what is a phd in philosophy like

• Mission and Activities
• History of the APA
• APA Presidents & Addresses
• Apply for an Internship
• Become an APA Volunteer
• Employment Opportunities
• Governance FAQ
• Board Homepage
• Board Meeting Minutes
• About the Divisions
• Division Homepage
• Academic Career Opportunities and Placement
• Asian & Asian American Philosophers & Philosophies
• Hispanics/Latinxs
• Inclusiveness in the Profession
• International Cooperation
• Lectures, Publications, and Research
• LGBTQ People in the Profession
• Native American and Indigenous Philosophers
• Non-Academic Careers
• Philosophy in Two-Year Colleges
• Pre-College Philosophy
• Professional Rights and Academic Freedom
• Public Philosophy
• Status and Future of the Profession
• Status of Black Philosophers
• Status of Disabled People in the Profession
• Teaching of Philosophy
• Women and Gender
• Virtual Programming Committee
• Former Committees
• GSC Homepage
• GSC Meeting Minutes
• Board & Committee Nominations
• Information for Nominees
• APA Nominations System
• Graduate Student Council
• Association Bylaws
• Central Division Bylaws
• Eastern Division Bylaws
• Pacific Division Bylaws
• Partner & Affiliated Organizations
• APA Grant Funds
• Discrimination & Sexual Harassment Ombudsperson
• Discrimination & Sexual Harassment FAQ
• Committee on Inclusiveness in the Profession
• Committee Homepage
• Data & Information on the Profession of Philosophy
• Discrimination Complaint Procedure
• Policies on Complaints and Sanctions
• Statement on Nondiscrimination
• Resources on Diversity and Inclusiveness
• Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion
• List of Undergraduate Diversity Institutes
• Diversity Institute Resources
• The UPDirectory
• Diversity & Inclusiveness Syllabus Collection
• Statements, Policies, and Reports
• APA Prizes, Lectures, & Fellowships
• Archived APA Prizes
• Establishing New Prizes
• Non-APA Prizes, Grants, & Fellowships
• APA Grant Information
• Diversity and Inclusiveness Grant Program
• Diversity Institute Alumni Fund
• Donor Funds
• Projects Funded by APA Grants
• Small Grant Fund
• News & Announcements
• Important Dates and Deadlines
• Join the APA
• Membership Information
• Member Benefits
• Membership FAQ
• Bulk Membership
• Gift Membership Request
• APA On Demand Videos
• APA Live Events
• APA Connect Member Community
• Member Discounts and Savings
• Member Groups
• Member Demographics
• Participating Departments
• 2025 Eastern - New York
• 2025 Central - Virtual
• 2025 Pacific - San Francisco
• Meeting Calendar
• Registration Policy
• Refund Policy
• Photography, Audio, and Video
• Paper Submission Guidelines
• Professional Conduct Policy for APA Meetings
• Accessibility Accommodations
• Meeting Registration and Attendance Terms
• Press Policies for APA Meetings
• Meetings FAQ
• AV Information Center
• Sessions with AV
• Meetings App
• APA Statements and Policies
• Interviewing Best Practices
• Departmental Services Program
• 2024 Exhibitor & Sponsor Info
• Advertiser Information
• Exhibitor & Sponsor Info
• List of Affiliated Groups
• Application for Affiliated Group Status
• Guide for Meeting Participants
• Submit a Paper
• Suggestions for Invited Sessions
• The AAPT-APA Teaching Hub
• APA Meeting Assistance Fund
• Fund for Assistance to Overseas Philosophers
• Travel Assistance Fund for Philosophers of Color
• Upcoming Meetings
• Paper Submissions
• Proceedings and Addresses
• About the Journal
• Member Access to the Journal of the APA
• Subscribe to the Print Edition
• APA Studies (formerly APA Newsletters)
• Archived APA Newsletters
• Feminism and Philosophy
• Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy
• Native American and Indigenous Philosophy
• LGBTQ Philosophy
• Philosophy and the Black Experience
• Teaching Philosophy
• APA Studies Editor Contact Info
• About the APA Grad Guide
• Visit the APA Grad Guide
• See also: Grad Guide to Aesthetics
• Informational Guides
• Memorial Minutes
• APA/BPA Journal Surveys
• Reprints/Permissions
• Library & Department Subscriptions
• Mailing Lists
• APA Delivers for You Email Service
• Proceedings & Addresses Ad Info
• Advertise on the APA Website
• Advertise on the APA Blog
• PhilJobs: Jobs for Philosophers Ad Info
• APA Member Discount List Ad Info
• Online Store
• APA On Demand Video Library
• APA Prizes & Fellowships
• Diversity and Inclusiveness Funding
• Previously Funded Projects
• Establishing New APA Prizes
• Ombuds. Concerning Discrim. & Sexual Harassment
• Data & Information on the Field of Philosophy
• Diversity and Inclusiveness Syllabus Collection
• Links and Resources for Graduate Students
• APA Grad Guide
• Directory of Undergraduate Philosophy Clubs
• APA Statements, Policies, and Reports
• Department Advocacy Toolkit
• Good Practices Guide
• Advocating for the Humanities
• AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition
• View conferences
• Submit a conference / event
• View calls for papers
• Submit a call for papers
• Data and Info on the Field
• Resources for Undergraduates
• Undergraduate Diversity Institutes in Philosophy
• Teaching Resources
• Mental Health Resources
• Who Studies Philosophy?
• Associations and Societies
• Blogs and Podcasts
• Centers and Institutes
• Publishing in Philosophy
• APA advertising policy
• Advertise on the APA website
• Advertise on the APA blog
• Meeting Sponsorships
• APA Department Chair Network
• PhilJobs: Jobs for Philosophers
• Submit a new appointment announcement
• Handbook on Academic Job Market Practices
• Guidance for Philosophy Job Seekers
• Guidance for Placing Departments
• Best Practices for Hiring Departments
• Best Practices for Interviewing
• APA Blog Posts
• Beyond the Academy Guide
• Non-Academic Mentors
• Experiences in Navigating Diverse Career Paths
• Supporting Non-Academic Careers: What Can Faculty
• Launching a Non-Academic Career
• An Introduction to "Crossover Skills”
• Launching a Career Beyond the Academy
• Posts tagged Post-Academic
• Posts tagged Philosophers Outside Academia
• Philosophers Beyond Academia Network
• Committee on Non-Academic Careers
• Guidance for Non-Tenure Track Faculty
• APA Statements & Policies
• Historical Job Data
• JFP Archive

Remember Me

9/15/2024 » 10/31/2024 Nominations open for APA leadership positions

9/30/2024 Deadline to submit reports for the Fall 2024 board meeting

10/15/2024 Nomination deadline for the 2025 Lisska Prize

10/16/2024 Reproductive Ethics and Public Philosophy: A Symposium Marking Mary Warnock’s Centenary | APA Live

10/24/2024 Level Up! Improving Analytical Writing in Your Philosophy Courses | APA Live

PrintPlace Nonprofit Sponsorship Program supports The American Philosophical Association.

PhD Program Overview

Academic mission.

The PhD Program in Philosophy offers an intensive course of study in preparation for a career as a scholar and teacher of philosophy. The program in particular consists of four major components. (1) Completing coursework in the three main areas of contemporary philosophy and in the history of philosophy. (2) Participating in a paper revision workshop, in which students significantly revise an essay originally written for a seminar in consultation with faculty and other students. (3) Defining an intellectual project and writing the PhD dissertation under the direction of a faculty committee. (4) Teaching as assistants in faculty-taught lecture courses and then as lecturers in stand-alone tutorials and small courses. In addition to these major components, students and faculty also participate in a variety of workshops and reading groups in which students present their own work for criticism by their peers and faculty. Throughout the PhD program, students and faculty join together in a continuous, rich philosophical dialogue. And faculty also support that dialogue and students’ intellectual work through advising, mentoring, ongoing academic evaluations, and canny career advice.

Note: The PhD Program in Philosophy is the only graduate program to which the Department of Philosophy admits students; those students interested in a masters degree can apply directly to the Masters of Arts Program in the Humanities ( MAPH ). This is a standalone program in the Division of Humanities within which students can take a number of graduate courses in philosophy. Elsewhere on this site we have a more thorough explanation of how our faculty interests serve our MAPH students.

PhD Program Handbook for 2024-25

Culture of the PhD Program

The PhD Program in Philosophy is intellectually inclusive, capacious in its research and teaching interests, and unusual in the extent and depth of the collective engagement with both the analytic and continental traditions. All programs now promote their interdisciplinarity, but we’ve been enjoying our wide range of philosophical interests for decades here at Chicago—thanks in part to the thorough integration of the interdisciplinary Council of Advanced Studies workshops into the PhD program and also to departmental colloquia, in which departmental and visiting faculty speak (and are challenged) on various philosophical issues. The department hums with free-flowing philosophical discussions among students and faculty occurring in seminars, workshops, colloquia, the hallways of Stuart Hall, and the Friday afternoon coffee hours in our Anscombe Library.

Socially, the department also tries to make sure that every student’s voice is heard in the running and shaping of the department and its PhD program. There are always two elected graduate student representatives who help keep channels of communication open and flowing in both directions between the departmental faculty and graduate student body, and faculty meet with students regularly about issues of concern. The department also has a faculty diversity liaison; a Diversity, Inclusivity, Climate, and Equity (DICE) Committee composed of departmental faculty and graduate students; and a graduate student outreach coordinator. We all work to ensure that the PhD program, courses, and the departmental culture feel welcome to students from all backgrounds. Here is  more information on DICE .

The Women in Philosophy (WIP) group organizes bi-quarterly social gatherings for graduate women in the department. Gatherings typically consist of dinners or brunches hosted at the home of one of our members. While the primary purpose of these gatherings has typically been that of socializing, they are also a space in which people should feel free to raise and discuss any issues pertaining to life in the department. These social events build solidarity and community for the women in our department, and in general there is a high level of cooperation and collaboration between graduate women in the department. Here is  more information on WIP .

The University of Chicago is situated in the heart of the South Side of Chicago, one of the country’s most culturally and intellectually rich cities . Life in Chicago is itself also inclusive: it’s a diverse, vibrant city with many social possibilities and livable—and strikingly affordable!—neighborhoods for students.

• Utility Menu

• Department Intranet

Program Overview

The Department of Philosophy offers programs covering a wide range of fields in philosophy. The department’s graduate program is primarily a PhD program. In addition to the standard PhD in Philosophy, the department offers a PhD in Classical Philosophy in collaboration with the Department of the Classics, a PhD in Indian Philosophy in collaboration with the Department of South Asian Studies, and a joint JD/PhD program in conjunction with the Harvard Law School. Below you will find a list of the requirements for each program. The department does not admit applicants who wish to study only for the master’s (AM) degree. The AM may be taken as a step toward the PhD after a minimum of two terms in residence.

PhD in Philosophy

Graduate advising.

The department’s arrangement for advising students is structured to correspond to four stages of a student’s progress toward the PhD. These stages include the first year, the second-year paper, reading and research toward a dissertation topic, and work on the dissertation.

• The director of graduate studies is assigned as an advisor to all first-year students and continues to meet with all students at the beginning of each term and sign their study cards throughout their time in the program. Their advising role is particularly important during the coursework stage (generally through the second year), because they have principal responsibility for monitoring the student’s progress toward fulfilling the general requirements for the degree: the preliminary requirement, and the distribution requirement. In addition, each first-year student is assigned an informal faculty advisor.
• At the end of the first year, students should arrange with a member of the faculty to supervise the student’s second-year paper. That faculty member will be the student’s advisor during the second year. If necessary, the director of graduate studies is available to assist a student in finding a suitable faculty member.
• At the beginning of the third year, after the second year paper is completed, a student arranges for a faculty member to be their advisor during the process of exploring areas for a possible dissertation and formulating a topic and a prospectus. This advisor may be the same person as the second-year paper advisor but need not be. Normally, a student will continue with this advisor until the topical examination, but change is possible by arrangement among the parties involved.
• When a prospectus is well along, the student should discuss the formation of a dissertation committee with the advisor, the director of graduate studies, and possible committee members.  Normally, this committee has three members, two of whom must be Harvard faculty as members; however, the committee may consist of only two members at the time of the topical examination.  Committees may have a fourth member, who may be, with permission of the DGS, a faculty member in another Harvard department or at another institution. This committee conducts the topical examination and, after a successful topical, will continue supervising the student’s work on the dissertation. Normally it conducts the dissertation defense when the dissertation is completed.
• During work on the dissertation, change is possible by arrangement with the parties involved and with the approval of the director of graduate studies. At this stage, one member of the committee will be designated as the student’s advisor. The significance of this will vary as the supervision of dissertations is more collective in philosophy, for example, than in many other fields. In some cases, the advisor will be the principal supervisor, in others the role of the committee members will be close to equal and the choice of one advisor is a matter of convenience.

Preliminary Requirement

Candidates must pass at least twelve approved philosophy courses or seminars. The norm is that these course are completed during the first four terms in the department. Courses numbered 301 or above do not count toward this preliminary requirement, save that the two required terms of Philosophy 300, the First Year Colloquium, may be counted as two of the twelve. Independent Studies (Philosophy 305) may also be used to satisfy distribution requirements but not the preliminary requirement with the prior approval of the DGS. For a letter-graded course philosophy course to be considered satisfactory, the candidate’s grade in the course must be B or higher.  The average grade for all letter-graded philosophy courses taken during the candidate’s time in the program must be at least B+.

Courses taken to meet the preliminary requirement must be approved in advance by the department’s director of graduate studies. Students must take and complete Philosophy 300a plus two letter-graded courses or seminars during their first term and Philosophy 300b plus three letter-graded courses or seminars more in their second term, thus completing five letter-graded courses during the first two terms of residence.

These courses, like the rest of the twelve, should be among those designated “For Undergraduates and Graduates” or “Primarily for Graduates” in the course catalogue. At least ten of the courses must be taught by members of the Department of Philosophy (including visiting and emeritus members). This requirement can be modified for students specializing in Classical or Indian Philosophy.

All graduate students must complete two semesters of the Pedagogy seminar, Philosophy 315hf. Normally this is done during a student's third year in the program, when students begin functioning as teaching fellows. Exceptions to taking 315hf in the third year must be approved in advance by the DGS.

Students who have done graduate work elsewhere may petition the DGS to obtain credit for up to three courses, which may be counted toward the preliminary requirement. If they are in philosophy (as would normally be the case), such courses will be regarded as equivalent to those taught by members of the department.

Distribution Requirement

This requirement, intended to ensure a broad background in philosophy, is met by completing eight distribution units of work, normally before the beginning of the fourth year of graduate study. A distribution unit may be fulfilled (i) by completing an approved course or seminar (which may also be counted toward the preliminary requirement), or (ii) by writing a paper under the guidance of a faculty member, with the approval of the director of graduate studies. In the latter case the work does not count toward the preliminary requirement.

The units are to be distributed as follows:

• Contemporary Theoretical Philosophy: Three units in core areas of twentieth- and twenty-first century metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and the like.
• Practical Philosophy: Two units in contemporary or historical ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and the like.
• History of Philosophy: The distribution requirement in history is intended to assure that students have knowledge of the philosophical tradition out of which contemporary Anglo-American philosophy has grown, as well as an ability to work though texts whose philosophical presuppositions are different enough from those of contemporary Anglo-American philosophy that careful historical and philosophical analysis is required to bring them to light.

Three sorts of courses satisfy the requirement:   A. Courses in ancient Greek, Roman, or medieval philosophy.   B. Courses in early modern European philosophy up to and including Kant.   C. Courses on the foundations of philosophical traditions other than contemporary Anglo-American philosophy. These might include courses on traditional South Asian or East Asian philosophy, 19th century Continental European philosophy, early 20th century work of Heidegger, and so on.   A student must take three history courses to satisfy the requirement; at most one of these may be in practical philosophy. Save in the most exceptional circumstances (and with the approval of the DGS), at least one of these courses must be of category A and at least one must be of category B. Students should verify (with the DGS) in advance of taking a course to satisfy the requirement that the course will in fact satisfy it.

The First-Year Colloquium (Philosophy 300a and 300b) may not be used to fulfill any part of the distribution requirement. Philosophy 299hf, the second-year paper, may be used to fulfill a distribution requirement.

Logic Requirement

Candidates for the Ph.D. are expected to have mastered the fundamentals of logic and to have an understanding of the elements of logic’s metatheory. Normally, this requirement is satisfied by successfully completing one of the Department’s 100-level courses in logic: 140 (Introduction to Mathematical Logic), 144 (Logic and Philosophy), or 145 (Modal Logic). It can also be satisfied by taking an appropriate mathematics course (for example, Mathematics 143, 144a, or 145b). The requirement may also be satisfied by an examination set by the DGS in consultation with appropriate Department members or by serving as a TF in a Department logic course.

Second-Year Paper

Students are required at the end of their second year in residence to submit a paper whose length is between 7,500 and 12,000 words including footnotes.

The expectation is not that the second-year paper should constitute a kind of Master’s Thesis; a better model is that of a journal article: i.e., an essay that sets out a focused philosophical problem, articulates its significance, and makes a significant contribution rather than a mere intervention. Given this goal, the second-year paper may under no circumstances be over 12,000 words, and generally will be significantly shorter. Students must annotate the paper with an accurate word count.

By the end of the first year, students need to have a faculty advisor who will supervise the second year paper. Together the advisor and advisee will write a plan of study for the summer and the first term of the second year, and submit it to the DGS. This plan of study will specify a schedule for submitting work and receiving feedback, and will also specify a benchmark to be met before the beginning of the second semester.

A preliminary draft of the second-year paper is to be submitted by the end of the spring vacation of the second semester, and a final draft is due by June 1st. Under extraordinary circumstances and with the written approval of both advisor and the DGS, the final version of the paper may be submitted after June 1st, but no later than August 1st.

Once the second-year paper is submitted to the advisor, the advisor forwards the paper to the DGS, who selects a faculty member to act as the paper’s reader. The author, advisor, and reader meet in a timely manner to discuss the paper, after which the examiner in consultation with the advisor awards the paper a grade. This grade will be recorded as the student’s grade for their two semesters of 299hf.

Normally, a student is not allowed to participate in a dissertation workshop until they have submitted their second-year paper.

The Third Year

In a successful third year, graduate students do two things: they acquire pedagogical skills and confidence as teachers; they make enough progress on isolating a dissertation topic that they are able, at the end of that year or by the end of the first term of the fourth year, to write a prospectus and have a successful topical exam.

Normally, at the end of a student's second year, the student's 2YP advisor and the DGS consult and then assign a pre-prospective advisor to the student. The pre-prospectus advisor need not, and often will not, be someone who specializes in the area in which a student expects to write a dissertation. Rather, the advisor is someone with whom the student is comfortable discussing philosophy and who can advise about directions of research. In many cases the pre-prospectus advisor may be the 2YP advisor, since the student has formed a working relationship with that faculty member.

The student and pre-prospectus advisor should meet before the end of spring exams. The meeting's purpose is to discuss the student's general area(s) of interest for a dissertation and, if the student is ready, to devise a tentative list of articles or books which the student will read and reflect on over the next twelve months.

G3s meet with their pre-prospectus advisor in the first days of the fall term. The aim of this meeting is to give the student a manageable set of concrete tasks to complete toward settling on a prospectus topic. In this meeting, advisor and student should decide on: a collection of at least six articles or book chapters to discuss at meetings; a schedule for meetings during the fall (the norm being a meeting roughly every two weeks); the written work the student commits to doing in advance of each meeting. This work need not be elaborate --it might, for example, be a few pages of critical summary and discussion of the reading for the meeting.

Until a successful defense of a prospectus, students register of that section of Philosophy 333 associated with their pre-prospectus advisor.

The norm is that in the fall term of year 3 students do research in the area in which they expect to write so that they can fashion a fairly specific topic for the prospectus; spring term is then devoted to writing a prospectus. Students normally aim at having a prospectus and a topical before the beginning of classes in the fourth year; the expectation is that students have done a topical by the end of the first term of their fourth year.

Students who have completed their second year paper are required to enroll each term in one of the two dissertation workshops, Philosophy 311, Workshop in Moral and Political Philosophy or Philosophy 312, Workshop in Metaphysics and Epistemology. In an academic year in which a student is actively seeking post Ph.D. employment, they are not required to enroll in a workshop.

This a requirement for the Ph.D.; it is only in unusual personal circumstances that students may fail to enroll in a workshop. Permission not to enroll in a Workshop must be granted by the director of graduate studies. G3s are not required to present more than once a year in a workshop, and it is understood that their presentations may consist of such things as (constrained) literature reviews, overviews of the particular area in a sub-discipline, or drafts or presentations of a prospectus.

Prospectus and Topical Examination

When the prospectus is complete, a candidate must pass an oral topical examination on the prospectus. The examining committee consists of at least two Philosophy Department faculty members. If the topical examination is not passed, it must be taken again and passed by the beginning of the winter recess in the year immediately following. Normally students have a successful topical by the end of their fourth year in the program.

Requirements for a prospectus are set by a student's dissertation committee and may vary with committee membership. That said, in many cases a good default model for a prospectus will simply be a list of clear, straightforward answers to the following five questions: (1) What question(s) do you intend your dissertation to answer? (2) Why do you consider these questions to be important? (3) What is a good summary of what you consider to be the most important contributions to these questions in the literature? (4) Why, in your view, do these contributions leave more work to be done? (5) What is your tentative plan of attack (including a list of sources you anticipate using)? Think of your answers to these questions as building a case for why your dissertation project needs to be done , along with a sketch of how you in particular plan to do it. Finally, limit yourself to about 5000 words.

Although called an examination, a topical (which is approximately ninety minutes in length) is in fact a conference on the dissertation topic, not an occasion on which the candidate is expected to produce a complete outline of arguments and conclusions. The conference is intended to determine the acceptability of the topic on which the candidate wishes to write a dissertation, the candidate’s fitness to undertake such a dissertation, and the candidate’s command of relevant issues in related areas of philosophy. A dissertation on the proposed topic may be submitted only if the topical examination is passed.

Application to take the topical examination must be made to the director of graduate studies at least two weeks in advance. At the same time, the candidate must submit copies of a dissertation prospectus to the director of graduate studies and members of the student’s prospective committee.

Financial Support, Travel and Research Funding, and Teaching

Beyond tuition remission, Ph.D. students receive the following financial support from the Graduate School.

· A stipend for their first two years. During this period, students do not teach.

· Financial support via guaranteed teaching in the third and fourth year . During this period, students are hired as teaching fellows; the normal workload for a teaching fellow is two sections a term.

· A dissertation completion fellowship. This includes a full stipend for one academic year.

In addition, various university fellowships (for example: Term Time and Merit Fellowships, Fellowships at the Safra Center) are available on a competitive basis.

The Department also grants each Philosophy graduate student one academic term of stipend support through Philosophy Department Fellowships and also a total of $5500 in fellowships for professional development. For details see: Funding | Department of Philosophy (harvard.edu)

Dissertation and Dissertation Defense

Once the topical exam is passed, the examining committee (which must consist of at least two faculty members of the Philosophy Department) normally becomes the dissertation advisory committee.  One member of the committee is the dissertation’s primary advisor (aka, the dissertation director).  It is expected that a student will have a committee of at least three members within a few months of the defense; the committee must have three members at the time of the defense.  It is possible, with the approval of the primary advisor and the DGS, to add a faculty member from another institution.  Normally a dissertation committee has no more than four members; larger committees must be approved by primary advisor and the DGS.

The primary advisor has primary responsibility for supervision for the dissertation.  The norm is that the student and the dissertation committee set out in advance how often students will meet with and receive feedback from advisors.  The expectation is that the committee and the student will meet as a body once a term to discuss progress on the dissertation.

At least three months before a final defense of the dissertation can be scheduled, the candidate must submit a draft of the dissertation or at least a substantial part of it to the committee.  Until this is done, a defense of the dissertation cannot be scheduled.  Assuming the committee approves scheduling a defense, the candidate completes a draft and circulates it to the committee. While it is a matter for the committee and the candidate to decide, the expectation is that the complete draft of the dissertation which will be defended will be circulated to the committee at least three weeks before the date of the defense . 

Dissertation defenses are public, and may be attended both by department members and other interested parties.  They are normally two hours in length, and normally begin with a brief summary by the candidate of what the candidate has accomplished in the dissertation, followed by a conversation between the candidate and the committee.  The purpose of this conversation is not so much to test the range and detail of the candidate’s knowledge as to judge the candidate’s skill in presenting and discussing matters considered in the dissertation as well as the candidate’s ability to meet friendly but searching criticism.

PhD in Classical Philosophy

The departments of the Classics and Philosophy collaborate in an interdisciplinary PhD program in Classical Philosophy for students registered in either department. Candidates whose major field is philosophy are expected to take the Proseminar for graduate students in the classics, as well as attend seminars or other courses in classics relevant to their interests. With the approval of the director of graduate studies, students in the Classical Philosophy program may be permitted to count an appropriate course in ancient philosophy toward the distribution requirement in metaphysics and epistemology and one (in addition to the one already required) toward the requirement in history of philosophy.

Language requirements:

Candidates who plan to write a dissertation in Classical Philosophy are expected to have learned at least one of the classical languages (Greek or Latin) before they are admitted. Depending upon the level of fluency they have reached before entering the program, they may be asked to take additional language or reading courses. If they have not previously studied the second language, they will be required to reach the level of one year of college coursework. This can be done either by taking courses or by passing a language examination. In addition, candidates will be expected to have acquired a reading knowledge of German sufficient for reading scholarly literature and to pass a departmental examination on a suitably chosen text. The rules and procedures for the dissertation will, in general, be those established for candidates in philosophy.

PhD in Indian Philosophy

The departments of Philosophy and South Asian Studies collaborate in an interdisciplinary PhD program in Indian Philosophy for students registered in either department. Candidates whose major field is Philosophy are expected to take advanced language courses in South Asian studies and pass AM qualifying examinations. Candidates whose major field is South Asian studies are expected to fulfill the requirements of students in Philosophy, including distribution and logic requirements. With the approval of the director of graduate studies, students in Indian Philosophy may be permitted to count appropriate course in advanced Sanskrit or Tibetan toward the distribution requirement in metaphysics or epistemology and one toward the requirement in history of philosophy.

Language Requirements:

Candidates who plan to write a dissertation in Indian Philosophy are expected to have learned at least one of the relevant classical languages (Sanskrit or Tibetan) before they are admitted to the program. Depending upon the level of fluency they have reached before entering the program, they may be asked to take additional language or reading courses. In addition, candidates will be expected to satisfy the specific language requirements of their home department. The rules and procedures for the dissertation will, in general, be those established for candidates in Philosophy.

For more information please see the PhD in Indian Philosophy section .

JD/PhD in Philosophy and Law

A coordinated JD/PhD in Philosophy and Law is available. Students wishing to obtain the coordinated degrees must be admitted separately to both programs. Students admitted for the coordinated degrees must begin either with the first full year of law school or the first two years of philosophy; after that they may alternate terms as they choose. The program in Law may be completed in five terms. The requirements for philosophy are the same as for regular philosophy graduate students. For more information please see the JD/PhD Coordinated Program section .

The Master of Arts (AM) in Philosophy

The Department does not admit students for degrees other than the PhD. Students who have been admitted for the PhD and who have completed all course requirements for the degree may apply to be awarded an AM in Philosophy.

Harvard PhD students from programs (such as African and African-American Studies) which require PhD students to take courses required for an AM in another program are not required to take the first year colloquium required of Philosophy PhDs. (Students from these programs who wish to the take the colloquium must consult with the DGS.) Students from these programs who have completed 10 philosophy courses which satisfy the course requirements for a PhD and who have satisfied the distribution requirements for the PhD may apply to be awarded an AM in Philosophy.

A student who is pursuing an ad hoc degree administered in part by the Philosophy Department may petition to receive a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy. To receive this degree the student must have taken a total of 10 courses in Philosophy at the level of 100 or higher. At least two of these courses must satisfy the graduate distribution requirement in metaphysics and epistemology, two must satisfy the practical philosophy distribution requirement, two the history distribution requirement, and one must be a logic course. All must be passed with a grade of B or better. Students may receive this degree only when the Department has voted to support their petition.

Secondary Field in Philosophy

Much work in philosophy speaks directly to one or more disciplines which have Harvard PhD programs --literature, physics, statistics, science, mathematics, linguistics, and economics, to name a few. A secondary field in Philosophy gives students from other disciplines an opportunity to step back and look at the big picture in their discipline, putting students from discipline X in a position to do "philosophy of X" as part of doing X, thereby helping them both to understand their field more deeply and to open a path to developing it in innovative ways.

Graduate students may apply to the Philosophy Department to do a secondary field after their first term as a graduate student at Harvard. Secondary field students normally begin the secondary field in the second or third semester at Harvard, normally taking one or two courses a semester until they have completed the secondary field requirements.

Applicants should contact the Philosophy DGS before applying to do a secondary field in Philosophy. Applications must include: a brief statement explaining what the applicant hopes to achieve with the secondary field, including a brief summary of the applicant's background in philosophy; a copy of the undergraduate transcript (this can be a copy sent from the student's home department at Harvard) and a brief letter from a Harvard faculty member of the student's home department discussing how a secondary field in philosophy would contribute to the student's work in the home department.

To complete a secondary field in philosophy, a student completes four courses in philosophy at the 100 level or higher with a grade of B+ or better. One course must be in the area of one of the Department's PhD distribution requirements: moral and political philosophy; metaphysics and epistemology; logic; history of philosophy. A second course must be in another of these areas. At least one course must be a graduate seminar. In principle, an independent study with a member of the Department may be used to complete the secondary field. A capstone project is not required. Courses are counted towards satisfying the secondary field requirements only when approved to do so by the Philosophy DGS.

A student completing a secondary field in philosophy is assigned an advisor from the Philosophy Department, normally the DGS.

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, metaphysics, philosophy of logic, philosophy of language, the history of analytic philosophy, ancient philosophy, Immanuel Kant, and 19th and 20th century European 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. Recent 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. Recent graduates have gone on to tenure track positions at Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, Northwestern University, Boston University, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Washington University, and the University of Rochester. Other graduates have gone on to diverse careers in, among others, the arts, 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. The department also offers a track in Indian Philosophy (administered jointly by Philosophy and South East Asian Studies.

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 the 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 strong undergraduate background in philosophy (or its equivalent), 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.

Personal Statement

Standardized tests.

GRE General: Optional GRE Subject: 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 and Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Philosophy

See list of Philosophy faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

• Funding Opportunities
• Discussion-Based Events
• Graduate Programs
• Core Principles
• Ideas that Shape the World
• Digital Community
• Planned Giving
• Donor Events

What You Need to Know Before Getting a PhD in Philosophy

Is a getting PhD in Philosophy an attainable career option in today’s world?

Whether you are interested in influencing academia or becoming a scholar at a think tank, obtaining a doctorate degree in philosophy can be a rewarding and realistic step in your career—if you are willing to work hard.

Even getting into a graduate program can be competitive. Dr. Bill Glod notes that there could be over 200 applicants for every five spots at some of the top schools. But with the proper planning, you can be successful despite the competitive field.

In the podcast below, Dr. Glod walks you how to get into a good PhD program—and what to expect once you enroll—so that you can succeed in this field.

A few things you should think about before getting a PhD in Philosophy:

• Whether a PhD in Philosophy is really right for you, and how to prepare for a career in Philosophy as an undergraduate.
• Different types of programs in Philosophy.
• Different methodologies you’ll encounter within the field.
• How to approach the application process if you are sympathetic to classical liberal ideas.
• How many programs you should apply to, and what you should be looking for in a program.
• What classes to take once you enroll.

Previous Post The 5 Significant Advantages of Interdisciplinary Research

Next post how to choose a phd program: 3 tips.

Comments are closed.

• Privacy Policy

© 2024 Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University

Here is the timeline for our application process:

• Apply for a position 
• An HR team member will review your application submission  
• If selected for consideration, you will speak with a recruiter 
• If your experience and skills match the role, you will interview with the hiring manager
• If you are a potential fit for the position, you will interview with additional staff members
• If you are the candidate chosen, we will extend a job offer

All candidates will be notified regarding the status of their application within two to three weeks of submission. As new positions often become available, we encourage you to visit our site frequently for additional opportunities that align with your interests and skills.

Philosophy, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Philosophy

General areas of research include ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of law, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy. The program features a focus on practical and applied philosophy and an interdisciplinary coursework component related to the student's research topic.

Practical philosophy includes the fields of ethics, philosophy of law, social and political philosophy, feminist ethics and political philosophy.

Applied philosophy includes the application of theories developed within any of the subdisciplines of philosophy to everyday problems or phenomena, such as the application of the philosophy of language in relation to hate speech, or the philosophy of mind in relation to computing and artificial intelligence. Applied philosophy also includes the application of research produced by methods used in other disciplines in order for the student to understand and address philosophical questions, like the application of data-gathering instruments used in psychology to answer questions in experimental philosophy.

Students may design dissertation projects in any of the major subfields of philosophy. For their interdisciplinary coursework supporting the dissertation project, students might, for example, pursue a certificate in social transformation, gender studies, responsible innovation in sciences, or engineering and society.

Members of the faculty are involved in interdisciplinary work in a variety of fields and enjoy close ties with the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, the College of Law and a number of other graduate programs at the university. The ASU philosophy faculty group sponsors an active colloquium series and regular philosophical conferences on diverse topics. The Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics also sponsors a wide range of activities, including large-scale conferences, distinguished visitors and support for graduate study.

Degree Requirements

Curriculum plan options.

• 84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core Areas (15 credit hours) applied philosophy (3) epistemology (3) formal methods (3) metaphysics (3) value theory (3)

Electives (39 credit hours)

Research (18 credit hours) PHI 792 Research (12)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) PHI 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information Students should see the academic unit for the list of courses approved for each required core area.

In completing the electives requirements, at least nine credit hours and no more than 18 credit hours must be from other disciplines supporting the student's proposed dissertation area; 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree may apply toward this requirement with approval by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College.

To ensure breadth in the traditional areas of philosophy, students must pass with a grade of "B" or better (3.00 on a 4.00 scale).

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• curriculum vitae
• writing sample
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency , a copy of an article or research paper in their native or principal research language, as well as the English writing sample required of all students regardless of their current residency. The philosophy program requires a TOEFL iBT score of at least 100, or a score of 7.0 on the IELTS.

The statement of purpose should explain the applicant's scholarly background and training, career goals, the primary field the applicant wishes to pursue and the proposed research specialization (no more than 600 words in length).

The writing sample must be a piece of philosophical writing, preferably a seminar paper or published article of no more than 20 pages.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

• Achieve competence with philosophical literature and writing
• Achieve professional-level skills in mastering literature and philosophical writing
• Able to identify and articulate a philosophical problem or question in one of the core areas in philosophy --- that is, metaphysics, epistemology and value theory

Career Opportunities

Both the MA and doctoral programs in philosophy help students develop and hone skills that are highly marketable and easily transferable.

Philosophy teaches its students to think critically, creatively and imaginatively. Though routine jobs are increasingly being lost to advances in automation and artificial intelligence, the skills taught by philosophy are irreplaceable by technology, highly sought-after by employers and transferrable from one occupation to another. Graduates have the ability to read closely and with a critical eye; to analyze complex problems and identify all the possible solutions, including some creative solutions; to assess the merits of each possible solution; and to articulate and argue for or against various possible solutions in clear, precise and unambiguous language.

As philosophy focuses on honing certain skills rather than acquiring a particular body of knowledge, philosophy prepares its students for a wide variety of careers rather than for just one particular occupation. Indeed, philosophy prepares its students for any career requiring problem-solving; clear, critical and creative thinking; and excellent reading, writing and communication skills.

The program is designed to prepare students for careers as philosophers, as teachers of philosophy and in areas in which they may benefit from advanced training in philosophy, such as law, civil service and publishing.

Career examples include:

• businessperson
• computer programmer
• public policy analyst

Global Experience

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-5778

Graduate School

General Information

Program offerings:, director of graduate studies:, graduate program administrator:.

The graduate program in philosophy is designed to equip promising students for careers as philosophers and teachers of philosophy. To that end, the program provides broad general training, an opportunity for specialized research in the major areas of philosophic inquiry, and experience in undergraduate teaching. Students pursue an individual plan of study appropriate to their background, interests, and aims.

In the Standard Program, the first four semesters of graduate study are typically devoted to formal course work and independent research; by the end of the fifth semester, the student takes the general examination; having passed generals and demonstrated a capacity for doing scholarly work, the student proceeds to write a doctoral dissertation. The requirements for the three Special Programs—the Logic and the Philosophy of Science Track, the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Philosophy, and the Interdepartmental Program in Political Philosophy—are all variations on the requirements for the Standard Program.

Although there is no admission with advanced standing, regardless of previous work in philosophy, students with a strong undergraduate background, or those who have done graduate work at other institutions, may be able to satisfy the standard pre-generals requirements more quickly and hence take the general examination in two years or less.

Additional departmental requirements

A sample of written work in English between 5,000-10,000 words

Program Offerings

Program offering: ph.d..

Permission to take the general examination is granted after review of the student’s record by the department. It is normally necessary (the grounds for exception are explained below) and always sufficient that students satisfy the department that they have an adequate basic knowledge of each of the following fields: (1) history of philosophy; (2) metaphysics and epistemology; (3) ethics; and (4) logic. Before taking the general examination, students must complete seven units of work distributed as follows: at least two in the history of philosophy, at least two in metaphysics and epistemology, at least two in ethics, and at least one in logic. Units are generally research papers, done in conjunction with a faculty member, that may or may not be directly connected with a formal course or seminar. In addition, before taking the general exam, students must complete two further philosophy units, plus the language requirement or an alternative to it (see the Language(s) section, below). For the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Philosophy, four additional units must be completed, consisting of sight-reading tests and reading list exams in Greek and Latin. These four Classical Philosophy units can be completed either prior to or after the general exam.  Completion of a unit can be accomplished by seminar or course work, examination, or submission of independent work, as prearranged with a faculty member. Two of the required units must contain an oral component. Up to three units may be satisfied by the submission of papers written before the student’s arrival at Princeton, but neither of the first two units, and only one of the first five, may be satisfied in this way. At least one of the first three units must be for new substantive work in philosophy.

Students who wish to do especially intensive work in one area of philosophy through extra work either in the Department of Philosophy or in related areas in other departments may be granted variances permitting them to do less than the norm in some other areas of philosophy, if this is required to allow them to pursue their special interests. Such variances will require approval of the department. There are, in addition, three specific alternative tracks that lead to the Ph.D. degree in philosophy, all of which provide special opportunities for combining the study of philosophy with other disciplines: the philosophy of science track, and the interdepartmental programs in classical philosophy and in political philosophy. For information about special programs, refer to the special programs page on our website.

Please refer to and navigate within our general website for detailed information on the department’s various units and programs.  

Language(s)

Every student must either demonstrate a reading knowledge of French or German, or else satisfy an alternative requirement before taking the general examination. (Those in the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Philosophy cannot take the alternative.) Reading knowledge is demonstrated by passing an examination on the translation of philosophical prose administered by two members of the Department of Philosophy.

A student electing to satisfy the alternative requirement must either (1) complete a 10th distribution unit in any area of philosophy (see above) or (2) complete a unit of advanced work in another department, in accordance with a plan previously approved by the Graduate Committee of the philosophy department. (This may not be work also used to satisfy any other requirement.)

In many areas of philosophy, including but not limited to the history of philosophy and recent European philosophy, satisfactory scholarship is not possible without a good reading knowledge of certain foreign languages. The languages most often needed are French, German, Greek, and Latin. A student having none of these languages will therefore be significantly limited in choosing areas of research, and in the choice of a dissertation topic. If a student's dissertation is devoted to any considerable extent to an author, the student must be able to read the author's works in their original language.

General exam

The general examination consists of an oral examination of approximately one hour, preceded by submission of written work, as specified on our website, in the field within which the candidate proposes to write a dissertation. The examinations are administered by a committee of the faculty, the composition of which ensures that the student is questioned from a variety of points of view. The subject of the examinations is broadly construed. Advancement to continued candidacy for the Ph.D. is based on an assessment of a student’s performance on the general examination in light of the student’s level of achievement in gaining the required units. All graduate students must give an undergraduate lecture at Princeton, observed by a philosophy department faculty member, prior to taking the general exam. Further details can be found on our website.

Qualifying for the M.A.

The Master of Arts degree (M.A.) in Philosophy – an incidental degree on the way to full Ph.D. candidacy – is earned by obtaining, at a sufficient level of achievement, the number units (depending on the course of study, but ten units for the standard program) required before one can take the general exam. It may also be awarded to students who, for various reasons, leave the Ph.D. program, provided that these requirements have been met.

All graduate students in philosophy, including those receiving outside fellowships, engage in some classroom teaching under the guidance of a faculty member: leading discussion groups, setting and marking examinations and tests, and criticizing written papers. This work normally amounts to three hours of classroom teaching plus attendant preparation, or the equivalent, for three terms, and in no case totals less than six hours. Assignments are made with regard for the student’s aptitudes and interests. First-year students normally are not assigned teaching responsibilities. 

Post-Generals requirements

As a requirement for the degree of Ph.D., students must do three in-seminar presentations in three different seminars they attend, not including the first-year seminar or the dissertation seminar.

The department conducts a colloquium, principally for members of the faculty and graduate students, at which professors from Princeton and other universities present papers for discussion. In addition, graduate students working on their dissertations present portions of their work in progress at a series of talks scheduled throughout the year.

Dissertation and FPO

The dissertation is written under the guidance of two or more members of the department (the student's advisers). While working on the dissertation, students may consult not only their advisers but also other members of the faculty. The dissertation is normally limited to 100,000 words (about 400 standard pages); a length of 30,000 to 50,000 words is recommended.

The dissertation must be accepted by the department, having first been read and recommended for acceptance by two readers, neither of whom may be the student's primary adviser. After the dissertation has been accepted, the student takes a final public oral examination in which he or she must demonstrate a capacity for scholarly research in the area of the dissertation.

After passing the final examination, the student is awarded the Ph.D. degree in philosophy by the University.

• Benjamin C. Morison

Director of Graduate Studies

• Boris C. Kment

Director of Undergraduate Studies

• Desmond P. Hogan
• Lara M. Buchak
• John P. Burgess
• Adam N. Elga
• Daniel Garber
• Hans P. Halvorson
• Elizabeth Harman
• Mark Johnston
• Thomas P. Kelly
• Sarah-Jane Leslie
• Hendrik Lorenz
• Sarah E. McGrath
• Jacob Morris Nebel
• Gideon A. Rosen
• Michael Smith
• Una Stojnic

Assistant Professor

• David Builes
• Grace E. Helton

Lecturer with Rank of Professor

• Victoria McGeer
• Kimberly M. Brewer
• Gabriel Broughton
• Eleanor Gordon-Smith

Visiting Lecturer with Rank of Professor

• Susan Brison
• Susan S. Meyer

For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Permanent Courses

Courses listed below are graduate-level courses that have been approved by the program’s faculty as well as the Curriculum Subcommittee of the Faculty Committee on the Graduate School as permanent course offerings. Permanent courses may be offered by the department or program on an ongoing basis, depending on curricular needs, scheduling requirements, and student interest. Not listed below are undergraduate courses and one-time-only graduate courses, which may be found for a specific term through the Registrar’s website. Also not listed are graduate-level independent reading and research courses, which may be approved by the Graduate School for individual students.

CLA 514 - Problems in Greek Literature (also HLS 514/PHI 527)

Cla 526 - problems in greek and roman philosophy (also hls 527/phi 522), fre 560 - medieval signs (also com 557/phi 504), phi 500 - the philosophy of plato (also cla 509/hls 500), phi 501 - the philosophy of aristotle (also hls 549), phi 502 - the philosophy of kant, phi 503 - plato's political philosophy (half-term) (also cla 530/pol 556), phi 505 - history of chinese philosophy (also eas 505), phi 510 - german philosophy since kant (also com 510), phi 511 - pre-kantian rationalism, phi 513 - topics in recent and contemporary philosophy, phi 514 - recent and contemporary philosophy, phi 515 - special topics in the history of philosophy, phi 516 - special topics in the history of philosophy, phi 519 - normative ethics (also chv 519), phi 520 - logic, phi 523 - problems of philosophy, phi 524 - systematic ethics, phi 525 - ethics, phi 530 - philosophy of art, phi 532 - philosophical problems in logic, phi 533 - decision theory, phi 534 - philosophy of language (also lin 534), phi 535 - philosophy of mind, phi 536 - philosophy of mathematics, phi 538 - the philosophy of physics, phi 539 - theory of knowledge, phi 540 - metaphysics, phi 542 - topics in the history of philosophy, phi 543 - machine learning: a practical introduction for humanists and social scientists (also sml 543), phi 550 - first year philosophy graduate student seminar, phi 560 - second-year philosophy graduate student seminar, phi 590 - extramural teaching internship, phi 599 - dissertation seminar, pol 507 - topics in plato (half-term) (also cla 507/hls 507/phi 507), pol 511 - problems in political theory (also phi 529), pol 553 - political theory, athens to augustine: graduate seminar (also cla 535/hls 552/phi 552), pol 563 - philosophy of law (also phi 526).

The Graduate Program in Philosophy

Graduate Degree

Stanford's graduate program in Philosophy is by any measure among the world's best. We attract  excellent students , we provide them ample access to  leading scholars  for instruction and advice, and we turn out accomplished philosophers ready to compete for the best jobs in a very tight job market. We offer both MA and PhD degrees.

Doctoral Program

Masters Program

Our  graduate students  are part of a vigorous philosophical community.

Our tradition is to treat and regard our graduate students as much like colleagues as like students. Faculty and graduate students participate in workshops, in reading groups, in colloquium discussions and in nearly all department life on an equal basis. The Department covers the cost of graduate student participation in lunches and dinners with visiting speakers. Our graduate students participate in the running of the department. Two graduate students serve as representatives at department meetings, a graduate student serves on the Graduate Studies Committee, and graduate students also serve on faculty hiring committees. Graduate students are essential to our efforts to recruit new graduate students each year.

Graduate students have a lively society of their own, the Hume Society that is responsible for a range of both intellectual and social events.

Graduate students take a mixture of courses and seminars both in our department in other departments. They also regularly take directed reading courses or independent study courses when special needs are not met by scheduled courses or when students are working directly on their dissertations.

Our  calendar  is packed with a range of philosophical events. We have a regular  Colloquia series  with visiting speakers on Friday afternoons. Our Colloquia are followed by receptions for the speakers hosted by the graduate students followed by dinner with the speaker. In addition to the regular colloquia series, every year we host the  Immanuel Kant Lectures . Our graduate students, along with other local graduate students,  organize the  Berkeley/Stanford/Davis Conference  where every year graduate students have the opportunity to present papers to an even larger philosophical community.

Many more informal reading and research groups,  including the Social Ethics and Normative Theory Workshop, the Global Justice and Political Theory Workshop, and the  Logical Methods in the Humanities Workshop , existing within the department and the university and are able to invite speakers from all across the world.

The affiliated  Center for Ethics in Society  hosts many different events including the annual lectures such as   Tanner Lectures in Human Values , the   Wesson Lectures on democratic theory and practice , and the  Arrow Lecture Series on Ethics and Leadership , in addition to a vast range of other  conferences, lectures and workshops  on ethics and political philosophy.

The  Center for the Explanation of Consciousness  (CEC) is a research initiative at  Center for Study of Language and Information  which is devoted to studying materialistic explanations of consciousness. The CEC hosts talks and symposia from a variety of viewpoints exploring the nature of conscious experience. They also sponsor reading groups during the term, led by faculty and graduate students.

About the Program

The Graduate Program in Philosophy at Berkeley offers a first-rate faculty, a stimulating and friendly community of graduate students, and the resources of one of the world's finest research universities.

Two features distinguish our profile from that of other leading graduate programs in philosophy:

• The department has strengths in all the main areas of philosophy, including epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of language, logic, ethics, the history of philosophy, and philosophy of science. We aim at diversity and breadth of coverage, rather than concentration on one or two areas of philosophical activity.
• Second, the program at Berkeley is structured to give students a high degree of independence in tailoring their studies to their interests.

Those wishing to pursue graduate studies in philosophy can choose among several routes to a PhD at Berkeley:

• The Philosophy Department's graduate program leads to a PhD in Philosophy.
• Students with strong interests in Ancient Philosophy may want to take advantage of a special ancient concentration within the philosophy program.
• Students with strong interests in the History and Philosophy of Science may want to explore the special HPS concentration within the philosophy program.
• Students with strong interests in formal logic may pursue them in the Philosophy Department, in the Mathematics Department , or in Berkeley's interdisciplinary program leading to a PhD in Logic and the Methodology of Science , to which the Philosophy Department has close ties.

Visit Department Website

Admission to the University

Applying for graduate admission.

Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. The Graduate Division hosts a complete list of graduate academic programs, departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website.

Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application and steps to take to apply can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;

A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and

Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.

For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page . It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here .

Where to apply?

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page .

Admission to the Program

In reviewing applications, the admissions and fellowships committee looks for evidence that applicants have the training and intellectual characteristics they will need for success in a rigorous graduate program such as ours. Candidates for admission are not required to have majored in philosophy, but applicants who have not taken a considerable number of courses in the subject are unlikely to be admitted. The intellectual characteristics that the committee looks for include the ability to write clear and well organized argumentative prose, the ability to discriminate between promising and unpromising lines of inquiry, the capacity to develop independent arguments and insights, and a nuanced appreciation of philosophical problems and issues.

A complete online application would contain the following:

• Transcripts for all your undergraduate and graduate study
• Three letters of recommendation from those familiar with your philosophical work
• A representative sample of your best written work in philosophy (no more than 20 pages)
• Your results from the Graduate Record Examination (The Advanced Philosophy test is not required)
• A personal history statement
• A statement of purpose (applicants who wish to be considered for the concentration in Ancient Philosophy or History and Philosophy of Science should indicate this in their statement of purpose)

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Normative time to advancement.

Total normative time to advancement is two to three years.

During the first stage of their graduate education, students meet the department's course distribution requirements and prepare to take the qualifying examination. This examination assesses the student's strengths in areas chosen by the student in consultation with supervising faculty. 

Total Normative Time

Total normative time is six years.

Philosophy General Concentration

During the first stage of the program, students are expected to acquire a broad background in philosophy and develop their philosophical abilities by fulfilling the following requirements:

Course Distribution Requirement

Before taking the qualifying exam the student must complete eight courses at the 100- or 200-level completed with a grade of A- or higher. At least four of the eight courses must be graduate seminars. The eight courses must satisfy the following distribution requirements:

Two of the eight courses must be in the history of philosophy: one in ancient philosophy and one in modern philosophy. The courses may be on any individual philosopher or group of philosophers drawn from the following lists:

• Ancient: Plato, Aristotle
• Modern: Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant

Four of the eight courses must be in the following areas, with at least one course from each area:

• Area 1: Philosophical logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mathematics
• Area 2: Metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of action
• Area 3: Ethics, political, social and legal philosophy, and aesthetics

A seventh course may be any philosophy course in the 100 or 200 series except for 100, 195-199, 200, 250, 251 and 299.

An eighth course may be either any philosophy course as specified above or a course from another department that has been approved by the graduate adviser.

In exceptional cases, students may, at the discretion of the graduate adviser, meet one distribution requirement by presenting work done as a graduate student elsewhere: typically a graduate thesis or work done in a graduate-level course. Meeting a distribution requirement in this way will not count as meeting any part of the four-seminar requirement.

Ancient Philosophy, Joint Program

This program is offered jointly by the Departments of Philosophy and  Classics . It is administered by an interdepartmental committee. It is designed to produce scholars with a broad range of expertise both in philosophy and classics, with the intention of bridging the gap between the two subjects. It provides the training and specialist knowledge required for undertaking research in ancient philosophy, and at the same time equips students for scholarly work and teaching in either classics or philosophy. Those who complete the program will be fully qualified to work as a member of either one of these disciplines while having developed a broad competence in the other.

Students apply for admission to either of the participating departments in accordance with their qualifications and interests. They are treated accordingly as graduate students fully in either the Department of Classics or the Department of Philosophy. Graduate students in Philosophy are offered the opportunity to develop their knowledge of both classical languages, and to make a thorough study of Graeco-Roman culture. Students and faculty from the two departments meet each other frequently and regularly in seminars, reading groups and colloquia. Seminar offerings from the two departments are designed to give students, during their years in the program, the opportunity to study a wide variety of topics, including the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophy and the philosophy of later antiquity.

Those entering the program as Philosophy students will take the broad range of philosophy courses and seminars standardly required for the PhD in Philosophy. This standard set of requirements is, however, modified in the following ways:

• At least three out of the eight required courses should be in ancient philosophy.
• Students should take at least one seminar in the Classics Department.
• Students in the program will have until the end of the fourth year to pass the PhD qualifying examination.
• Two of the three topics for the student's qualifying exam will concern topics in ancient philosophy.
• Students must demonstrate, before advancement to candidacy, proficiency in Greek and Latin. This can be done in either of two ways: (i) by passing a sight translation exam; (ii) by passing (with a grade of A- or A) an upper division undergraduate translation class taught in the Classics Department.
• In addition, students must pass a reading examination in either German, French, or Italian.
• Students should declare their interest in joining the program by the beginning of their fifth semester at Berkeley.

To enter the joint program as a graduate student in Philosophy, prospective graduates should apply to the PhD program in Philosophy and mention their interest in the joint program as part of their statement of purpose. For information about entering the joint program as a graduate student in Classics, please visit the  Department of Classics website .

Foreign Language

Before taking the Qualifying Examination, the candidate must pass a departmental examination in a foreign language requiring the translation of 300 words in 90 minutes with the use of a dictionary. The language can be any foreign language containing a significant philosophical literature, provided that a faculty member qualified to administer the examination is available. An examination in an approved language may be waived upon approval of the Graduate Division if native ability in the language can be demonstrated through secondary school or university transcripts.  A course sequence of four semesters (or six quarters), whether taken at UC or elsewhere, will be accepted in lieu of the language examination if the sequence was completed within four years of admission to Berkeley and the student earned an average grade of C or better.

Qualifying Exams

Students should aim to take the qualifying examination by the end of the fifth enrolled semester, and they must take it by the end of the sixth enrolled semester.

In order to take the examination, the student must have fulfilled the department's course requirements and must have passed the language requirement.

Prospectus Stage

In the semester after passing the qualifying examination the student must take two PHILOS 299  individual study courses of 4 units each with the two inside members of his or her dissertation committee for the purpose of preparing a dissertation prospectus.

The dissertation prospectus should be submitted both to the inside members of the committee and to the graduate advisor by the end of that semester. It should consist of about fifteen pages and outline plans for the dissertation. Alternatively, the prospectus may consist of parts of a possible chapter of the dissertation together with a short sketch of the dissertation project.

Following submission of the prospectus, the candidate will meet with the inside members of the committee for an informal discussion of the candidate's proposed research.

Additional Requirements

Each student pursuing the PhD degree is expected to serve as a graduate student instructor for at least two semesters. In the first semester as a GSI, students must complete either PHILOS 375  (Graduate Student Instructor Teaching Seminar) or a 300-level course with another department. Other requirements for first-year GSIs are available on the GSI Teaching & Resource Center . 

Dissertation Seminar

Students in the first two years after declaring candidacy must register for  PHILOS 295  (Dissertation Seminar) for at least one semester each year, during which they must present a piece of work in progress, and are expected to attend the seminar all year. The seminar meets every other week. All students working on dissertations are encouraged to attend the seminar.

PHILOS 200 First-Year Graduate Seminar 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2020 A combination seminar and tutorial, required of and limited to first year graduate students in philosophy. First-Year Graduate Seminar: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Graduate

Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.

First-Year Graduate Seminar: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 290 Seminar 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Advanced study in various fields of philosophy. Topics will vary from semester to semester. Seminar: Read More [+]

Grading: Letter grade.

Seminar: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 295 Dissertation Seminar 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Presentations by graduate students of dissertation research in progress. Dissertation Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students who are writing dissertations in philosophy

Formerly known as: 109

Dissertation Seminar: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 299 Independent Study 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Independent Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 3 weeks - 5-60 hours of independent study per week 6 weeks - 2.5-30 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 2-23 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to twelve hours of independent study per week. Two to twenty three hours of independent study per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half to thirty hours of independent study per week for 6 weeks. Five to sixty hours of independent study per week for three weeks.

Independent Study: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 301 Professional Preparation: The Teaching of Philosophy 2 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Fall 2014, Spring 2014 Students will work as teachers under the guidance of a faculty member. They will attend lectures, guide classroom discussion, and participate in a workshop in teaching methods. Professional Preparation: The Teaching of Philosophy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Appointment as a graduate student instructor

Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for doctoral degree.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0-0 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Zero hour of independent study per week.

Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers

Professional Preparation: The Teaching of Philosophy: Read Less [-]

PHILOS 375 Graduate Student Instructor Teaching Seminar 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 A hands-on training seminar for new philosophy GSIs that addresses both practical and theoretical issues. Graduate Student Instructor Teaching Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Admission to Ph.D. program

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: One 1-hour seminar per week.

Formerly known as: Philosophy 302

Graduate Student Instructor Teaching Seminar: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Department of philosophy.

314 Philosophy Hall

Phone: 510-642-2722

Fax: 510-642-4164

[email protected]

Department Chair

Alva Noë, PhD

232 Philosophy Hall

[email protected]

Head Graduate Advisor

John MacFarlane, PhD

230 Philosophy Hall

[email protected]

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

[email protected]

Undergraduate Student Affairs Officer

Janet Groome

[email protected]

Print Options

When you print this page, you are actually printing everything within the tabs on the page you are on: this may include all the Related Courses and Faculty, in addition to the Requirements or Overview. If you just want to print information on specific tabs, you're better off downloading a PDF of the page, opening it, and then selecting the pages you really want to print.

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

• Skip to Main
• Bersoff Faculty Fellows
• Administrative Officers
• Job Market Candidates
• Studying Philosophy at NYU
• Declaring the Major or Minor
• Program of Study - Major
• Program of Study - Minor
• Program Requirements
• Course Offerings
• Global Pathways Philosophy Abroad
• Philosophy Forum
• NEO Journal
• Degree Programs
• Philosophy Graduate Handbooks
• Prospective Students
• Graduate Placement Record
• Ancient Philosophy Ph.D. Track
• Certificate Programs
• Fall 2024 Undergraduate Courses
• Fall 2024 Graduate Course Descriptions
• Summer 2024 Undergraduate Courses
• Spring 2024 Undergraduate Courses
• Spring 2024 Graduate Course Descriptions
• Fall 2023 Undergraduate Courses
• Fall 2023 Graduate Course Descriptions
• Summer 2023 Undergraduate Courses
• Spring 2023 Undergraduate Courses
• Spring 2023 Graduate Course Descriptions
• Fall 2022 Undergraduate Courses
• Fall 2022 Graduate Course Descriptions
• General Course Offerings
• Course Description Archive
• Spring 2024
• Spring 2023
• Event Archives
• Issues in Modern Philosophy Conference
• Mala Kamm Memorial Lecture
• Reading Groups
• Diversity and Inclusiveness Statement
• Initiatives
• PhD Application Fee Waiver
• Third Year Review Archive
• Prospectus Archive
• Syllabus Archive
• Big Questions Philosophy Class at NYU
• FAQs from Prospective Visiting Scholars
• FAQs for Prospective Visiting Graduate Students

Doctor of Philosophy Program in Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy also offers a program leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The degree requires 72 points. The department requires that 44 points (the "basic points") be as specified below. A minimum of 36 of the 44 basic points must be taken in the NYU Department of Philosophy. Twenty-eight of the total 72 points may be in dissertation research, although the student may include other courses toward that total as well. Transfer credit is apportioned on a case-by-case basis and is normally restricted to courses taken in philosophy Ph.D. programs. Normally, credit for a maximum of 12 basic points is allowed for work done elsewhere. Except in unusual circumstances, transfer credit may not be used to satisfy the area distribution requirements described below under "Basic course work."

Coursework: The required 44 basic points consist of the following:

• Proseminar, PHIL-GA 1000, (8 points). It includes frequent short writing assignments, and the mode of instruction emphasizes discussion rather than lecture. The topics are determined by the instructors but include basic texts and ideas in analytic philosophy.
• Basic course work (28 points; typically seven 4-point courses) These seven courses are drawn from advanced introduction courses, intermediate-level courses, topics or advanced seminar courses, and research seminar courses. These must include at least one course in value theory (ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of law, or political philosophy); at least one course in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, or philosophy of mind; and at least one course in the history of philosophy (ancient, medieval, modern, or 19th century). At least three of the courses must be outside value theory.
• Two Associated Writing courses (8 points). There are two main forms that an Associated Writing course may take. In the first, most common form, the student works with a faculty member to develop and refine an already existing paper. (The paper is often, but not always, a paper written for a previous graduate seminar.) During the semester, the student submits drafts of the developing paper, discussing each draft with the instructor before moving on to the next draft. The aim is for students to receive individual mentoring in the craft of writing a professional-level philosophy paper; to have a chance to develop a paper more deeply and thoroughly than is typically possible in the more rushed context of a one-semester seminar; and to be provided with a formally structured opportunity to prepare papers for the third-year review. Although this is the paradigmatic form of an Associated Writing course, the student needn't always start with a preexisting paper. In some cases, an Associated Writing may take a form more akin to an "Independent Study," in which the student (with faculty guidance) reads up on an area of interest and writes a new paper from scratch. While this is sometimes a good option, students should be aware that to go this route is potentially to saddle themselves with extra work in a way that could slow their progress through the program. To go this route is also to forgo a formally structured opportunity to work on polishing an existing paper for the third-year review. It is expected that the student and faculty member will meet roughly every two weeks during the semester. Students needn't have prior acquaintance with a faculty member to ask him or her to supervise an Associated Writing. Under no circumstances may a student submit one and the same paper for credit in both a graduate seminar and an Associated Writing course. If an Associated Writing paper develops out of an existing seminar paper, as will often be the case, the expectation is that it will constitute a substantial development of that paper. An Associated Writing course may in some cases be used to fulfill a distribution requirement, but only if the course is done on the "Independent Study" model and permission is obtained in advance from the Director of Graduate Studies and the course instructor.

Third-Year Review: By the date one week prior to the first day of the fifth semester in the program, students must submit two papers (normally the product of courses in the first two years). To satisfy the requirement, papers should be substantial pieces of work of 15-30 pages in length and should demonstrate that the student is able to take his or her philosophical research and writing to the high level appropriate for writing a dissertation. Students should also be in good standing at the time of the review.

Thesis Prospectus: By the fifth week of their fifth term in the program, students must designate a prospectus advisor and report that designation to the Director of Graduate Studies. (The designation of a prospectus advisor takes place by this time regardless of whether the student has successfully completed the third-year review.) It is understood that the designation of "prospectus advisor" is provisional and subject to change depending on the evolving nature of the thesis project. The prospectus advisor's role is to guide the student through the prospectus-writing process; the prospectus advisor may or may not ultimately serve on the dissertation committee, though of course often he or she will.

By the tenth week of their sixth term in the program, students must submit a draft prospectus document to their prospectus advisor, copying the Director of Graduate Studies. It is hoped that this draft can serve as the final, or near-final, version of the prospectus and be defended by the end of the sixth term, but it is understood that this will not always be possible; to remain in good standing, however, the student must submit a draft, which may then serve as the basis for ongoing work and discussion. The prospectus document should be between five and a strict maximum of fifteen pages long. It should not be a philosophy paper, but rather a thesis plan that (1) clearly articulates an interesting philosophical problem in a way that (2) displays the student's knowledge of the problem's place in the space of philosophical ideas and, in particular, of the leading attempts to resolve the problem, and (3) gives as clear an indication as the student can give at this early stage of how he or she intends to organize the thesis, and of what he or she expects his or her contribution to be, that is, of what the thesis will add to the existing literature. (Students writing a thesis consisting of three linked papers should apply these guidelines to each of their topics. The prospectus document should still not exceed fifteen pages, however.)

No later than the fourteenth week of the sixth term in the program, each student must notify the Director of Graduate Studies of the composition of his or her full prospectus committee. The prospectus committee ordinarily consists of three, and no more than three, faculty members. The prospectus committee often becomes the dissertation committee, but this needn't always be the case and uncertainty about the ultimate composition of the dissertation committee should not stand in the way of the designation of the prospectus committee by the end of the sixth term. Dissertation committees also ordinarily consist of three, and no more than three, faculty members. Exceptions to this rule require special justification and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

To remain in good standing, students must complete the prospectus and pass the prospectus defense no later than the fourteenth week of their seventh term in the program. While the prospectus defense takes the form of an oral examination, its principal purpose is to reach an agreement with prospective future members of the student's thesis committee as to the shape and substance of the project. The thesis prospectus examination should satisfy the committee that the candidate can write a passing thesis meeting the description in the candidate's submitted prospectus.

Logic Requirement: Students should satisfy the department of their competence in the following: formalization of English sentences; derivations within a system of predicate logic; formal definition of truth and validity for a first-order language; basic metalogical tools, including the use-mention distinction, the concept of rigor, and proof and definition by mathematical induction; statement and proof of basic metalogical results, including the deduction theorem, soundness and completeness for sentential and predicate logic, and completeness for predicate logic. The Director of Graduate Studies will count the student as having passed the requirement when presented with appropriate evidence (e.g., of a pass in a relevant course at NYU or elsewhere).

Thesis and Oral Examination: The dissertation can consist of a monograph or, alternatively, of three outstanding papers. The department envisions that, in most cases, the dissertation will grow out of work done for the topics or advanced seminar and Associated Writing courses and that there will be no sharp distinction between years of course work and years of dissertation writing. Students who entered in the year 2010 or later are expected to complete all degree requirements, including the dissertation, within six years (or five if the student elects not to participate in the teaching program).

Boston University Academics

Boston University

• Campus Life
• Schools & Colleges
• Degree Programs
• Search Academics
• PhD in Philosophy

The PhD in Philosophy prepares students for a position pursuing research and teaching philosophy. All applicants should have completed the equivalent of an undergraduate major in philosophy with a strong grade point average. Students with minors in philosophy are also encouraged to apply. Part-time applications for the PhD are strongly discouraged.

Learning Outcomes

Students completing our PhD program are expected to:

• Acquire the conceptual ability, and the speaking and writing skills, needed for intensive examination of questions concerning what is true, what is good, and what is beautiful.
• Gain significant knowledge of the canonical works of both Antiquity and Modernity, as well as the basic issues and texts of contemporary philosophy.
• Learn to develop strong arguments that can be defended in a professional forum.
• Upon graduation, have made an original contribution to the field.
• Learn how to cope with the demands of the profession while retaining the enthusiasm for the study of philosophy that animated them at the outset of their careers.
• Display curiosity about, and interest and engagement in, the world in which they live.

Course Requirements

PhD candidates must take a minimum of 16 graduate-accredited term courses (64 units), plus a required Dissertation Workshop. Course requirements are as follows:

• At least 12 (48 units) must be in philosophy, including at least four at the 800 or 900 level. Coursework must also coincide with a specific distribution of courses; please see Philosophy Department Regulae for details.
• Registration for the Dissertation Workshop (CAS PH 990) each term beginning in the fourth year and ending either at the end of the sixth year or upon successful defense of dissertation, whichever comes first. PH 990 does not count toward the 16 required graduate courses.
• Logic Proficiency: The candidate must demonstrate competence in logic by passing a designated logic course with a B+ or higher, or by passing a logic examination administered by the department.

No more than three directed studies may be taken toward course requirements.

Language Requirement

All students pursuing a PhD in Philosophy are required to demonstrate graduate-level reading proficiency in French, German, Greek, or Latin by the end of the third year of graduate study. If the student’s native language is French or German, the requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Any language other than English may fulfill the requirement if (a) it is needed for dissertation work and (b) approval is granted by the DGS. Language proficiency can be demonstrated through either a language examination, by achieving a B+ or higher in an approved intermediate course (normally a translation course) administered by another department and approved by the DGS, successful completion of a noncredit graduate-level foreign language reading course offered by Boston University, or the equivalent of two years of undergraduate study of the language at Boston University. Language courses offered at the graduate level will be given graduate units. Two such courses may count toward the coursework requirement of 16 courses.

Students must possess a good reading knowledge of any language that is important for their dissertation work. A dissertation proposal will not be approved until the relevant mastery has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the dissertation director. The director will have the discretion of accepting a B+ or higher in a relevant language course as evidence of competence; or adequate performance on a translation examination; or any reasonable means of determining competence.

Qualifying Research

a. By the end of the third year at the latest, students should have finished their distribution requirements and secured the agreement of a faculty member to supervise their prospectus. The faculty member may also end up supervising the dissertation but that need not be the case. By the end of the third year at the latest, students must also produce a document detailing specific research goals, including a timeline, for producing “qualifying research.” Student and advisor should produce this document together and have it approved by the DGS. The plan can be revised with the approval of the advisor and student. The plan can include a Directed Study for units to facilitate the research goals. This “qualifying research” could take one or more of the following forms: a draft of the prospectus, a literature review, a draft of a dissertation chapter, or some other document or documents that student and advisor mutually agree upon.

b. By the end of the first term of the fourth year at the latest, the student will have produced said “qualifying research,” to the satisfaction of the advisor. Confirmation of the advisor’s approval should be submitted by the advisor to the DGS.

c. By August 31 of the summer after the fourth year at the latest, the dissertation prospectus should be officially defended and the paperwork submitted to GRS. If the prospectus is not defended by August 31 of the summer after the fourth year, the student does not receive the fifth-year dissertation fellowship and instead receives a teaching fellowship.

d. Every term after the distribution requirements are completed, the student will write a progress report, which will be reviewed by the advisor and, if approved, will be submitted by the advisor to the DGS.

In sum, there are three deadlines the student must meet. The first is securing an advisor and creating a timeline for the completion of specific research goals; the second is producing satisfactory “qualifying research;” and the third is the prospectus defense. The dates stated above are all “outside” deadlines. It is strongly suggested that students complete these goals before the deadlines.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

Candidates shall demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship. A prospectus for the dissertation must be completed and approved by the readers, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair/Program Director. Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their field and demonstrate a mastery of their field of specialization in relation to their dissertation. All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS General Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree.

Get more details and a copy of the department’s guidelines from our department site.

Students admitted into the doctoral program may also obtain the MA by satisfying the requirements indicated for the terminal MA . Students who are candidates for the MA are required to submit a thesis similar to the one required for the terminal MA. The MA thesis for the PhD student need not be orally defended.

Related Bulletin Pages

• Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Departments
• Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Courses
• Abbreviations and Symbols

Beyond the Bulletin

• Department of Philosophy
• Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
• Graduate Admissions
• Graduate Financial Aid
• BA/MA Program
• Master’s Degree Requirements
• PhD Degree Requirements
• African American Studies
• American & New England Studies
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Biostatistics
• Classical Studies
• Cognitive & Neural Systems
• Computer Science
• Creative Writing
• Earth & Environment
• Editorial Studies
• History of Art & Architecture
• Latin American Studies
• Linguistics
• Literary Translation
• Mathematics & Statistics
• Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry
• Neuroscience
• Pardee School of Global Studies
• MA in Philosophy
• Playwriting
• Political Science
• Preservation Studies
• Religious Studies
• Romance Studies
• Sociology & Social Work
• Statistical Practice
• African Studies Certificate
• Asian Studies Certificate
• Advanced Biogeoscience Certificate
• European Studies Certificate
• Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies Certificate
• Latin American Studies Certificate
• Linguistics Certificate
• Museum Studies Certificate
• Muslim Studies Certificate
• Teaching Language, Literature & Film Certificate
• Teaching Writing Certificate
• Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Certificate
• Departments
• Research Centers & Institutes

Terms of Use

Note that this information may change at any time. Read the full terms of use .

related websites

Accreditation.

Boston University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

• © Copyright
• Mobile Version

• View all courses
• Taught postgraduate study
• Postgraduate taught degree courses
• Postgraduate taught tuition fees
• Pre-masters for international students
• Funding your postgraduate taught studies
• How to apply for a postgraduate taught degree
• Postgraduate offer holders - prepare for your studies
• Pre-sessional English courses
• PhDs and research degrees
• Create your own research project
• Find a PhD project
• Funding your research degree
• How to apply for a PhD or research degree
• How to make a PhD enquiry
• Support while studying your PhD or research degree
• Exchanges and studying abroad
• Undergraduate study
• Undergraduate degree courses
• Foundation year programmes
• Undergraduate tuition fees
• Customise your degree
• Funding undergraduate studies
• How to apply
• Tuition fees and funding
• Short courses
• Lunchtime evening and weekend courses
• Summer schools
• Get a prospectus
• Student life
• Accommodation
• Choose your halls of residence
• Apply for accommodation
• Guaranteed accommodation
• Your accommodation options
• Accommodation for those with additional requirements
• International and pre-sessional students
• Postgraduate accommodation
• Couples and students with children
• Renting privately
• Our accommodation areas
• Privacy notice
• Terms and conditions
• Fees and contracts
• Southampton
• Sports and gyms
• Sports facilities
• Sports clubs
• Watersports centres
• Our campuses
• Avenue Campus
• Boldrewood Innovation Campus
• City Centre Campus
• Highfield Campus
• University Hospital Southampton
• Waterfront Campus
• Winchester Campus
• Join our student community
• What's on
• Clubs and societies
• Sports teams
• SUSU places
• Representing you
• SUSU support and advice
• Support and money
• Living costs
• Academic and mental health support
• Support for disabled students
• Part-time work
• Health services
• Research projects
• Research areas
• Research facilities
• Collaborate with us
• Institutes, centres and groups
• Support for researchers
• Faculties, schools and departments
• Research jobs
• Find people and expertise
• Why work with us?
• Collaboration
• Consultancy
• Commercialisation
• Use our facilities
• Connect with our students
• How we operate
• Make a business enquiry
• International students
• International Office
• Partnerships and initiatives
• Visiting delegations
• Visiting fellowships
• University of Southampton Delhi

Governance and policies

Find key information on governance and regulations, including policies, financial statements, complaints and appeals, and requests and procedures. You can also learn how the University is structured and everything you need to know about starting your studies.

How the University is structured and governed

Regulations, policy and student charter, freedom of information and publication scheme.

• Course modules
• Acoustical engineering
• Biomedical and medical engineering
• Civil engineering
• Every day I’m completely immersed in an environment that’s creative in all aspects
• Everything I learn feels so relevant, even If it’s a subject rooted in the past
• Maritime engineering
• Photonics and optoelectronics
• Social statistics and demography
• A missing link between continental shelves and the deep sea: Have we underestimated the importance of land-detached canyons?
• A seismic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
• A study of rolling contact fatigue in electric vehicles (EVs)
• Acoustic monitoring of forest exploitation to establish community perspectives of sustainable hunting
• Acoustic sensing and characterisation of soil organic matter
• Advancing intersectional geographies of diaspora-led development in times of multiple crises
• Aero engine fan wake turbulence – Simulation and wind tunnel experiments
• Against Climate Change (DACC): improving the estimates of forest fire smoke emissions
• All-in-one Mars in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) system and life-supporting using non-thermal plasma
• An electromagnetic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
• An investigation of the relationship between health, home and law in the context of poor and precarious housing, and complex and advanced illness
• Antibiotic resistance genes in chalk streams
• Being autistic in care: Understanding differences in care experiences including breakdowns in placements for autistic and non-autistic children
• Biogeochemical cycling in the critical coastal zone: Developing novel methods to make reliable measurements of geochemical fluxes in permeable sediments
• Bloom and bust: seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and carbon flux
• British Black Lives Matter: The emergence of a modern civil rights movement
• Building physics for low carbon comfort using artificial intelligence
• Building-resolved large-eddy simulations of wind and dispersion over a city scale urban area
• Business studies and management: accounting
• Business studies and management: banking and finance
• Business studies and management: decision analytics and risk
• Business studies and management: digital and data driven marketing
• Business studies and management: human resources (HR) management and organisational behaviour
• Business studies and management: strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship
• Carbon storage in reactive rock systems: determining the coupling of geo-chemo-mechanical processes in reactive transport
• Cascading hazards from the largest volcanic eruption in over a century: What happened when Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in January 2022?
• Characterisation of cast austenitic stainless steels using ultrasonic backscatter and artificial intelligence
• Climate Change effects on the developmental physiology of the small-spotted catshark
• Climate at the time of the Human settlement of the Eastern Pacific
• Collaborative privacy in data marketplaces
• Compatibility of climate and biodiversity targets under future land use change
• Cost of living in modern and fossil animals
• Creative clusters in rural, coastal and post-industrial towns
• Deep oceanic convection: the outsized role of small-scale processes
• Defect categories and their realisation in supersymmetric gauge theory
• Defining the Marine Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus: Learning from shocks to enhance natural resource resilience
• Design and fabrication of next generation optical fibres
• Developing a practical application of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies for conservation research and monitoring of endangered wildlife
• Development and evolution of animal biomineral skeletons
• Development of all-in-one in-situ resource utilisation system for crewed Mars exploration missions
• Ecological role of offshore artificial structures
• Effect of embankment and subgrade weathering on railway track performance
• Efficient ‘whole-life’ anchoring systems for offshore floating renewables
• Electrochemical sensing of the sea surface microlayer
• Engagement with nature among children from minority ethnic backgrounds
• Enhancing UAV manoeuvres and control using distributed sensor arrays
• Ensuring the Safety and Security of Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems
• Environmental and genetic determinants of Brassica crop damage by the agricultural pest Diamondback moth
• Estimating marine mammal abundance and distribution from passive acoustic and biotelemetry data
• Evolution of symbiosis in a warmer world
• Examining evolutionary loss of calcification in coccolithophores
• Explainable AI (XAI) for health
• Explaining process, pattern and dynamics of marine predator hotspots in the Southern Ocean
• Exploring dynamics of natural capital in coastal barrier systems
• Exploring the mechanisms of microplastics incorporation and their influence on the functioning of coral holobionts
• Exploring the potential electrical activity of gut for healthcare and wellbeing
• Exploring the trans-local nature of cultural scene
• Facilitating forest restoration sustainability of tropical swidden agriculture
• Faulting, fluids and geohazards within subduction zone forearcs
• Faulting, magmatism and fluid flow during volcanic rifting in East Africa
• Fingerprinting environmental releases from nuclear facilities
• Flexible hybrid thermoelectric materials for wearable energy harvesting
• Floating hydrokinetic power converter
• Glacial sedimentology associated subglacial hydrology
• Green and sustainable Internet of Things
• How do antimicrobial peptides alter T cell cytokine production?
• How do calcifying marine organisms grow? Determining the role of non-classical precipitation processes in biogenic marine calcite formation
• How do neutrophils alter T cell metabolism?
• How well can we predict future changes in biodiversity using machine learning?
• Hydrant dynamics for acoustic leak detection in water pipes
• If ‘Black Lives Matter’, do ‘Asian Lives Matter’ too? Impact trajectories of organisation activism on wellbeing of ethnic minority communities
• Illuminating luciferin bioluminescence in dinoflagellates
• Imaging quantum materials with an XFEL
• Impact of neuromodulating drugs on gut microbiome homeostasis
• Impact of pharmaceuticals in the marine environment in a changing world
• Impacts of environmental change on coastal habitat restoration
• Improving subsea navigation using environment observations for long term autonomy
• Information theoretic methods for sensor management
• Installation effect on the noise of small high speed fans
• Integrated earth observation mapping change land sea
• Interconnections of past greenhouse climates
• Investigating IgG cell depletion mechanisms
• Is ocean mixing upside down? How mixing processes drive upwelling in a deep-ocean basin
• Landing gear aerodynamics and aeroacoustics
• Lightweight gas storage: real-world strategies for the hydrogen economy
• Long-term change in the benthos – creating robust data from varying camera systems
• Machine learning for multi-robot perception
• Marine ecosystem responses to past climate change and its oceanographic impacts
• Mechanical effects in the surf zone - in situ electrochemical sensing
• Microfluidic cell isolation systems for sepsis
• Migrant entrepreneurship, gender and generation: context and family dynamics in small town Britain
• Miniaturisation in fishes: evolutionary and ecological perspectives
• Modelling high-power fibre laser and amplifier stability
• Modelling soil dewatering and recharge for cost-effective and climate resilient infrastructure
• Modelling the evolution of adaptive responses to climate change across spatial landscapes
• Nanomaterials sensors for biomedicine and/or the environment
• New high-resolution observations of ocean surface current and winds from innovative airborne and satellite measurements
• New perspectives on ocean photosynthesis
• Novel methods of detecting carbon cycling pathways in lakes and their impact on ecosystem change
• Novel technologies for cyber-physical security
• Novel transparent conducting films with unusual optoelectronic properties
• Novel wavelength fibre lasers for industrial applications
• Ocean circulation and the Southern Ocean carbon sink
• Ocean influence on recent climate extremes
• Ocean methane sensing using novel surface plasmon resonance technology
• Ocean physics and ecology: can robots disentangle the mix?
• Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Assessing the utility of coastal enhanced weathering
• Offshore renewable energy (ORE) foundations on rock seabeds: advancing design through analogue testing and modelling
• Optical fibre sensing for acoustic leak detection in buried pipelines
• Optimal energy transfer in nonlinear systems
• Optimizing machine learning for embedded systems
• Oxidation of fossil organic matter as a source of atmospheric CO2
• Partnership dissolution and re-formation in later life among individuals from minority ethnic communities in the UK
• Personalized multimodal human-robot interactions
• Preventing disease by enhancing the cleaning power of domestic water taps using sound
• Quantifying riparian vegetation dynamics and flow interactions for Nature Based Solutions using novel environmental sensing techniques
• Quantifying the response and sensitivity of tropical forest carbon sinks to various drivers
• Quantifying variability in phytoplankton electron requirements for carbon fixation
• Resilient and sustainable steel-framed building structures
• Resolving Antarctic meltwater events in Southern Ocean marine sediments and exploring their significance using climate models
• Robust acoustic leak detection in water pipes using contact sound guides
• Silicon synapses for artificial intelligence hardware
• Smart photon delivery via reconfigurable optical fibres
• The Gulf Stream control of the North Atlantic carbon sink
• The Mayflower Studentship: a prestigious fully funded PhD studentship in bioscience
• The calming effect of group living in social fishes
• The duration of ridge flank hydrothermal exchange and its role in global biogeochemical cycles
• The evolution of symmetry in echinoderms
• The impact of early life stress on neuronal enhancer function
• The oceanic fingerprints on changing monsoons over South and Southeast Asia
• The role of iron in nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis in changing polar oceans
• The role of singlet oxygen signaling in plant responses to heat and drought stress
• Time variability on turbulent mixing of heat around melting ice in the West Antarctic
• Triggers and Feedbacks of Climate Tipping Points
• Uncovering the drivers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progression using patient derived organoids
• Understanding recent land-use change in Snowdonia to plan a sustainable future for uplands: integrating palaeoecology and conservation practice
• Understanding the role of cell motility in resource acquisition by marine phytoplankton
• Understanding the structure and engagement of personal networks that support older people with complex care needs in marginalised communities and their ability to adapt to increasingly ‘digitalised’ health and social care
• Unpicking the Anthropocene in the Hawaiian Archipelago
• Unraveling oceanic multi-element cycles using single cell ionomics
• Unravelling southwest Indian Ocean biological productivity and physics: a machine learning approach
• Using acoustics to monitor how small cracks develop into bursts in pipelines
• Using machine learning to improve predictions of ocean carbon storage by marine life
• Vulnerability of low-lying coastal transportation networks to natural hazards
• Wideband fibre optical parametric amplifiers for Space Division Multiplexing technology
• Will it stick? Exploring the role of turbulence and biological glues on ocean carbon storage
• X-ray imaging and property characterisation of porous materials
• Postgraduate Taught Diversity Scholarship (Environmental and Life Sciences)
• Southampton Business School Postgraduate UK Scholarship
• Southampton Genomics Talent Scholarship
• Southampton History Patricia Mather and Helen Patterson Scholarship
• Southampton MA Holocaust scholarships
• Southampton Philosophy David Humphris-Norman Scholarship
• Southampton UK Alumni Music Scholarship
• The National Institute for Health and care Research South Central INSIGHT Programme
• Winchester School of Art Progression Scholarship
• Southampton Physics and Astronomy Achievement Scholarship
• GREAT Scholarships 2024 – Greece
• Engineering Excellence Scholarship
• Winchester School of Art Postgraduate Global Talent Scholarship
• Engineering Global Talent Scholarship
• Southampton University Corporate Civil Engineering Scholarship Scheme
• Merit scholarships for international postgraduates
• Merit scholarships for international undergraduates
• Scholarships, awards and funding opportunities
• Becas Chile Scholarship
• Chevening Scholarships
• China Scholarship Council Scholarships
• COLFUTURO Scholarships
• Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships
• Commonwealth Master's Scholarships
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships for high income countries
• Commonwealth Shared Scholarships
• Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarships
• FIDERH Scholarships
• Fulbright Awards
• FUNED Scholarships
• Great Scholarships 2024 – India
• Great Scholarships 2024 – Bangladesh
• Great Scholarships 2024 – Mexico
• Great Scholarships 2024 – Nigeria
• Marshall Scholarship
• Saïd Foundation Scholarships
• British Council Scholarships for Women in STEM
• Xiamen University PhD Scholarships
• GREAT scholarships for justice and law 2024 – Indonesia
• Scholarship terms and conditions
• Southampton Education Civic Scholarship
• Southampton Ageing and Gerontology Talent Scholarship
• Southampton Canadian Prestige Scholarship for Law
• Southampton Presidential International Scholarship
• Continuing professional development
• Archers Road
• City Gateway
• Erasmus Park
• Highfield Hall
• Orion Point
• Wessex Lane
• Cancer Sciences Protein Facility
• Geotechnical Centrifuge
• Maritime Robotics and Instrumentation Laboratory (MRIL)
• Active Living
• Advanced Fibre Applications
• Advanced Laser Laboratory
• Advanced Project Management Research Centre
• Antibody and Vaccine Group
• Astronomy Group
• Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS)
• Bioarchaeology and Osteoarchaeology at Southampton (BOS)
• Bladder and Bowel Management
• Cell and Developmental Biology
• Centre for Defence and Security Research
• Centre for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
• Centre for Digital Finance
• Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (CEEES)
• Centre for Empirical Research in Finance and Banking (CERFIB)
• Centre for Geometry, Topology, and Applications
• Centre for Global Englishes
• Centre for Global Health and Policy (GHaP)
• Centre for Health Technologies
• Centre for Healthcare Analytics
• Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration
• Centre for Imperial and Postcolonial Studies
• Centre for Inclusive and Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CISEI)
• Centre for International Film Research (CIFR)
• Centre for International Law and Globalisation
• Centre for Internet of Things and Pervasive Systems
• Centre for Justice Studies
• Centre for Linguistics, Language Education and Acquisition Research
• Centre for Machine Intelligence
• Centre for Maritime Archaeology
• Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Culture (CMRC)
• Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing (CMCW)
• Centre for Music Education and Social Justice
• Centre for Political Ethnography (CPE)
• Centre for Research in Accounting, Accountability and Governance
• Centre for Research on Work and Organisations
• Centre for Resilient Socio-Technical Systems
• Centre for Transnational Studies
• Child and Adolescent Research Group
• Clinical Ethics, Law and Society (CELS)
• Computational Nonlinear Optics
• Cyber Security Academy
• Data Science Group
• Digital Oceans
• EPSRC and MOD Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Integrated Systems for Defence and Security
• Economic Theory and Experimental Economics
• Economy, Society and Governance
• Electrical Power Engineering
• Environmental Hydraulics
• Gas Photonics in Hollow Core Fibres 
• Geochemistry
• Global Health (Demography)
• Global Health Community of Practice
• Gravity group
• Healthy Oceans
• High Power Fibre Lasers
• Hollow Core Fibre
• Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine
• Infrastructure Group
• Institute of Developmental Sciences
• Institute of Maritime Law (IML)
• Integrated Photonic Devices
• Integrative Molecular Phenotyping Centre
• Interdisciplinary Musculoskeletal Health
• International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research (ICER)
• Language Assessment and Testing Unit (LATU)
• Laser-Direct-Write (LDW) Technologies for Biomedical Applications
• Law and Technology Centre
• Long Term Conditions
• Magnetic Resonance
• Mathematical Modelling
• Medicines Management
• Molecular and Precision Biosciences
• Multiwavelength Accretion and Astronomical Transients
• National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC)
• National Centre for Research Methods
• National Infrastructure Laboratory
• Nature-Based Ocean Solutions
• Nonlinear Semiconductor Photonics
• Ocean Perception Group
• Operational Research
• Optical Engineering and Quantum Photonics Group
• Paediatrics and Child Health - Clinical and Experimental Sciences
• People, Property, Community
• Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors Group
• Physical Optics
• Primary Care Research Centre
• Product Returns Research Group (PRRG)
• Quantum, Light and Matter Group
• Silica Fibre Fabrication
• Silicon Photonics
• Skin Sensing Research Group
• Southampton Centre for Nineteenth-Century Research
• Southampton Ethics Centre
• Southampton Health Technology Assessments Centre (SHTAC)
• Southampton High Energy Physics group
• Southampton Imaging
• Southampton Theory Astrophysics and Gravity (STAG) Research Centre
• Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law
• String theory and holography
• The India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development
• The Parkes Institute
• Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory
• Ultrafast X-ray Group
• Vision Science
• WSA Exchange
• Work Futures Research Centre (WFRC)
• Departments

• What is a PhD?

Written by Mark Bennett

A PhD is a doctoral research degree and the highest level of academic qualification you can achieve. The degree normally takes between three and four years of full-time work towards a thesis offering an original contribution to your subject.

This page explains what a PhD is, what it involves and what you need to know if you’re considering applying for a PhD research project , or enrolling on a doctoral programme .

On this page

The meaning of a phd.

The PhD can take on something of a mythic status. Are they only for geniuses? Do you have to discover something incredible? Does the qualification make you an academic? And are higher research degrees just for people who want to be academics?

Even the full title, ‘Doctor of Philosophy’, has a somewhat mysterious ring to it. Do you become a doctor? Yes, but not that kind of doctor. Do you have to study Philosophy? No (not unless you want to) .

So, before going any further, let's explain what the term 'PhD' actually means and what defines a doctorate.

What does PhD stand for?

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy. This is one of the highest level academic degrees that can be awarded. PhD is an abbreviation of the Latin term (Ph)ilosophiae (D)octor. Traditionally the term ‘philosophy’ does not refer to the subject but its original Greek meaning which roughly translates to ‘lover of wisdom’.

What is a doctorate?

A doctorate is any qualification that awards a doctoral degree. In order to qualify for one you need to produce advanced work that makes a significant new contribution to knowledge in your field. Doing so earns you the title 'Doctor' – hence the name.

So, is a PhD different to a doctorate? No. A PhD is a type of doctorate .

The PhD is the most common type of doctorate and is awarded in almost all subjects at universities around the world. Other doctorates tend to be more specialised or for more practical and professional projects.

Essentially, all PhDs are doctorates, but not all doctorates are PhDs.

Do you need a Masters to get a PhD?

Not necessarily. It's common for students in Arts and the Humanities to complete an MA (Master of Arts) before starting a PhD in order to acquire research experience and techniques. Students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) don't always need an MS/MSc (Master of Science) to do a PhD as you'll gain training in lab techniques and other skills during your undergraduate degree.

Whether a Masters is a requirement for a PhD also varies by country. Australian PhDs may require a Masters as the equivalent of their own 'honours year' (where students work on research). US PhD programmes often include a Masters.

We have a whole guide dedicated to helping you decide whether a PhD without a Masters is the right route for you.

The origin of the PhD

Despite its name, the PhD isn't actually an Ancient Greek degree. Instead it's a much more recent development. The PhD as we know it was developed in nineteenth-century Germany, alongside the modern research university.

Higher education had traditionally focussed on mastery of an existing body of scholarship and the highest academic rank available was, appropriately enough, a Masters degree.

As the focus shifted more onto the production of new knowledge and ideas, the PhD degree was brought in to recognise those who demonstrated the necessary skills and expertise.

The PhD process – what's required to get a PhD?

The typical length of a PhD is three to four years full-time, or five to six years part-time.

Unlike most Masters courses (or all undergraduate programmes), a PhD is a pure research degree. But that doesn’t mean you’ll just spend years locked away in a library or laboratory. In fact, the modern PhD is a diverse and varied qualification with many different components.

Whereas the second or third year of a taught degree look quite a lot like the first (with more modules and coursework at a higher level) a PhD moves through a series of stages.

A typical PhD normally involves:

• Carrying out a literature review (a survey of current scholarship in your field).
• Conducting original research and collecting your results .
• Producing a thesis that presents your conclusions.
• Writing up your thesis and submitting it as a dissertation .
• Defending your thesis in an oral viva voce exam.

These stages vary a little between subjects and universities, but they tend to fall into the same sequence over the three years of a typical full-time PhD.

The first year of a PhD

The beginning of a PhD is all about finding your feet as a researcher and getting a solid grounding in the current scholarship that relates to your topic.

You’ll have initial meetings with your supervisor and discuss a plan of action based on your research proposal.

The first step in this will almost certainly be carrying out your literature review . With the guidance of your supervisor you’ll begin surveying and evaluating existing scholarship. This will help situate your research and ensure your work is original.

Your literature review will provide a logical jumping off point for the beginning of your own research and the gathering of results . This could involve designing and implementing experiments, or getting stuck into a pile of primary sources.

The year may end with an MPhil upgrade . This occurs when PhD students are initially registered for an MPhil degree and then ‘upgraded’ to PhD candidates upon making sufficient progress. You’ll submit material from your literature review, or a draft of your research findings and discuss these with members of your department in an upgrade exam . All being well, you’ll then continue with your research as a PhD student.

PhDs in other countries

The information on the page is based on the UK. Most countries follow a similar format, but there are some differences. In the USA , for example, PhD students complete reading assignments and examinations before beginning their research. You can find out more in our guides to PhD study around the world .

The second year of a PhD

Your second year will probably be when you do most of your core research. The process for this will vary depending on your field, but your main focus will be on gathering results from experiments, archival research, surveys or other means.

As your research develops, so will the thesis (or argument) you base upon it. You may even begin writing up chapters or other pieces that will eventually form part of your dissertation .

You’ll still be having regular meetings with your supervisor. They’ll check your progress, provide feedback on your ideas and probably read any drafts your produce.

The second year is also an important stage for your development as a scholar. You’ll be well versed in current research and have begun to collect some important data or develop insights of your own. But you won’t yet be faced with the demanding and time-intensive task of finalising your dissertation.

So, this part of your PhD is a perfect time to think about presenting your work at academic conferences , gaining teaching experience or perhaps even selecting some material for publication in an academic journal. You can read more about these kinds of activities below.

The third year of a PhD

The third year of a PhD is sometimes referred to as the writing up phase.

Traditionally, this is the final part of your doctorate, during which your main task will be pulling together your results and honing your thesis into a dissertation .

In reality, it’s not always as simple as that.

It’s not uncommon for final year PhD students to still be fine-tuning experiments, collecting results or chasing up a few extra sources. This is particularly likely if you spend part of your second year focussing on professional development.

In fact, some students actually take all or part of a fourth year to finalise their dissertation. Whether you are able to do this will depend on the terms of your enrolment – and perhaps your PhD funding .

Eventually though, you are going to be faced with writing up your thesis and submitting your dissertation.

Your supervisor will be very involved in this process. They’ll read through your final draft and let you know when they think your PhD is ready for submission.

All that’s left then is your final viva voce oral exam. This is a formal discussion and defence of your thesis involving at least one internal and external examiner. It’s normally the only assessment procedure for a PhD. Once you’ve passed, you’ve done it!

Looking for more information about the stages of a PhD?

How do you go about completing a literature review? What's it like to do PhD research? And what actually happens at an MPhil upgrade? You can find out more in our detailed guide to the PhD journey .

Doing a PhD – what's it actually like?

You can think of the ‘stages’ outlined above as the basic ‘roadmap’ for a PhD, but the actual ‘journey’ you’ll take as a research student involves a lot of other sights, a few optional destinations and at least one very important fellow passenger.

Carrying out research

Unsurprisingly, you’ll spend most of your time as a PhD researcher… researching your PhD. But this can involve a surprisingly wide range of activities.

The classic image of a student working away in the lab, or sitting with a pile of books in the library is true some of the time – particularly when you’re monitoring experiments or conducting your literature review.

Your PhD can take you much further afield though. You may find yourself visiting archives or facilities to examine their data or look at rare source materials. You could even have the opportunity to spend an extended period ‘in residence’ at a research centre or other institution beyond your university.

Research is also far from being a solitary activity. You’ll have regular discussions with your supervisor (see below) but you may also work with other students from time to time.

This is particularly likely if you’re part of a larger laboratory or workshop group studying the same broad area. But it’s also common to collaborate with students whose projects are more individual. You might work on shorter projects of joint interest, or be part of teams organising events and presentations.

Many universities also run regular internal presentation and discussion groups – a perfect way to get to know other PhD students in your department and offer feedback on each other’s work in progress.

Working with your supervisor

All PhD projects are completed with the guidance of at least one academic supervisor . They will be your main point of contact and support throughout the PhD.

Your supervisor will be an expert in your general area of research, but they won’t have researched on your exact topic before (if they had, your project wouldn’t be original enough for a PhD).

As such, it’s better to think of your supervisor as a mentor, rather than a teacher.

As a PhD student you’re now an independent and original scholar, pushing the boundaries of your field beyond what is currently known (and taught) about it. You’re doing all of this for the first time, of course. But your supervisor isn’t.

They’ll know what’s involved in managing an advanced research project over three years (or more). They’ll know how best to succeed, but they’ll also know what can go wrong and how to spot the warning signs before it does.

Perhaps most importantly, they’ll be someone with the time and expertise to listen to your ideas and help provide feedback and encouragement as you develop your thesis.

Exact supervision arrangements vary between universities and between projects:

• In Science and Technology projects it’s common for a supervisor to be the lead investigator on a wider research project, with responsibility for a laboratory or workshop that includes several PhD students and other researchers.
• In Arts and Humanities subjects, a supervisor’s research is more separate from their students’. They may supervise more than one PhD at a time, but each project is essentially separate.

It’s also becoming increasingly common for PhD students to have two (or more) supervisors. The first is usually responsible for guiding your academic research whilst the second is more concerned with the administration of your PhD – ensuring you complete any necessary training and stay on track with your project’s timetable.

However you’re supervised, you’ll have regular meetings to discuss work and check your progress. Your supervisor will also provide feedback on work during your PhD and will play an important role as you near completion: reading your final dissertation draft, helping you select an external examiner and (hopefully) taking you out for a celebratory drink afterwards!

Professional development, networking and communication

Traditionally, the PhD has been viewed as a training process, preparing students for careers in academic research.

As such, it often includes opportunities to pick up additional skills and experiences that are an important part of a scholarly CV. Academics don’t just do research after all. They also teach students, administrate departments – and supervise PhDs.

The modern PhD is also viewed as a more flexible qualification. Not all doctoral graduates end up working in higher education. Many follow alternative careers that are either related to their subject of specialism or draw upon the advanced research skills their PhD has developed.

PhD programmes have begun to reflect this. Many now emphasise transferrable skills or include specific training units designed to help students communicate and apply their research beyond the university.

What all of this means is that very few PhD experiences are just about researching and writing up a thesis.

The likelihood is that you’ll also do some (or all) of the following during your PhD:

The work is usually paid and is increasingly accompanied by formal training and evaluation.

Conference presentation

As a PhD student you’ll be at the cutting edge of your field, doing original research and producing new results. This means that your work will be interest to other scholars and that your results could be worth presenting at academic conferences .

Doing this is very worthwhile, whatever your career plans. You’ll develop transferrable skills in public speaking and presenting, gain feedback on your results and begin to be recognised as an expert in your area.

Conferences are also great places to network with other students and academics.

Publication

As well as presenting your research, you may also have the opportunity to publish work in academic journals, books, or other media. This can be a challenging process.

Your work will be judged according to the same high standards as any other scholar’s and will normally go through extensive peer review processes. But it’s also highly rewarding. Seeing your work ‘in print’ is an incredible validation of your PhD research and a definite boost to your academic CV.

Public engagement and communication

Academic work may be associated with the myth of the ‘ivory tower’ – an insular community of experts focussing on obscure topics of little interest outside the university. But this is far from the case. More and more emphasis is being placed on the ‘impact’ of research and its wider benefits to the public – with funding decisions being made accordingly.

Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities to try your hand at public engagement as a PhD student. Universities are often involved in local events and initiatives to communicate the benefits of their research, ranging from workshops in local schools to public lectures and presentations.

Some PhD programmes include structured training in order to help students with activities such as the above. Your supervisor may also be able to help by identifying suitable conferences and public engagement opportunities, or by involving you in appropriate university events and public engagement initiatives.

These experiences will be an important part of your development as a researchers - and will enhance the value of your PhD regardless of your career plans.

What is a PhD for – and who should study one?

So, you know what a PhD actually is, what’s involved in completing one and what you might get up to whilst you do. That just leaves one final question: should you do a PhD?

Unfortunately, it’s not a question we can answer for you.

A PhD is difficult and uniquely challenging. It requires at least three years of hard work and dedication after you’ve already completed an undergraduate degree (and probably a Masters degree too).

You’ll need to support yourself during those years and, whilst you will be building up an impressive set of skills, you won’t be directly progressing in a career.

But a PhD is also immensely rewarding. It’s your chance to make a genuine contribution to the sum of human knowledge and produce work that other researchers can (and will) build on in future. However obscure your topic feels, there’s really no such thing as a useless PhD.

A PhD is also something to be incredibly proud of. A proportionately tiny number of people go on to do academic work at this level. Whatever you end up doing after your doctorate you’ll have an impressive qualification – and a title to match. What’s more, non-academic careers and professions are increasingly recognising the unique skills and experience a PhD brings.

Other PhDs - do degree titles matter?

The PhD is the oldest and most common form of higher research degree, but a few alternatives are available. Some, such as the DPhil are essentially identical to a PhD. Others, such as the Professional Doctorate or DBA are slightly different. You can find out more in our guide to types of PhD .

Is a PhD for me?

There’s more advice on the value of a PhD – and good reasons for studying one – elsewhere in this section. But the following are some quick tips if you’re just beginning to consider a PhD.

Speak to your lecturers / tutors

The best people to ask about PhD study are people who’ve earned one. Ask staff at your current or previous university about their experience of doctoral research – what they enjoyed, what they didn’t and what their tips might be.

If you’re considering a PhD for an academic career, ask about that too. Are job prospects good in your field? And what’s it really like to work at a university?

Speak to current PhD students

Want to know what it’s like studying a PhD right now? Or what it’s like doing research at a particular university? Ask someone who knows.

Current PhD students were just like you a year or two ago and most will be happy to answer questions.

If you can’t get in touch with any students ‘face to face’, pop over to the Postgraduate Forum – you’ll find plenty of students there who are happy to chat about postgraduate research.

Take a look at advertised projects and programmes

This may seem like a strange suggestion. After all, you’re only going to study one PhD, so what’s the point of reading about lots of others?

Well, looking at the details of different PhD projects is a great way to get a general sense of what PhD research is like. You’ll see what different PhDs tend to have in common and what kinds of unique opportunity might be available to you.

And, with thousands of PhDs in our database , you’re already in a great place to start.

Read our other advice articles

Finally, you can also check out some of the other advice on the FindAPhD website. We’ve looked at some good (and bad) reasons for studying a PhD as well as the value of a doctorate to different career paths.

More generally, you can read our in-depth look at a typical PhD journey , or find out more about specific aspects of doctoral study such as working with a supervisor or writing your dissertation .

We add new articles all the time – the best way to stay up to date is by signing up for our free PhD opportunity newsletter .

Ready to find your PhD?

Head on over to our PhD search listings to learn what opportunities are on offer within your discipline.

Our postgrad newsletter shares courses, funding news, stories and advice

You may also like....

What happens during a typical PhD, and when? We've summarised the main milestones of a doctoral research journey.

The PhD thesis is the most important part of a doctoral degree. This page will introduce you to what you need to know about the PhD dissertation.

This page will give you an idea of what to expect from your routine as a PhD student, explaining how your daily life will look at you progress through a doctoral degree.

PhD fees can vary based on subject, university and location. Use our guide to find out the PhD fees in the UK and other destinations, as well as doctoral living costs.

FindAPhD. Copyright 2005-2024 All rights reserved.

Unknown    ( change )

Have you got time to answer some quick questions about PhD study?

Select your nearest city

You haven’t completed your profile yet. To get the most out of FindAPhD, finish your profile and receive these benefits:

• Monthly chance to win one of ten £10 Amazon vouchers ; winners will be notified every month.*
• The latest PhD projects delivered straight to your inbox
• Access to our £6,000 scholarship competition
• Weekly newsletter with funding opportunities, research proposal tips and much more
• Early access to our physical and virtual postgraduate study fairs

Or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

*Offer only available for the duration of your active subscription, and subject to change. You MUST claim your prize within 72 hours, if not we will redraw.

Do you want hassle-free information and advice?

Create your FindAPhD account and sign up to our newsletter:

• Find out about funding opportunities and application tips
• Receive weekly advice, student stories and the latest PhD news
• Hear about our upcoming study fairs
• Save your favourite projects, track enquiries and get personalised subject updates

Create your account

Looking to list your PhD opportunities? Log in here .

Get the Reddit app

This subreddit is for anyone who is going through the process of getting into graduate school, and for those who've been there and have advice to give.

Is getting a PhD in philosophy worth it if I love the field and don’t really see myself doing anything else?

By continuing, you agree to our User Agreement and acknowledge that you understand the Privacy Policy .

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

You’ve set up two-factor authentication for this account.

Enter a 6-digit backup code

Create your username and password.

Reddit is anonymous, so your username is what you’ll go by here. Choose wisely—because once you get a name, you can’t change it.

Reset your password

Enter your email address or username and we’ll send you a link to reset your password

Check your inbox

An email with a link to reset your password was sent to the email address associated with your account

Choose a Reddit account to continue

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Honorific for someone who earned a PhD in philosophy itself?

I know that a PhD is now just used to mean doctorate, so what would a person who has a doctorate in philosophy be called?

• 3 The same as any other PhD! They would have a PhD in X. –  Austin Henley Commented Apr 10, 2015 at 0:01
• @AustinHenley I mean stuff like D.F.A. (doctor of fine arts), D.C.S. (doctor of computer science) –  Anonymous Commented Apr 10, 2015 at 1:13
• If they had a higher doctorate they would have a "Doctor of Letters" I believe. Doctor of Letters is basically the (equally) highest qualification a university can give (and not all give them). (a PhD is generally (but not nesc) a prereq for a doctors of letters) –  Frames Catherine White Commented Apr 10, 2015 at 5:26

4 Answers 4

Generically, a PhD is a Doctor of Philosophy, not a doctor in philosophy. Thus a PhD in philosophy would a Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (as opposed to a PhD in economics, who would be a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics).

• To the point and nailed it. –  299792458 Commented Apr 10, 2015 at 17:15

Doctor. Just like everyone else with a PhD.

Based on your comments to the question:

PhD is not used to just mean "doctorate." A PhD is a specific type of doctorate. The reason people talk about, say, a PhD in computer science is that that is their actual literal degree -- their diploma says "Doctor of Philosophy" on it, not "Doctor of Computer Science." Especially formally (like for honorifics), you never call yourself a PhD unless that is your actual degree (informally, some US schools hand out ScDs that are equivalent to a PhD, and you might say you have a PhD because it's clearer; however, formally, you do not have a PhD then).

Other than ScD in the US (and D.Phil, which is just PhD in English instead of Latin), other degrees I can think of would never be called a PhD even informally. A DFA is generally honorary, but even if not it's not a research degree. An MD isn't a PhD, even though it's a doctorate. An EdD is not a PhD.

So, a PhD in philosophy would be a PhD. Someone with a PhD in computer science also has a PhD. Things could have been set up so you'd have a D.Math, or a D.Physics, or a D.Comp.Sci., etc.; but that's not how it works, so you really have the actual same degree as people in other fields.

• In the UK, the system in your last paragraph is used for philosophy, and the abbreviation is D. Phil. –  alephzero Commented Apr 10, 2015 at 23:00
• @alephzero Are other degrees then not D.Phil? Because if everything's D.Phil, then the conclusion is that it uses an older sense of "philosophy." –  cpast Commented Apr 10, 2015 at 23:34
• 'DPhil' is still in Latin (the most notable British university to use that abbreviation, Oxford, still conducts degree ceremonies almost entirely in Latin); Latin word order is much more flexible than English. –  dbmag9 Commented Jun 25, 2017 at 21:44

I hold a PhD in philosophy. Long ago I was introduced to a group of non-philosopher cognoscenti this way: "Attention everyone, we now have a PhD squared in the group..." I had never heard that before, but everyone else seemed to know exactly what he meant, and started asking me deliberately silly philosophical questions. A doctor of philosophy of philosophy ... PhD-squared.

• 3 Isn't it then just the 'Ph' that is squared? :-) –  quid Commented Feb 27, 2017 at 21:14
• mathematicians aren't generally big hits at parties. –  Faydey Commented May 16, 2021 at 21:02

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged phd titles philosophy ..

• Featured on Meta
• Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
• Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

• Swapping touch digitizer from one Android phone to another
• What's the purpose of scanning the area before opening the portal?
• Sum[] function not computing the sum
• Is there a way to prove ownership of church land?
• Question about word (relationship between language and thought)
• Could they free up a docking port on ISS by undocking the emergency vehicle and letting it float next to the station for a little while
• Using NDSolve to solve the PDEs and their reduced ODEs yields inconsistent results
• Somebody used recommendation by an in-law without disclosure – should I report it?
• Do US universities invite faculty applicants from outside the US for an interview?
• What are the steps to write a book?
• Size of the functor category
• What qualifies as a Cantor diagonal argument?
• Fundamental Question on Noise Figure
• What is this aircraft from the TV series "Fear the Walking Dead"?
• Can the canonical Eudoxus-real representatives be defined easily?
• 70s-90s Anime Mecha Movie/Series
• Why a minus sign is often put into the law of induction for an inductor
• What is the translation of this quote by Plato?
• The head of a screw is missing on one side of the spigot outdoor
• Is this host and 'parasite' interaction feasible?
• How to truncate text in latex?
• Can you move between an attack and the attack granted by Horde Breaker?
• What prevents random software installation popups from mis-interpreting our consents
• Are others allowed to use my copyrighted figures in theses, without asking?

• Request Info
• Faculty Finder

Regis University Launches Innovative DNP to Ph.D. Program in Nursing Research and Education

• September 06, 2024

Program Equips Nurses with Advanced Research and Teaching Skills Through a Unique Dissertation Format

Regis University is proud to announce the launch of its new Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nursing program, designed specifically for nurses holding a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. This program, offered by the esteemed Loretto Heights School of Nursing, will equip nurses with the advanced skills and knowledge needed to excel as educators and researchers at the highest levels of academia and health care.  

The DNP to Ph.D. in Nursing Research and Nursing Education program is a unique pathway that emphasizes the integration of advanced nursing education and research. Through an innovative “dissertation by publication” approach, students will have the opportunity to prepare and submit three publications at key stages throughout their studies, ensuring they are well-prepared to contribute to the nursing discipline upon graduation.  

“In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, it is essential for nursing professionals to advance their education and research capabilities,” said Linda Osterlund, dean of the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions at Regis University. “Our new DNP to Ph.D. program represents a significant step forward in preparing nurses to become leaders, educators and researchers who can shape the future of healthcare.”  

As graduates of this program, nurses will be prepared to create new knowledge in the nursing field, engage in high-level research and deliver innovative education in nursing schools and health care institutions. The curriculum is specifically designed to sharpen skills in areas such as:  

• Advanced Research:  Understanding, analyzing and designing research using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches.  
• Advanced Nursing Education:  Developing educational theories and strategies tailored for clinical and classroom settings, emphasizing student-centered learning outcomes.  
• Health Care Teaching and Education:  Preparing nurses to teach and mentor the next generation of health care professionals.  
• Theoretical Perspectives in Nursing Science:  Integrating scientific, philosophical and theoretical concepts that form the foundation of nursing knowledge and practice.  

Courses such as Philosophy of Nursing Science, Nursing Education Pedagogy, and Research Theory and Design and Methods are key components of the program, providing a comprehensive education that spans the breadth of nursing science and education.  

A Tradition of Excellence in Nursing Education 

The Loretto Heights School of Nursing at Regis University has a long-standing history of excellence dating back to 1948. Known for producing competent, compassionate, and ethical nursing professionals, the school is fully accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing – Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (AACN-CCNE). Regis University’s commitment to Jesuit values ensures that our programs not only focus on technical and clinical expertise but also emphasize leadership, social justice and service to vulnerable and underserved populations.  

Sheryl Tirol Director of Communications, Marketing and Communications 303.458.4218

About Regis University

Established in 1877, Regis University is a premier, globally engaged institution of higher learning in the Jesuit tradition that prepares leaders to live productive lives of faith, meaning and service. Regis University, one of 27 Jesuit universities in the nation, has two campus locations in the Denver metro area and extensive online program offerings with more than 6,000 enrolled students. It is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. For more information, visit www.regis.edu .