The Ph.D. program in Philosophy at the University of Utah provides students with the opportunity to study philosophy at 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 recognized 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.
In addition to University Requirements, Departmental Requirements include:
Students receiving University or Departmental financial awards or tuition waivers must:
* Take and complete at least nine hours of graduate level work (6000-7000 level courses or thesis hours) during each semester of the award. Students may take a maximum of twelve credit hours per semester. Students are awarded credit for attending department colloquia. Once student have completed their course work they must maintain continuous registration as described in the University Requirements.
* Maintain a high level of quality in all graduate work. Students must maintain a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0. 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 with "Incompletes" are not nominated for any fellowship awards.
* Pass the Graduate Student Qualifying Examination (GSQE) taken during the first semester of study as a matriculated graduate student. (The intent of this examination is to assess the student's background and ability to undertake graduate study in philosophy).
* Complete all required course work, field requirements and comprehensive exam (described below) within three years.
* Receive Supervisory Committee approval of a written dissertation proposal no later than the sixth semester of graduate study. The proposal is assessed through an oral examination.
Details of Ph.D. Requirements:
Course of Study Approval
Proseminar Requirement - All students entering the program must take the introductory Proseminar during their first fall semester.
The Graduate Studenty Qualifying Examination (GSQE) - This examination is required of all students admitted into the Ph.D. program. The GSQE is a three hour written examination which must be taken duirng the first semester of graduate study. Students are given three hours to read, summarize, and critically respond to two passages of philosophy.
The exam is 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 result in dismissal from the program. Sample exam passages may be obtained from the Graduate secretary and/or Director of Graduate Studies.
Course and Seminar Requirement - Each student's program must be approved at the beginning of each semester by either the Chair of the Supervisory Committe or, before appointment of the Supervisory Committee, the Director of Graduate Studies. Each Ph.D. Student must complete at least 14 graduat level philosophy courses including the Proseminar. Courses must be at the 6000 or 7000 level. (Note that Individual Research or Thesis Research, Ph.D. hours are neither seminars nor courses and do not count toward graduate level coursework requirements, except in special circumstances.) Students may be encouraged to take more philosophy courses or to supplement their curriculum with courses from other departments. Modifications of the course requirements 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. Field Requirements - To satisfy the field requirements, Ph.D. students must complete courses in the following four areas: History of Philosophy, Metaphysics and Epistemology (M & E), Ethics and Value Thoery, and Logic and Formal Methods. The requirements -- number of courses, and minimum grades -- are as follows:
Areas |
Requirements |
History of Philosophy |
|
Qualified courses include all history of Philosophy. Note: at least 1 course must be in Early Modern (including Kant), and 1 in Ancient Greek. |
Metaphysics & Epistemology |
|
Qualified courses include all metaphysics and epistemology, broadly construed -- including Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Science, etc. |
Ethics and Value Theory |
|
Qualified courses include all Ethical Theory and Applied Ethics, Political Theory, Philosophy of Law, etc. |
Logic and Formal Methods |
|
Qualified courses include Formal Logic, Metalogic, Decision Theory, Game Theory, Probability Theory, etc. |
The area designation of graduate courses offered is announced each semester.
All entering students must demonstrate undergraduate level ability in logic -- this comes prior to attempting to meet the above requirement for Logic and Formal Methods. Accordingly, entering students should have a grade of B or better in an undergraduate deductive logic course covering first-order predicate logic. Any student lacking such background is required to take our undergraduate deductive logic course (PHIL 3200) -- the course may be taken for graduate level credit.
2. Total Course work - Graduate students ordinarily take three courses per semester for the first to to two and a half years. The minimum total course work required is 14 courses. Of those courses, 9 must be in the above specified areas and the remaining courses must be seminars or 6000 level courses in philosophy in additions 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. Students speicailizing in a particular area will be encoursage to complete their remaining course work in that area.
Funded students also must attend department colloquia and can recieve graduate credit for doing so.
Students may begin registering for dissertation hours when they have either finished their coursework, including courses satisfying area requirements, or their supervisory comimttee recommends that they are ready to register for dissertation hours.
3. Comprehensive Exam - In order to advance to candidacy students must pass a comprehensive exam. The comprehensive exam is a written performance either in the area of the student's dissertation topic or another area agreed upon by the student and their committee. To pass this exam students must write and defend a substantial paper. Papers must be of journal length and up publishable quality. That paper will be assessed byt the Graduate Committee and other faculty in related fields. The committee will then hold an oral exam on the paper. The committee will recommend revisions to satisfactory papers with a veiew to their being submitted to professional journals for publication or to professional conferences for presentation.
4. Dissertation Prospectus Defense - In order to advance to candidacy, student must also pass their prospectus defense. The prospectus defense is an oral exam on the students written thesis prospectus. To pass this exam, the student must write and defend a substantial paper that demonstrates mastery of their thesis topic. The committee may require that the student complete a literature review in the are or thesis topic. Students will be examined on their literature review during their prospectus defense.
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 at other institutions may be transferred. Courses may only be transferred for credit if they are approved by the Graduate Committee. No more than one course will be approved for any given field requirement. No more than six courses total may be transferred.
Approval of transfer credit is not automatic. Students must present a syllabus and a sample of work (e.g. a term paper) form any course that they wish to be considered for transfer.
Transfer from the Masters Program to the Ph.D. Program - Students may request a transfer from the Masters program to teh Ph.D. program. Such requests are evaluated by the graduate committee. Students must demonstrate that they are capable of completing Ph.D. level work. Their Masters work to date must be exemplary and they must not have any incompletes on their record. Student must accompany their request for transfer with a sample of recent written work and letter from their supervisor indicating that they are capable of completing a Ph.D..
Language Requirement - There is no language requirement for a Ph.D. in philosophy. The supervisory committee may require proficiency in a language for a particular student if the language is relevant to his/her research. Proficiency may be established by showing that one is a native speaker of the language, by passing a second semester language class with a grade of B, of by registering for and passing a standardized ETS examination (administered through the University Testing Center) with a score of 450 or better. Where the requirement is satisfied by course work, the student must obtain certification within four years of the course taken to satisfy the requirement. In every case, however, the student must obtain a certification form in person from the Graduate Language Advisor int he Department of Language and Literature. Certification is the responsibility fo the student, and cannot be obtained the the Department of Philosophy. The supervisory committee may require that the stidemt demonstrate a higher level of proficiency than standard proficiency. Higher levels of language proficiency will be assessed by faculty from Philosophy in consultation with the relevant faculty from Languages and Literature.
Next: Graduate Program Home
Graduate
Program - Ph.D. Program 