on its own for us to reliably evaluate you.

To enable anonymous review, author's name and other identifying information should not be included in the writing sample.

Transcripts

You are strongly encouraged to scan and submit these electronically when you submit your application (with English translations, if needed). Unofficial transcripts are acceptable but if you are admitted, you will have to submit final and official paper copies of your transcripts later.

If your school is in the US, and your GPA is not shown on the transcript, you'll need to calculate it and supply it in the application.

Here are further instructions and FAQs about transcripts.

We ask that you include all of these documents as part of your online application. 

The GRE general test is optional for the upcoming 2023-2024 cycle only. We will consider GRE test scores if they are submitted.

Either the TOEFL or the IELTS is required of all applicants who are not native English speakers or who do not have a bachelor's or master's degree from an institution where the language of instruction is English.

Finally, you'll need to ask several faculty who know you well to submit letters of recommendation to us. We ask for three letters; you can provide up to five if there are special reasons for doing so. Here are further details about letters.

In accordance with GSAS policy, we do not accept letters of recommendation from credentials services, such as Interfolio. Please have your references upload their letters directly to the online application. Additionally, we do not accept any other documents through Interfolio and other services. The statement of academic purpose should be included in your online application and not sent through them. Transcripts and translations should be uploaded to your online application, as well.

Weaker GREs or grades do not decisively exclude a candidate. Coming from a lesser-known school is not much of a handicap, if other parts of the application are strong. Letters from philosophers (or faculty in affiliated departments) are much more useful to us than any other sort of letter. Finally, the writing sample is what you have most control over.

As a matter of policy, we cannot go into further details about what makes an application successful, or how to improve your application.

In order to enroll in the Graduate School of Arts & Science (GSAS), you must have received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college or university of acceptable standing. (In some countries, the equivalent degree is there called a "masters" degree.) It is not formally required that your bachelor's degree have been in philosophy. However, your application won't be successful unless we can see you have a comparable level of preparation.

There is no requirement to have done (what in the US we call) a master's degree—in some places, these are called "MPhil" or "BPhil" or "MLitt" degrees—before applying to our PhD program. You can apply directly to the PhD, and many of our applicants do. However many others, especially those with thinner undergraduate backgrounds in philosophy, have done some master's work.

If you think your background and preparation in philosophy aren't strong enough yet to get you into a competitive PhD program, doing a masters degree can help strengthen your application for the PhD. Not because we're impressed you've done the extra degree, but because it puts you in a position to give us a stronger writing sample, and gives more faculty the opportunity to see you doing advanced work, and write more useful letters of recommendation.

Some students without much formal training in philosophy have been extraordinarily talented at it and have been able to demonstrate this to admissions committees: for example, by writing papers of publishable quality. However, the overwhelming majority of untrained students aren't yet ready to enter competitive PhD programs.

Not at all. We often encourage our own students to do just this. It often gives people better lives, and makes them more ready for grad school when they get to it. At the same time, though, when you do apply we'll want to see that you've actively and recently been doing work of the sort our grad students do. If you've been outside of academia for a while, you'll need to find other ways to do that.

No, I'm sorry, we can't make specific such judgments until we formally review your application. And even if we could, we can't give feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of individual applications.

For these and other international student questions, view the FAQs for international student applicants .

The TOEFL or IELTS test is required of all applicants who are not native English speakers. The TOEFL/IELTS requirement is waived if you will have completed a bachelor or master's degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English. You don't need to do anything to inform the grad school that you're eligible for this waiver; they can determine that from your regular application materials.

For further details, review the GSAS Application Instructions  and the GSAS Testing Requirements FAQs .

The graduate school requires official test scores, sent to them directly from the GRE, TOEFL, or IELTS programs. Have them sent to New York University—GSAS, code 2596. The TOEFL requires you to list a department code; you should select the code that is most appropriate for your field of study. You may also use code 99. However, do not use code 00—we will not receive your test scores if you report 00 as the TOEFL department code. Also, do not leave the field blank. If you do, it will become code 00 and we will not receive your test scores. For IELTS scores, they must be sent directly to New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York ,NY. No code is needed for IELTS.

Often there are constraints on when you'll be able to take the GRE and TOEFL tests. You should schedule them early in the fall. Every year, some students end up scheduling them too late and then email us frantically asking what exceptions we can make for them. There's little we can do. If your test scores won't reach us until (shortly) after the application deadline, then self-report the scores on your application, or email them to us as soon as they are available. However, we may have already set your application aside as incomplete; and we make no promises to go back and reconsider it. Also, the grad school must receive your official test scores by the time we make our final decisions, or we won't be permitted to make you an offer.

We see all of your scores.

Please don't do this. It turns out to be a huge amount of work for us and for the grad school. These are things that DON'T justify sending us any update or new material:

• you accidentally sent us the statement of academic purpose that was addressed to Columbia
• your paper which was under consideration for ... has now been accepted, and you want to update your CV
• you have a newer draft of your writing sample, or you accidentally sent one that left out a few changes

If you have some more compelling reason to update your application, then you can email [email protected] .

GES gets applications to us, and we begin reviewing them, in mid-January. We make no promises whatsoever to include materials submitted late in our review.

Please review your Application Status Page which has a checklist of the various parts of the application and whether we have received them or not.

Philosophy gets over 300 PhD applications each year, and are typically permitted to make fewer than 10 first-round offers, plus a small number of second-round offers, aiming to get an entering class of 4-8 students. This means we accept around 3% or fewer of our applicants. For comparison, Yale Law School's acceptance rate is around 7%, and Harvard Law School's acceptance rate is around 11%.

We aim to make all our admissions decisions by the end of the second full week of March.  Our admissions decision must be finalized with the Graduate School before applicants are informed whether their application was successful, a process which may take up to another week after the decisions have been made.  Graduate School policy does not permit us to answer individual queries about decisions.

If you're worried that an announcement hasn't reached you, the best thing you can do is make sure you update us with changes to your email address. Do so by writing  [email protected] .

There are websites where applicants say what schools they've heard decisions from. Sometimes there are phony reports of NYU decisions on these sites. I don't know why. We will attempt to get our real decisions to you as soon as we can. Decisions are not available by phone.

As stated above, we get many excellent applications and can only extend offers to a small handful of them. Many strong applications are unsuccessful. As a matter of policy, we are not permitted to discuss details regarding individual decisions.

No. The application and all materials submitted to the Graduate School become the property of NYU and will not be returned under any circumstances.

Only your GRE scores (retained for five years) and TOEFL/IELTS scores (retained for two years). Review the FAQ for Re-applying for Admission .

If you are applying for the dual-degree JD/PhD program, you need to apply separately to both NYU Philosophy and NYU Law School. Each program's decisions are made independently, on the basis of their usual standards, and they do not share application materials. The cooperative nature of the program consists in your being able to use certain coursework to satisfy some requirements simultaneously. (Here are more details .) If you're accepted to both programs, we'll gladly discuss this all further, and put you in touch with some other students who have pursued this dual-degree program. As stated above, LSAT scores cannot be substituted for the graduate school's GRE requirement.

Admission to a dual-degree program is contingent on acceptance by both programs. If one does not accept you, the other may at its discretion consider you for admission to that individual program.

Apart from dual-degree programs, GSAS policy permits students to apply for only a single program and degree in a given year. Review the policy around multiple applications .

Exceptions: Students who apply to the Philosophy PhD program and are unsuccessful can ask to be considered for the MA programs in  Bioethics , or the interdisciplinary Center for Experimental Humanities . To arrange this, let Graduate Enrollment Services (GES, they are GSAS's admissions office) know as soon as possible after getting the PhD decision. They will instruct you how to proceed.

You are allowed to apply simultaneously to multiple programs at NYU if they are in different schools, such as GSAS and Steinhardt.

Students tend to take from 5 to 7 years.

All our PhD offers come with the same standard financial aid package. No separate application is required. We will discuss the details with you when we extend an offer.

If you've won an external fellowship, be sure to let us know; this will affect the details of your financial aid.

Typically our students are able to support themselves in modest shared housing on the fellowships we offer. They don't need to take out educational loans. Opportunities for teaching are available and compensation is in addition to the fellowship offer. The terms of the fellowship (as well as student visas for international students) severely constrain your eligibility for other employment.

The university has a subsidized student housing program for first-year PhD students. Details about this will be supplied in your offer letter.

Most US graduate programs, including NYU, have signed the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution.

This promises that admitted students with financial aid offers aren't required to accept the offer before April 15 (or a later date if specified in your offer letter). However, if you're able to make a decision earlier, you are encouraged to do so. This helps students on our waiting list, and helps us better create the incoming class. But it is your privilege to take until the deadline, if you need to.

If you do accept an offer before April 15, you are allowed to cancel the acceptance at any time until April 15.

After April 15, you cannot accept an offer from another school (school #2), without first obtaining a written release from the school you originally accepted (school #1). And school #2 cannot offer you financial aid except conditional on your supplying that written release from school #1.

You can notify us by email of your decision to accept or decline our offer, but you must also follow the instructions in your offer letter, and (if you're accepting) submit a tuition deposit. The details will be spelled out in your offer letter.

In some circumstances this is possible. You have to petition for it, and your reasons for deferring should be academic.

Here are the departmental rules .

We are willing to consider applications from students seeking to transfer from other PhD programs. However, we make offers only to the most exceptional of these; our expectations are much higher than for beginning students.

Our PhD students can get some course credit for graduate-level work done previously (whether in a degree program or not). Generally this will be for up to two courses, and will be subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies. Please wait until we've made our admissions offers before asking us to pronounce about your individual circumstances.

Even if you don't get course credit for work done previously, you are welcome to use that work as a seed for work you'd submit here, either for a seminar or for an independent study you arrange with a member of our faculty.

Other local philosophy departments: sure! Sometimes, someone at NYU will have to nominally oversee your participation in the outside course, and approve the grade. But in practice, this doesn't make much difference.

Other departments at NYU: sure, if it's relevant to your philosophical studies. (Otherwise, your fellowship doesn't pay the tuition, and we wouldn't count it towards your degree.) In recent years, our students have attended courses in the Law School, and the linguistics, psychology, math, and physics departments. There are also some programs for language study, in NY or abroad; though this also has to be relevant to your studies, and in practice our students don't have to satisfy a separate language requirement.

One of the requirements of our PhD program is that 9 out of the 11 required courses be taken in the NYU Philosophy department (courses cross-listed in other departments count for these purposes). It's common to audit courses at other departments, even when one doesn't take them for credit.

Our PhD students do coursework for two years and only decide on their dissertation topic during their third year. A dissertation committee is formed at that time. We assign supervisors during your first years in the program, but this is just someone who talks to you about program requirements, problems you're having, and so on. There's no reason for it to be someone who's directly related to your research interests.

There is no general language requirement for the Ph.D. Language proficiency may be required for specialized research in particular areas (e.g., ancient philosophy) or topics (e.g., Kant).

See our placement record .

See our course listings .

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The  Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy , published biennially until the early 2000s, was relaunched in 2012 as an annual online resource. The guide compiles data on both doctoral and master’s degree programs in philosophy at institutions throughout the US and Canada, offering prospective students, job candidates, and other members of the profession a rich resource on post-graduate education and employment in philosophy. 

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The Department of Philosophy Graduate Program welcomes applications from talented domestic and international applicants of all identities and backgrounds.

Our admissions process is competitive. Please read all of the information below prior to planning your application. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Thinking of Applying?

Please start by reading about our Graduate Program , and exploring our department website. This should help you decide whether our program might be a good fit for you.

Next, read all of the information here and on the linked pages below in order to determine how much time you will need to prepare your application documents and obtain outside materials like letters of recommendation and official test scores.

Application Deadline

The deadline for applying is always the first business day following January 1. Newly admitted cohorts begin in the Autumn of the year of admission.

The next application deadline is January 2, 2025 . All required materials must be submitted by this date. Please review the Application Instructions well in advance to ensure you have enough time to take any required exams and have recommenders submit letters to your online application. The application portal can be found here .

Note: If you wish to apply for an application fee waiver along with your application, you must submit your application at least 7 days prior to the application deadline.

Admissions Criteria

All applicants must meet the admissions requirements of both the Graduate School and the Department to be considered.

Graduate School Minimum Requirements

The Graduate School requires that all applicants to graduate degree programs meet minimum requirements in:

For details on these requirements see Understanding the Application Process . International applicants should also carefully review International Applicant Information .

English Language Requirement

Our program is language-heavy and includes not only reading and writing in academic English, but teaching philosophy to undergraduate students in English. In order to be considered, all applicants must meet English language requirements at the time of application.

Native English speakers automatically meet the English language requirement.

Non-native English speakers must meet requirements of both:

• Policy 3.2: English Language Proficiency Requirements (at the recommended score level, if meeting via TOEFL); AND
• Policy 5.2: Conditions of Appointment for TAs who are not Native Speakers of English

For the purpose of the Philosophy graduate application, this means that non-native English speakers can meet the English language requirement in either of the following ways:

Hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution in the United States, or hold a bachelor’s degree from an institution in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, or the United Kingdom, where English is the medium of instruction. While enrolled at the degree-granting school, the student must be in residence on campus. (Note: A master’s degree does not satisfy this requirement) .

Submit TOEFL iBT speaking score of 26 or higher and with total score of 92 or higher .

Department of Philosophy Criteria

The Department of Philosophy considers all of the following factors holistically in the review of applications:

• Philosophical potential displayed in the articulation and breadth of the writing sample
• Letters of recommendation
• Information conveyed in the applicant’s Statement of Purpose
• Previous academic record (philosophy coursework in particular) – We do not strictly require that applicants have a previous degree in philosophy; however, applicants must have some record of academic training in philosophy in order for the application to be evaluated (many of our admitted students did have a previous B.A. and/or M.A. in philosophy)

Note :  UW Philosophy no longer requires GRE scores to apply to the PhD program. Applicants who have taken the GRE may submit their scores.

Review the Philosophy Graduate Program Application Instructions for details on how to prepare and submit these application materials.

Financing Your Graduate Education

Offers of departmental funding packages are included in offers of admission.  For detailed information on department funding packages and other types of funding opportunities, please see Graduate Funding .

Application Procedure

Ready to apply? All graduate applications at the University of Washington are submitted online through the Graduate School. Please note:  The UW Graduate School online application is  not  associated with Interfolio.

We recommend starting your application early to familiarize yourself with the requirements and to leave plenty of time to request test scores and for letters of recommendation to come in and be attached to your account prior to the application deadline. You can log in an update different parts of your application as many times as you want prior to submitting it.

• Go to Application for Graduate Study at the University of Washington . Create an applicant profile and start a new application. You can save your application progress and return at any time to continue working.
• Prepare application materials, request letters of recommendation, and order official test scores per the Application Instructions .
• Submit your application and pay the application fee before the deadline.

Log back in to monitor the progress of your application.

Application Fee

The Graduate School charges a fee of $85 (USD) to apply.

Application Fee Waivers

Eligibility for application fee waivers is determined based on financial need or participation in the McNair Scholars or PPIA Fellows program. (You can find more information about eligibility on this page .) You can apply for a waiver through the UW graduate application portal.

Admissions Timeline

The admissions committee begins reviewing all applications shortly after the January deadline.

Admissions decisions are made in late February/early March.

Applicants placed on the admission wait list will be notified as their status changes, up to the April 15 acceptance deadline.

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PhD Admissions

How to Apply

General admissions information.

There is only one application round for our PhD program in Philosophy each year; c ompleted PhD applications are due on Thursday, December 14 . The Application for Admission and Financial Aid, with instructions, deadlines, and department-specific information, is administered through the divisional Office of the Dean of Students and is available is available online .

Questions pertaining to admissions and aid should be directed to [email protected] or (773) 702-1552. All correspondence and materials sent in support of applications should be mailed to:

The University of Chicago Division of the Humanities Walker, Suite 111 1115 East 58th Street Chicago, IL 60637

Online Application

Application facts (selected).

• The Department of Philosophy receives around 200-250 graduate applications per year from highly qualified applicants.
• We offer admission with the same full fellowship support package to about 5-10 applicants per year. 
• All faculty are intensively involved in the selection process (a four-phase process involving an admission committee and a full faculty vetting of the 30-40 most qualified candidates).
• The Department of Philosophy does not admit students who seek only a master’s degree, but, like all humanities departments here, we customarily refer a select group of qualified applicants to the University's Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH). (See below in this section for details.)
• Applicants will be notified of the results of their application for admission, at the latest, in early March.

Eligibility for the PhD Program

• A bachelors degree (or equivalent) is required to matriculate in our PhD program, although students needn't have finished that degree at the time of application.
• Some applicants may already have (or are working toward) master’s degree in Philosophy; note, however, that this is neither an asset nor a liability in the application process.
• Some applicants may be (or may have been) undergraduate majors in Philosophy; other applicants who weren't officially Philosophy majors should have significant background in philosophy (evinced by having at least taken a number of philosophy courses).
• Overall, what we care about is the applicant's aptitude for philosophy and readiness for graduate-level work.
• Scholars with a PhD in Philosophy from another program are not eligible to apply.

The Required Elements of the Application

In addition to the standard Division of Humanities forms and application fee, a complete application to the Department of Philosophy will include:

• A one-page, single-spaced personal statement outlining your philosophical interests and goals, and your reasons for wanting to pursue them at the University of Chicago;
• Up-to-date transcripts of all your post-secondary school education;
• All applicants for whom English is not a primary language may be required to submit current scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Current scores are no more than two years old at the time of application submission. Here is a complete description of the English proficiency policy , and questions about the English proficiency requirement should be directed to [email protected] .
• Three or four confidential letters of recommendation from people who are in a position to comment on your philosophical background and ability;
• A recent sample of your philosophical written work; and
• Official Graduate Record Examination scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytic writing sent by ETS). NOTE: sending GRE scores is an optional part of the application.

All of the above should be in English, or accompanied by English translations. It is particularly important for non-native speakers to demonstrate their competence to read, write, and participate in class discussions in English. Your writing sample and personal statement must be written by you, in English.

In some years, a few of the final candidates for PhD admissions spots may have a brief, exploratory Skype interview with departmental faculty members.

Advice about the Required Elements of the Application

A. the writing sample.

All of the components of your application are important and will receive careful scrutiny by our graduate admissions committee. The single most important credential in your application, however, is your writing sample, for it provides the best direct indicator of your ability to do first-rate graduate work in philosophy. The rest of the application provides the broader context within which we evaluate the writing sample, but note that we are unlikely to admit an applicant if one of the other components of their application raises ground for concern regarding their ability to succeed in graduate school. Note: Please do not put any identifying information on your writing sample. At a later point in the admissions process, some of these essays are read "anonymously" by faculty.

Selecting a Writing Sample:

• Your writing sample should provide the best possible demonstration of your philosophical writing and reasoning abilities. In general, the more perspicuous the overall structure of your writing sample is—the more clearly it displays how each of its parts contributes to the argument of the whole—the better it will serve as a credential for admission to our graduate program.
• Most often, a writing sample is a term paper written for a philosophy course—one that reflects your interests, that you put a lot of work into, that you did well on, and, above all, that you're proud of. Nonetheless, you should also consider selecting a sample that is devoted to a topic that is not overly esoteric, for your writing sample must be understood and positively evaluated by a wide range of members of our faculty.
• As for the length of the writing sample, a paper of around 20 pages is plenty; we're interested in quality, not quantity. An 8-10 page paper, by contrast, is almost always too short to give much of an indication of how a person thinks. If you are excerpting a writing sample from a longer course term paper, you may want to add some paragraphs (1) at the beginning of the paper to provide an overview of the paper’s philosophical interest or (2) at the end of paper to explain clearly what you have accomplished and why it is original.
• Sometimes, students want to submit a senior thesis (or even a MA thesis) running 50 or more pages. And, if that's your best work, then that is what you should send. But you should then also give us some guidance as to what part or parts of it (totaling 20-25 pages, say) we should examine carefully (or, at least, look at first).  
• It may be that you have more than one major philosophical interest. If so, it might be appropriate to submit up to two writing samples along with a cover note providing some guidance to the readers.

B. Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are important, but letters from faculty members who are not professors of philosophy will in general not be of much assistance to us in our efforts to assess your credentials as a candidate for our PhD program. Ideally, your application should contain at least three letters from professional philosophers. Any further letters from other teachers of yours included in your application dossier should therefore always be in addition to, not instead of, letters from philosophers. What we look for from the writers of your letters of recommendation is a candid and detailed evaluation of your philosophical abilities and accomplishments and an informed prognosis of your likelihood of succeeding in a top-notch philosophy PhD program. Far more important than the recommender’s professional stature or philosophical fame is the degree to which he or she knows you well and can provide a vivid portrait of your philosophical personality and a detailed account of your philosophical work to date.

C. The Personal Statement

The personal statement is not, strictly speaking, an admissions credential and it is not the place to cram in additional evidence of your philosophical ability. It should focus succinctly on facts about the philosophical work you have done to date, your primary philosophical interests and goals going forward in the future, and your reasons for thinking that the University of Chicago might be a good place to pursue them. In addition, if there is anything unusual about your philosophical trajectory or academic career that you think we should know, your personal statement is the place to provide that information. In particular, if there are significant portions of time during which you have not been enrolled as a student, we would appreciate a brief indication of what you were doing during those times.

D. Transcripts

We cannot enroll you without up-to-date transcripts of all your post-secondary school education: no such transcript may be omitted from your application. If you are applying from another country and you anticipate that we might have difficulty deciphering your transcript(s), then any additional guidance with which you, or especially your recommenders, can provide us in interpreting your transcript will be appreciated. Please contact Michael Beetley in the Humanities Dean of Students Office if you have any questions about transcripts.

E. GRE Exams and GPAs

Official documentation of your general Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores with your application are optional for the application. We do not require (or take into account) any subject tests. For those who have taken multiple GREs: our policy is to look at an applicant's best scores for each section of the test and to throw out the lower scores. Note to applicants: Over the years, we have found that undergraduate grades, especially those in philosophy courses, are a somewhat better indication of philosophical potential than GRE scores. The average GPA in philosophy for our recent admitted students has been about 3.9 (out of 4). The analogous GRE averages are 710 verbal, 740 quantitative, and 5.5 analytic writing.

F. TOEFL Exam

In evaluating the GRE scores of applicants, we make allowance that these examinations are more difficult for non-native speakers of English. For this reason, it is all the more imperative that non-native speakers of English take the TOEFL exam, if they are not in a position to supply us with academic transcripts from an English-language college or university located in an anglophone country. The University has information regarding what counts as acceptable TOEFL scores for consideration for admission in Philosophy (see Humanities Division standards) .

Hearing Back from Us about Your Application

While curiosity is natural, as a general rule, please do not inquire about admissions decisions in February. There are a number of reasons why we won't be able to let you know the decision prior to the second week in March, most of which are out of our control (please be patient!). Of course, if you have some special reason for concern about your application, please feel free to contact us.

Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) Referrals

We refer some promising applicants who have genuine potential for success in graduate school but whom we are not able to admit to our PhD program to the  Masters of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH) , which is a standalone Masters in Humanities program run through the Division of Humanities here. So if you are not admitted to our PhD program, you may be contacted by MAPH about your possible interest in enrolling in that program. (Note: if you already have an MA or a PhD in Philosophy, then you are not eligible for this program.)

Enrolling in MAPH, taking numerous graduate philosophy courses, and concentrating on philosophical academic work is an excellent option for students who are not admitted to a prestigious philosophy PhD program in their first attempt. We look for students whose intellectual interests and future applications to PhD programs would benefit from the intensive and rigorous one-year MAPH program.

If you are admitted to the MAPH program, we strongly urge you to visit our campus in order to learn more about the opportunities for students in the MAPH program and to meet the MAPH administrators, the MAPH Philosophy preceptors, and selected departmental faculty members.

MAPH Program Website

Campus Visits

Prospective graduate students who have been notified that they have been admitted to our PhD program are strongly encouraged at that point to make a campus visit before they accept our offer of admission. A campus visit serves its real purpose best if you learn things about the department that you couldn’t find out reliably merely through word of mouth or simply by perusing the departmental website—things such as the real character of the intellectual atmosphere of the graduate program, the accessibility of the faculty, the nature and depth of philosophical discussion in seminars and workshops, the sort of quality and care which goes into dissertation supervision, and the extent to which graduate students in the program are excited by the education which they are receiving. Since these are not things that are easily gleaned in a brief and superficial visit, you should also consider being selective in the number of PhD programs you visit.

If you are admitted to the PhD program, we will contact you, possibly as soon as early February, to inform you of our offer of admission and the timing for our visiting week, which usually occurs during the first week of our Spring Quarter . For your visit at UChicago, we will (1) schedule individual appointments for you with numerous faculty members and (2) arrange a number of activities for you together with some of our current graduate students and other prospective students in your cohort. Finally, we will encourage you to attend some seminars and workshops. We will pay for (or heavily subsidize) your transportation to Chicago and arrange for you to stay with one of our current PhD students.

Note: Prospective students are also discouraged from making a campus visit prior to their having been officially admitted to our PhD program. It is simply not feasible for faculty to meet personally with the many individuals interested in our department. While your application is under consideration, you should feel free to peruse our detailed website and to contact one or more current PhD students whose interests overlap with yours to find out more about whether our graduate program fits your interests. Our students are happy to answer your questions.

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2024-2025 Graduate Course Catalog Director of Graduate Studies 541 Hall of Languages 315-443-5827 Luvell Anderson, Kenneth Baynes, Frederick C. Beiser, Ben Bradley, Janice Dowell, Kevan Edwards, Verena Erlenbusch-Anderson, Samuel Gorovitz, Mark Heller,  Karin Nisenbaum, Christopher Noble, Hille Paakkunainen, Kara Richardson, Michael Rieppel, David Sobel, Robert Van Gulick The graduate program in philosophy offers study in the core areas of Anglo-American philosophy. It also offers work on the thought of some of the major figures of the history of philosophy, e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Leibniz, Spinoza, Descartes, and Kant. The department believes that each student’s education should include some study of the history of philosophy whether or not the student’s interests are primarily historical. The program is designed to prepare students both to teach philosophy and to contribute to the advance of philosophical inquiry. There are generally 28 full-time philosophy graduate students in residence at Syracuse. Most full-time students in the Ph.D. program are awarded financial assistance in the form of a teaching assistantship, a fellowship, or a tuition scholarship. Student Learning Outcomes 1. Write with a good degree of clarity, precision, and organization 2. Have a broad understanding of, and ability to explain clearly, an important philosophical problem and its history 3. Demonstrate familiarity with a large amount of philosophical literature relevant to their topic of study 4. Have a good ability to critically evaluate philosophical theories and arguments Ph.D. in Philosophy A total of 63 credits of graduate work are required for the Ph.D. in Philosophy. Of these, 18 credits must be devoted to a doctoral dissertation which is a book-length work of scholarly research and 45 credits (15 3-credit courses) must be devoted to coursework, as specified below. For students entering with prior graduate work, no more than six credits of coursework may be transferred at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. Required proseminars: The following three writing-intensive proseminars must be taken in the first three semesters. There will be a minimum grade requirement of B; students may retake a course at most once; incompletes will be awarded only in the event of a genuine emergency. One proseminar may be waived at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies based on prior graduate work. Each proseminar will focus on at least two major philosophical problems and will require students to read at least three major philosophers. Each proseminar will require several (5-6) short papers, and one longer paper which is revised by the student at least once following peer- and faculty-review. PHI 617 - Proseminar:History of Philosophy 3 credit(s) PHI 693 - Proseminar: Moral and Political Philosophy 3 credit(s) PHI 687 - Proseminar: Language, Epistemology, Mind and Metaphysics 3 credit(s) Additional Information A full description of the Ph.D. requirements can be found on the departmental web site Programs in Philosophy and Law The Philosophy Department joins with the College of Law in offering an opportunity to pursue the J.D./M.A. Philosophy or the J.D./Ph.D. Philosophy degrees at the same time. See the departmental web site at http://philosophy.syr.edu/GradStudiesinfo.htm for a more detailed description of these programs. 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The Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy, published biennially until the early 2000s, was relaunched in 2012 as an annual online resource. It is now a continuously updated website. The guide compiles data on both doctoral and master’s degree programs in philosophy at institutions throughout the US and Canada, offering prospective students, job candidates, and other members of the profession a rich resource on post-graduate education and employment in philosophy. This year’s guide has been expanded to include more demographic data on each program as well as information on faculty, degree requirements, entry requirements, financial aid, placements, and more. All data in the guide are self-reported by representatives of the institutions. The Grad Guide is a useful starting point for prospective graduate students and job candidates, but the APA recommends additional consultation with advisers and people directly involved with programs of interest. Further, as all information in the guide is self-reported by representatives of the institutions, readers should examine the data closely to ensure that any comparisons are made in a fair and reasonable manner. Please note that the APA does not rank philosophy programs or institutions. In the survey that underlies the 2013 edition, we requested information on race and LGBT status of students and faculty. We thank the APA Committee on the Status of Women for providing the demographic data survey instrument that was incorporated into the Grad Guide survey. There is no widely accepted standard for collecting such data, however, and the availability and thoroughness of data varies greatly. Some schools do not (or cannot) track this information. For these reasons, we provide the data we received with the understanding that this data should not be used for quantitative evaluation of the diversity of programs or institutions. Though the demographic information is inconsistent, it is included in the Grad Guide because collecting and providing these data supports ongoing efforts to increase the diversity of the profession by making existing information more widely available and raising awareness about the need for additional data on diversity. We continue to collect as much demographic data as possible at the . If your institution is not included in the guide and would like to be, if you would like to report errors or inconsistencies in the data, or if you have suggestions for future editions of the Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy, please submit a . If you have trouble downloading the Grad Guide by clicking on the download link above, you may need to save the file before you open it. To do this, right-click the link and select the option to save the file ("Save link as..., Save target as..., etc.).  Remember Me 4/1/2024 » 6/30/2024 APA Departmental Services Program (DSP) Renewal Period 6/30/2024 Nomination deadline for the 2024 APA/PDC Prize 6/30/2024 Application deadline for Diversity & Inclusiveness and Small Grant funding 6/30/2024 Emeritus Membership Renewal Deadline 8/5/2024 Nomination Deadline for the 2024 Prize for Excellence in Philosophy Teaching PrintPlace Nonprofit Sponsorship Program supports The American Philosophical Association. Utility Menu Department Intranet The Department of Philosophy typically receives over 400 applications each year. We ordinarily matriculate an entering class of five to six doctoral students. Although the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of offers the department can make, we invite all who would like to study Philosophy at Harvard to apply. Note regarding GRE scores:   The Philosophy Department does not require applicants to submit GRE scores. Submission of scores is permitted, and, when submitted, GRE scores are taken into account in the admissions process. But those who do not submit such scores will not be penalized. Note regarding application fee waivers : Applicants can determine eligibility for a fee waiver by completing a series of questions in the Application Fee section of the application. Once these questions have been completed, the application system will provide an immediate response regarding fee waiver eligibility. Please consult the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences admissions pages for further information or email them at [email protected] . Note regarding JD/PhD program:  Students seeking admission to the joint JD/PhD program must apply to and be separately admitted to both the Law School and the Department of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Note regarding non-discrimination:  Harvard does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification. Student Qualifications Background in Philosophy:  The Department requires that applicants have the equivalent of a solid undergraduate background in philosophy, so that they have a good grounding in the history of philosophy, as well as familiarity with contemporary work in ethics, epistemology and metaphysics, and logic. Scholarly Potential:  The Admissions Committee looks for evidence of outstanding potential in the field of philosophy as shown in the applicant's academic record, letters of recommendation, and Statement of Purpose on the application form. Questions?  Please contact the  Director of Graduate Admissions . For more information on deadlines and application procedures, please click here: William H. Miller III Department of Philosophy PhD Admissions Requirements Financial Aid BA/MA Admissions Graduate Courses Job Placement Miller Prize Student Organizations While an undergraduate major in philosophy is good preparation for graduate study in the department, applications are welcomed from students with other majors whose interests are now turning toward philosophy. To apply, please read the information below and on the Graduate Admissions website , and complete the application online. If applying to more than one department, please send complete application materials for each department. All application documents must be provided in English (either the original or translations of the original documents). If you are unable to secure translations to English, we recommend that you contact World Education Services . All application materials and supporting documents should be uploaded through the online application; these include: Online application Application fee Statement of Purpose (briefly state your area of interest at the beginning of your Statement of Purpose; upload through the online application) Letters of recommendation (at least three): Letters of recommendation should be submitted and uploaded electronically following the instructions in the online application. Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts must be uploaded through the online application. Applications will be ready for review with unofficial transcripts, but official transcripts will be required if an offer of admission is made GRE (optional) TOEFL or IELTS score (for international applicants) Sample of work (the sample should reflect the applicant’s area of interest, and generally does not have to be more than 20 pages in length). Application Deadline The deadline for applications is 15 December. Some finalists will be contacted for short Zoom meetings prior to a decision being made. Decisions on admitted and wait-listed students will be made by the first week of February. For questions or inquiries about the online application and supporting documents, contact the Graduate Admissions office. You may also contact Michelle Brock, the academic program coordinator for the philosophy department, at [email protected]   or 410-516-7524. Share this page As a PhD student in the Harvard philosophy program, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your ideas, knowledge, and abilities. You'll work with other doctoral students, our faculty, and visiting scholars, all in a stimulating and supportive environment. The program has strengths across a broad range of topics and areas, so you'll be able to pursue your interests wherever they may lead, especially in moral and political philosophy, aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of logic, philosophy of language, the history of analytic philosophy, ancient philosophy, Immanuel Kant, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. In addition, students can pursue joint degrees with classics, Harvard Law School, and in Indian philosophy. Incoming cohorts consist of five to eight students per year. You will have substantial access to our renowned faculty and all the resources that Harvard makes available. This relatively small size also gives students a sense of intellectual community. The curriculum is structured to help you make your way towards a dissertation: graduate-level coursework, a second-year research paper, a prospectus to help you identify a dissertation topic, and then the dissertation itself. Past dissertations in the department have addressed a broad range of topics: Aristotle, Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau; contemporary moral and political philosophy; metaphysics; epistemology; and logic. In addition to your research, you will also have the opportunity to develop your teaching skills in many different settings across the University. You can find graduates of the PhD program in many universities. Some of our students have gone on to faculty positions at Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, and Stanford University. Other graduates have gone on to diverse careers in, among others, the arts, the law, secondary education, and technology. In addition to the standard PhD in philosophy, the department offers a PhD in classical philosophy in collaboration with the Department of the Classics and a coordinated JD/PhD program in conjunction with Harvard Law School. Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Philosophy and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies . Areas of Study Philosophy | Classical Philosophy | Indian Philosophy  For information please consult the Department webpage on the  graduate program overview . Admissions Requirements Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Philosophy . Academic Background Applicants to the program in Philosophy are required to have a solid undergraduate background in philosophy, indicating that they have a good grounding in the history of philosophy, as well as familiarity with contemporary work in ethics, epistemology and metaphysics, and logic. Standardized Tests GRE General: Optional Writing Sample A writing sample is required as part of the application and should be between 12 to 30 pages long. The sample must address a substantial philosophical problem, whether it is an evaluation or presentation of an argument, or a serious attempt to interpret a difficult text. The upload of the writing sample should be formatted for 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper, 1-inch margins, with double-spaced text in a common 12-point font, such as Times New Roman. Applicants seeking admission to the coordinated JD/PhD program must apply to and be separately admitted to Harvard Law School and the Department of Philosophy. Theses & Dissertations Theses & Dissertations for Philosophy See list of Philosophy faculty APPLICATION DEADLINE Questions about the program. Welcome to UC Santa Cruz Introducing UC Santa Cruz Academic Programs Arts Division Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Feminist Studies History of Consciousness Languages and Applied Linguistics Linguistics Philosophy B.A. Philosophy Minor Philosophy Contiguous Bachelor's/Master's Pathway Philosophy M.A. Philosophy Ph.D. Philosophy Designated Emphasis Writing Program Physical and Biological Sciences Division Baskin Engineering Social Sciences Division The Colleges Physical Education Undergraduate Information Graduate Information Resources, Residency, and Policies Teaching and Administrative Staff Academic Calendar Catalog Home All Catalogs 2022-23 UCSC General Catalog > Academic Units > Humanities Division > Philosophy > Philosophy Ph.D. Introduction The Ph.D. program provides students with closely monitored training in philosophy. The program is designed to be completed in six years or less. Graduate work in philosophy can lead to careers both inside and outside academia. Because most doctoral students will be preparing for a career that involves teaching philosophy, they are encouraged to be teaching assistants for at least three quarters. The department has three distinguishing characteristics: a focus on philosophy understood through its history, an emphasis on the relation of philosophy to science, and an eclecticism regarding philosophical styles. The department’s faculty recognize the importance of doing philosophy in a way that is sensitive to its history. Their commitment to the history of philosophy extends from Ancient Philosophy to several of the main figures and topics in 20th century philosophy, and covers a wide range of topics and historical figures in between. The department also has a focus on the relation of philosophy to science. Every member of the department is currently engaged in empirically informed philosophical research, or research in the history of science or the philosophy of science, or both. Finally, while grounded in the analytic tradition, the department has an eclectic philosophical profile, manifested in its openness to a variety of philosophical styles, including continental philosophy, and in the importance it places on making philosophy relevant, beneficial, and accessible to the public. This eclecticism, which, among other things, fosters an academic environment that allows our students and faculty to make intellectual connections with academics in other disciplines and members of the general public, makes UC Santa Cruz a unique and attractive place to study philosophy. Relationship of the M.A. and Ph.D. Programs Students in the M.A. and Ph.D. programs will be in the same classes and work on the same course distribution requirements. Enrollment in the M.A. program confers no advantage for admission to the Ph.D. program. Applications and Admissions Application materials are available online . Further information regarding the program may be requested from the Department of Philosophy at (831) 459-4578, fax: (831) 459-2650 or by visiting  the department website . Advancement to Candidacy Course requirements. Requirements in the First Year During their first year, all graduate students are expected to fulfill a set of breadth requirements. These requirements are designed to provide both a common experience on which students can build their individual projects and a shared framework within which they can exchange ideas. Six courses, to be completed in the first year, are required of every graduate student in philosophy. These six core courses will constitute the bare minimum required for the M.A. or Ph.D. This minimal core set of courses will consist of (i) three graduate seminars, designated by the department each year as mandatory for every first year student, and (ii) three electives (any three graduate seminars in philosophy). Of the three required seminars, one will be in metaphysics/epistemology, one in the history of philosophy, and one in moral philosophy. No courses labeled PHIL 294 or higher will satisfy any of these minimum core requirements. This restriction is redundant for PHIL 299 (since that course is open only to students who have advanced to candidacy). The point of this restriction is to limit the use of independent studies, reading groups or student seminars for graduate seminar credit. During their first year of study all students must pass a logic competency examination with a grade of B or better. This examination will cover material typically taught in a first course in formal logic. To facilitate the professionalization of students in the exchange and development of academic knowledge and skills, all first- and second-year doctoral students will be required to enroll in: Graduate Colloquia Course 2 The Pedagogy of Philosophy 2 PHIL 280 , Graduate Colloquia Course, provides preparation for and requires attendance at all department-sponsored colloquia and works-in-progress presentations each quarter. PHIL 281 , The Pedagogy of Philosophy, provides training in university-level teaching in general and in the pedagogy of philosophy specifically. It meets during the fall quarter only.  For further details, see the graduate program statement on the department’s web page or consult with the department’s graduate advisor. A minimum of 12 graduate courses Up to two courses may be taken from the offerings of other departments, and up to two courses may be independent studies. Foreign Language Requirements The foreign language will be individually determined based on the relevance of such linguistic skills to the research interests of the student. Proficiency can be demonstrated either by passing a written examination administered by the department or by successfully completing a language course approved by the graduate committee. Qualifying Examination Qualifying examination and Research Seminar The qualifying examination, normally taken during the third year of enrollment, is centered on a qualifying essay that demonstrates the candidate's ability to do extended, dissertation-level research and analysis relevant to the proposed thesis topic and dissertation plan. The examination focuses on the student's research project and on the fields of scholarship it presupposes. Near the end of the required coursework, doctoral students will develop a research project resulting in a substantial paper. The paper is required to enroll in the research seminar, PHIL 270 , which must be completed during or before winter quarter of the third year. The seminar will allow students to make substantial progress on a qualifying essay and cultivate their ability to assess and provide critical feedback on another author’s philosophical work. PHIL 270 is only offered in winter quarter, and will normally be taken in the third year, though with permission of the instructor, it may be taken earlier than the third year. It is optional for M.A. students. Dissertation Within one year of passing the qualifying examination (usually during the fourth year) doctoral students will submit and defend a dissertation prospectus, consisting of some written foundation and a plan for completion of the dissertation. The committee for the prospectus defense is normally the dissertation committee. The prospectus will be submitted at least one month prior to the defense. It will normally consist of: A detailed outline or table of contents of the entire dissertation A bibliography indicating knowledge of the scope of the relevant literature A paper that would be suitable as a chapter of the dissertation and that (a) clearly shows the potential for developing the rest of the dissertation, or (b) lays out the central problem which the dissertation will address. The final requirement for the Ph.D. degree is a dissertation representing a contribution to philosophical research. Students submit their dissertation committee to the department for approval once they complete their qualifying exam. They may change their committee at a later time pending department approval. This committee is submitted to Graduate Division for final approval. Applying for Graduation Students apply to graduate by contacting the department graduate advisor and completing the relevant paperwork from graduate division. Get the Reddit app /r/Catholicism is a place to present new developments in the world of Catholicism, discuss theological teachings of the Catholic Church, provide an avenue for reasonable dialogue amongst people of all beliefs, and grow in our own spirituality. Catholic Christianity offers the world the fullness of the Christian Faith. I've been accepted into Catholic University of America's philosophy PhD program Remember me Not recommended on shared computers Forgot your password? Going from PhD waitlist to MA? By HomoLudens March 8, 2019 in Philosophy Recommended Posts Like many of you, I have been waitlisted by a few programs. I only applied to 4 programs, and have been rejected by 2 and waited by the others (Duquesne and Loyola Chicago). Is it the case that when an applicant is waitlisted for a PhD position they are automatically considered for an MA spot (assuming that the program offers a terminal MA)? I have received word from Duquesne's DGS that I will be extended a MA offer automatically after April 15th if I do not get off the waitlist. Is this common? Can I expect the same from Loyola, which does have a terminal MA? I hope some of the veteran members can help answer this question. What has been your experience with programs with terminal MA? Link to comment Share on other sites. Nothingtown Not a veteran, and I probably can't answer this question quite as well as some others will be able to.  I did just want to chime in and say that Duquesne is so kind and really goes out of their way to help you in this process. They seem unique in their application processes and are one of the few programs I've seen forward applications to the MA committee  with the chance of funding.  Most places just tell you to apply to the MA program in a mass letter and don't help you with that process, much less give you a shot at a funded MA, but myself and a few other PhD applicants had our rejected PhD applications sent by Dr. Selcer to the MA committee at Duquesne.  I have seen a few other places award MAs if you just barely miss the PhD cut, but it doesn't seem like it's the norm. In my experience, Duquesne stands out as different from other programs in how they handle things. I wouldn't count on other schools doing the same. Just my two cents.  ghostofvulpix At Boston College, their application has a checkbox where you indicate whether you'd like to be considered for the MA instead if you're rejected from the PhD program. It seems to really streamline the process (though BC doesn't fund master's students). I'm also wondering: if you (or I) already have a master's in a slightly different field (for me, MA in Religion with a concentration in philosophy of religion), is it unwise to go for the second master's in philosophy? Create an account or sign in to comment You need to be a member in order to leave a comment Create an account Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy! Already have an account? Sign in here. Existing user? Sign In Online Users All Activity My Activity Streams Unread Content Content I Started Results Search Post Results Leaderboard Create New... Important Information This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use 315 IMAGES PhD in Philosophy Reputational Ranking of Philosophy PhD Programs Updated What to do if You are on a PhD Waitlist PhD Program Waitlist: What Does Being Waitlisted Mean? #doctorate #interview Choosing the Right Online PhD Program in Philosophy The Philosophy in PhD VIDEO The Two Paths to Enlightenment (Which are you on?) How to Write PhD Research Proposal in Philosophy (English Version) by Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty Make Everything You Do a Spiritual Practice Postgraduate study with the Department of Philosophy Philosophy Tier List PhD COMMENTS Life on a PhD Waitlist: Is There Anything You Can Do? For most U.S. PhD programs, April 15 is the final date for accepted students to provide notification of intent to enroll. Schools require a commitment from admitted students by that deadline in order to fill their cohort. If there's movement off the waitlist, you can expect to hear something as April 15 approaches (and even slightly afterward ... Waitlist Thread 596. Location:US. Application Season:Already Attending. Program:Philosophy. Posted January 25, 2017. On 1/25/2017 at 11:16 AM, matchamatcha said: Minnesota waitlist. They said it's an unranked waitlist. I'm already doing better than last season lol :' (. 2021 Waitlist Thread 6. Location:Seattle, WA. Application Season:2021 Fall. Program:Philosophy MA/PhD. Posted February 5, 2021. On 2/4/2021 at 3:28 PM, pinkgradient said: Waitlisted at Madison, Hopkins, and OSU. No rejections yet. Hoping one of these works out in my favor... FAQs from Prospective PhD Applicants Philosophy gets over 300 PhD applications each year, and are typically permitted to make fewer than 10 first-round offers, plus a small number of second-round offers, aiming to get an entering class of 4-8 students. This means we accept around 3% or fewer of our applicants. For comparison, Yale Law School's acceptance rate is around 7%, and ... Questions about what to do when accepted or waitlisted at grad programs 1. If already decided to join program A, or decided not to join program B, while having an offer from B, inform program B asap. This should make the life of everybody easier. 2. Inform one's letter writers about the offers. 3. Explore the program from which one has received an offer. But there are things I'm not sure about: Admissions Admissions. The Department of Philosophy at Columbia University offers fall admission for its three graduate programs: Ph.D. in Philosophy. M.A. in Philosophy. MA. in Philosophical Foundations of Physics. The deadline to apply for the Ph.D. in Philosophy program is December 14, 2023. The deadline for the M.A. programs is April 18, 2024. The APA Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy The Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy, published biennially until the early 2000s, was relaunched in 2012 as an annual online resource.The guide compiles data on both doctoral and master's degree programs in philosophy at institutions throughout the US and Canada, offering prospective students, job candidates, and other members of the profession a rich resource on post-graduate ... Admissions Admissions decisions are made in late February/early March. Applicants placed on the admission wait list will be notified as their status changes, up to the April 15 acceptance deadline. The Department of Philosophy Graduate Program welcomes applications from talented domestic and international applicants of all identities and backgrounds. PhD Admissions General Admissions Information. There is only one application round for our PhD program in Philosophy each year; c ompleted PhD applications are due on Thursday, December 14.The Application for Admission and Financial Aid, with instructions, deadlines, and department-specific information, is administered through the divisional Office of the Dean of Students and is available is available online. Program: Philosophy, PhD The graduate program in philosophy offers study in the core areas of Anglo-American philosophy. It also offers work on the thought of some of the major figures of the history of philosophy, e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Leibniz, Spinoza, Descartes, and Kant. The department believes that each student's education should include some study of ... APA Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy About the Grad Guide. The Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy, published biennially until the early 2000s, was relaunched in 2012 as an annual online resource. It is now a continuously updated website. The guide compiles data on both doctoral and master's degree programs in philosophy at institutions throughout the US and Canada ... Admissions Admissions. The Department of Philosophy typically receives over 400 applications each year. We ordinarily matriculate an entering class of five to six doctoral students. Although the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of offers the department can make, we invite all who would like to study Philosophy at Harvard to apply. 2021 Waitlist Thread 19. Application Season:Already Attending. Program:Philosophy Phd. Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) On 1/13/2021 at 10:09 PM, thescientificmethod said: It's not clear to me whether the results page is showing that 3 accepted applicants. The info there states that 11 have been scheduled for an interview. Reputational Ranking of Philosophy PhD Programs Updated The Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of philosophy PhD programs in the "English-speaking world," has been updated.The 2021-22 rankings are the based on a survey of philosophy faculty that asks each of them to evaluate the members of 94 philosophy departments from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The PhD Admissions PhD Admissions. While an undergraduate major in philosophy is good preparation for graduate study in the department, applications are welcomed from students with other majors whose interests are now turning toward philosophy. To apply, please read the information below and on the Graduate Admissions website, and complete the application online. Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog: Against "secret" waitlists in PhD Against "secret" waitlists in PhD admissions. Philosopher Tim O'Keefe (Georgia State) writes: I'd like to speak up against having "secret" or "hidden" waitlists, as the practice has been described to me by applicants to graduate programs. (Those are their names for what's going on.) Philosophy As a PhD student in the Harvard philosophy program, you'll have the opportunity to develop your ideas, knowledge, and abilities. You'll work with other doctoral students, our faculty, and visiting scholars, all in a stimulating and supportive environment. The program has strengths across a broad range of topics and areas, so you'll be able to ... 2021 Waitlist Thread Pretty much every year the entering cohort was entirely composed of students who were on the waitlist. Waitlists are typically quasi-ranked. By that, I mean there are multiple rankings based on area of interest, gender, etc. There is a lot of hope that you will move up on the waitlist at some point. Edited March 4, 2021 by HomoLudens University of California Santa Cruz PHIL 280, Graduate Colloquia Course, provides preparation for and requires attendance at all department-sponsored colloquia and works-in-progress presentations each quarter.. PHIL 281, The Pedagogy of Philosophy, provides training in university-level teaching in general and in the pedagogy of philosophy specifically.It meets during the fall quarter only. How should I decide which PhD program to attend? : r/askphilosophy I have a number of offers and pending waitlist spots for the Fall, but I'm unsure how to go about determining which program would be most conducive to my future success - which for me means a full-time academic position in philosophy. ... While I expect everyone who is getting a PhD in philosophy is somewhat passionate about the field, it is ... 2020 Waitlist Thread Philosophy ; 2020 Waitlist Thread 2020 Waitlist Thread. By Schrödinger's_Doge January 26, 2020 in Philosophy. Share More sharing options... Followers 3. Prev; 1; 2; 3; ... Program: Philosophy PhD; Share; Posted February 7, 2020. WAITLISTED AT NORTHWESTERN! Got a nice long email from my POI as well! syn; 1 Link to comment I've been accepted into Catholic University of America's philosophy PhD This is fine as I've switched to theology anyway and will commence graduate studies soon. I'm hanging out around there this week while I'm on spring break. I spent from 9am-6pm in the Basilica on Sunday, actually. Such a cool place! r/Catholicphilosophy. My brother, who is a priest, is finishing up there this semester. Going from PhD waitlist to MA? Like many of you, I have been waitlisted by a few programs. I only applied to 4 programs, and have been rejected by 2 and waited by the others (Duquesne and Loyola Chicago). Is it the case that when an applicant is waitlisted for a PhD position they are automatically considered for an MA spot (as... assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review speech thesis