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Graduate Program

 


Master of Arts

For full admission, students must have the following:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy or a related field, with evidence of excellent undergraduate performance.
  • Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 44 quarter hours (or its equivalent) in major sequence in philosophy.
  • Students who did not major in philosophy may be admitted conditionally, with the requirement that they complete certain undergraduate courses or directed study before being fully admitted into the program.


All applicants must submit the following material:

  1. A completed On-line University Graduate Application Form
  2. Official transcripts of all previous academic work
  3. Graduate Record Examination general aptitude (analytic writing, verbal, and quantitative) scores
  4. Two letters of recommendation from teachers familiar with the applicant’s work
  5. A statement of intent indicating why the applicant desires to pursue graduate work in this program, including areas of proposed research
  6. A writing sample (e.g., a term paper, seminar paper, or a senior thesis or portion thereof).

All materials must be received by January 4, 2008 to be considered for admission in the following Fall quarter.

Degree Requirements for the Non-Thesis Option:

  • 44 quarter hours of graduate philosophy courses numbered 400 and over.

 

If the necessary prerequisites are met and the graduate affairs committee gives written approval, 8 quarter hours may be taken in fields related to philosophy.

  • File Papers: Each year the fill-time student will submit two research papers which will be kept on file in the general office of the department. These papers will be double-marked, first by the instructor of the course for which they were prepared, then by a second member of the faculty. In cases of discrepancy, the faculty members will meet to discuss the final grade; irresolvable differences will be adjudicated by the director of graduate studies.
  • Satisfactory Progress: The graduate affairs committee will review every student’s progress toward the degree once a year, normally at the end of the winter quarter. Students deemed not to be making satisfactory progress may be placed on probation or required to leave the program.
  • Foreign Language Requirement: Successful completion of the language requirement will involve in most cases demonstration of a reading knowledge of French or German. Other modern languages or Greek or Latin may be substituted if appropriate to the general direction of a student’s research.
  • Time Limitation: From entrance into the M.A. program to completion of the degree, no more than six years.

Thesis Option:

As above, except that, in addition to the satisfactory completion of their course work, students are required to write a short thesis of approximately 40-55 pages, including scholarly apparatus. The thesis will be double marked and under exceptional circumstances the readers may require an oral examination. Students who wish to continue into the Ph.D. program must take the thesis option.