The Ph.D. program in Philosophy at the University of Utah provides students with the opportunity to study philosophy on an advanced level, prepares students to engage in independent research in philosophy, and equips them to teach philosophy at the university level. The Philosophy Department also recognizes the appropriateness for some Ph.D. students of philosophy to receive training in a complimentary discipline such as mathematics, computer science, law, or health specialties.

University Requirements University requirements for Master's degrees are listed officially in the University General Catalog and in the Graduate Handbook published by the University of Utah Graduate School.

University of Utah Philosophy
Ph.D. Departmental Requirements

In addition to University requirements, Departmental requirements include:

Demonstration of Satisfactory Progress Toward Degree

In addition to University requirements, Departmental requirements include:

Demonstration of Satisfactory Progress Toward Degree

Students receiving University or Departmental financial awards or tuition waivers must:

• Maintain continuous registration as described in University Requirements.
  
  
• Maintain a high level of quality in all graduate work. While an occasional grade of "Incomplete" in a course will not, by itself, be regarded as a failure to comply with this condition, an inordinate number of unremoved "Incompletes" --normally two or more-- will. Students must also maintain a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0.
  
  
• Pass the Graduate Study Qualifying Examination (GSQE) taken during the first semester of study as a matriculated graduate student. This only applies to doctoral students without an in-field master's degree. (The intent of this examination is to assess the student's background and ability to undertake graduate study in philosophy).
  
  
• Comply with the Department and Graduate School requirement for the formation of a Supervisory Committee during the second semester of graduate study, and meet with the Supervisory Committee Chair (or in the first two semesters, the Graduate Committee Chair) for program approval.
  
  
• Receive Supervisory Committee approval of a written (3-5 page) dissertation proposal no later than the sixth semester of graduate study.
  
  
• Take at least one comprehensive examination by the third semester of graduate study and complete all required course work, residency, language, and comprehensive requirements within three years. For purposes of this timetable, Ph.D. students who have spent three or more semesters in a Master's program will be treated as though beginning their second year of graduate study upon admission to the Ph.D. program.

Students not receiving University or Departmental financial awards or tuition waivers must demonstrate satisfactory progress towards degree as determined by the student's Supervisory Committee and/or the Graduate Committee Chair.

Proseminar Requirement All student's entering the program must take the introductory pro-seminar during their first Fall semester.

Graduate Study Qualifying Examination (GSQE): In the Philosophy Department the qualifying examination required by the University for Master's degrees is a three hour written examination which must be taken during the first semester of graduate study.

The exam assesses students' abilities to analyze passages of philosophy.
The exam is offered only once during the semester. Students have three hours to complete the exam. The exams are graded by the graduate committee.

If the exam is not passed on the first attempt, it must be attempted again no later than the second semester of study. Failure to pass the exam on the second attempt will usually result in dismissal from the program.

Course of Study Each student's program must be approved at the beginning of each semester by either the Chair of the Supervisory Committee or, before appointment of the Supervisory Committee, the Graduate Committee Chair. Each Ph.D. student must complete at least six 6000 or 7000 level seminars in addition to the Pro-seminar as part of the course of study. (Note that Individual Research or Thesis Research, Ph.D hours are not seminars.) Up to two seminars taken previously towards a Master's degree may be counted towards the satisfaction of this requirement. Modifications of this requirement to suit the specific program needs of individual students may be made only upon the recommendation of the student's Supervisory Committee and the approval of the Graduate Committee.

1. Total course work

Graduate Students ordinarily take three courses per semester for the first two to two and a half years. The minimum total course work required is 14 courses. Of those courses, at least six must be seminars or 6000 level courses in philosophy in addition to the proseminar offered in the first year. The expectation is that graduate students will use the course work to develop a broad understanding of the main areas of philosophy and of several more specialized areas of philosophy.

2. Field Requirements & Comprehensive Exams

In addition to the course work, students are required to fulfill requirements in the following areas: History of Philosophy, Ethics, Logic and Formal Methods, Epistemology, and Metaphysics

As part of the broad understanding of these required areas, students should aim at some familiarity with fields such as philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, political philosophy, philosophy of logic, and philosophy of religion as they bear on the five areas. In particular, students should understand something of (a) the way that the central problems of the above-listed areas are involved in the specific problems addressed by these fields and (b) the important implications for the central problems of these five areas, of the tools, methods, and theories developed in these fields.

• Any of the five areas may be satisfied by examination.
• At least two areas must be satisfied by examination.
• The three additional areas must be satisfied by passing graduate level courses, approved by the relevant area committee, with grades of B+ or better.

The course requirements are as follows:

	History of Philosophy	4 courses
	Ethics	2 courses reading list
	Logic & Formal Methods	2 courses
	Epistemology & Metaphysics	3 courses total
		For example, one epistemology and two metaphysics courses. A student who takes either a Metaphysics or Epistemology exam requires one course from the other area to satisfy both requirements.

Students are required to take at least one written exam before the end of the fifth semester of graduate work and are expected to complete all five comprehensive areas (either by written exam or by substituted courses) by the end of their third year or no later than three semesters before planned graduation.

Students may begin registering for dissertation hours when they have either finished their coursework including courses satisfying area requirements or their supervisory committee recommends that they are ready to register for dissertation hours.

3. Comprehensive Exam Format

a. Examinations will be offered at regularly scheduled times twice each year.
b. Each exam will be based on a reading list whose total length is about 1000-1500 pages. The list will include expository texts, sections of important monographs, and important articles.
c. Each exam will be three to four hours in length. Each area committee will set further details of the exam such as total number of questions to be answered from how many choices.
d. Questions will not be distributed in advance, but will be based directly on the examination reading list.
e. Questions will be designed to allow students to show familiarity with, and ability to use, important ideas in the area. Examinations will be evaluated on how well the answers demonstrate that the student understands the central concepts, positions, and arguments found in the readings. The underlying aims are (1) that the student be able to comprehend and participate in written and oral philosophical discussion in the area at the level generally expected by the philosophical profession of all philosophy Ph.D. students and (2) that the student be able to prepare and teach, with suitable advance notice, an introductory undergraduate course in that area.

4. Dissertation Prospectus

By the end of the second year, graduate students should have formed a supervisory committee and developed a dissertation prospectus. This prospectus should be approved by the Supervisory Committee by the end of the third year. The Supervisory Committee may require an oral presentation from the student or some other means of determining the acceptability of the prospectus. In accordance with University regulations, the Supervisory Committee may require an additional oral or written examination in the area of the dissertation in order to ensure that the student has the depth of knowledge in that area necessary to begin writing a dissertation in it.

Transfer Credit Graduate level courses passed with a grade of B+ or above may be transferred to satisfy Ph.D. course requirements or area requirements. For example, courses taken to satisfy Master's degree requirements in philosophy may be transferred.