PhD
TagElite Philosophy PhD Programs Mostly Admit Students from Other Elite Schools (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)
“There are many potentially excellent philosophers from nonelite schools who are missing terrific educational and career opportunities because students from elite schools have such a large competitive advantage.”
What’s New at Academic Placement Data and Analysis?
Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA) is a project that aims to “collect, analyze, and distribute data on job placement for graduates of PhD programs in philosophy.” (more…)
Seven Principles of Humane PhD Advising (guest post by Eric Schwitzgebel)
The following is a guest post* by Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside). It originally appeared at his blog, The Splintered Mind.
Results from an Application Fee Experiment (guest post by Kevin Zollman)
Last year, the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) announced that it had eliminated the fee for applying to its graduate programs. In the following guest post*, CMU’s Kevin Zollman reports on what his department has learned from the change so far. (more…)
The First Black African Woman Philosophy PhD in South Africa
Mpho Tshivhase is the first black African woman to earn a doctoral degree in philosophy in South Africa. (more…)
Philosophical Gourmet Report 2017-18 Released
The 2017-18 edition of the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of the reputation of Ph.D. programs in philosophy, has been published. (more…)
“Put the Philosophy Back into the Doctorate of Philosophy”
Two biology professors at Johns Hopkins University are worried that typical doctoral programs in the sciences “are unlikely to nurture the big thinkers and creative problem-solvers that society needs,” and have crafted a new graduate science program that aims to “put the philosophy back into the doctorate of philosophy: that is, the ‘Ph’ back into the PhD.” (more…)..
The Underproduction of Philosophy PhDs (guest post by Daniel Hicks)
The following is a guest post* by Daniel Hicks (UC Davis), in which he explains how it could be that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there aren’t enough people getting PhDs in philosophy. (more…)
NYU and Pitt To Waive PhD Application Fees For Some Students
The philosophy departments at New York University and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at Pittsburgh, will be waiving the fee for applications to their PhD programs for some students. (more…)
Philosophy Graduate Programs: Does “Reputation” Track Placement Rates? (guest post)
The following is a guest post* by Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced), Pablo Contreras Kallens (UC Merced), and Justin Vlasits (Tübingen), in which they look at the extent to which data collected about graduate programs in philosophy by the Academic Placement Data and Analysis project (APDA) correlate with the reputational rankings of the Philosophical Gourmet Report..
Questions & Suggestions for the New PGR Editors
Work for the next edition of the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a reputational ranking of doctoral programs in philosophy, is underway, with recent requests for updates to faculty lists. Since this edition of the PGR will be the first headed by its new editorial team—Berit Brogaard (Miami) and Christopher Pynes (Western Illinois)—it is a good time to seek i..
Does Philosophy Fit Trend of Decrease in Humanities PhD Applications?
From 2010 to 2015 there was, on average, a 3% annual decrease in the number of applicants to doctoral programs, and in 2015-2016 there was a 7.1% decrease, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, reporting on data published by the Council of Graduate Schools. (more…)
Philosophy PhD Program Ratings by Former Students, Placement Data, and Diversity Profiles
Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA), a project aimed at gathering placement and other data about graduate programs in philosophy, has created some tables presenting some of the information they’ve obtained. (more…)
Slight Increase in Philosophy PhDs Awarded, and other Humanities Data
The Humanities Indicators project of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has released new data regarding graduate degree completion in the humanities, number of jobs advertised per discipline, and the demographics of humanities graduate students. (more…)
Unscientific Poll Results: Nearly 40% Of Respondents Take Out Loans To Get PhD In Philosophy
A couple of weeks ago I set up a poll asking about whether philosophy graduate students took out student loans while in their PhD programs. This is, of course, not a scientifically sound way of getting at the actual numbers, as the respondents are self-selecting and there is no way to tell if they are at all representative of the broader population. (more…)
Student Loans for Graduate Study in Philosophy: a Poll
Don’t get a PhD in philosophy if you have to pay for it.
That is standard advice for those considering doctoral study in philosophy. An inability to obtain a funded position as a PhD student might be evidence (early and incomplete evidence, of course) of one’s later prospects; jobs are hard to come by, and even if you end up employed in a way directly related to ..
Graduate Admissions and the Immigration Order
A philosopher writes with the following query:
In response to their questions, I have just had to write to two people who are applying to our MA program that I can’t tell them whether they’ll be able to attend, even if they are admitted. They are from Iran. There are several others in the same boat. (more…)
Guide to Graduate Study in Aesthetics
The American Society for Aesthetics (ASA) has released the fourth edition of its Guide to Graduate Aesthetics in North America.
Slight Decline in Number of Philosophy PhDs
451 PhDs in philosophy were awarded in the United States in 2014, marking a modest decrease from the 494 of the previous year. Here are the numbers for the period from 2004-2014:
These numbers are from the U.S. federal government’s Survey of Earned Doctorates. (Thanks to Robert Townsend, Director of the Washington Office of the American Academy of Arts & Scie..
Distance PhD in Philosophy?
The Philosophy Department at Staffordshire University is advertising a new distance-learning option for its PhD program:
Our doctoral programme can now be run on either an attendance or distance learning basis. The principles are the same – i.e. a course of high-level supervised research leading to a substantial and original thesis. However, the supervision happe..
If You Want to Do Good, Should You Get a Philosophy PhD?
Suppose you wanted to choose a career based on how much good it will allow you to do. Assessing careers with that in mind is one of the aims of 80,000 Hours, a non-profit organization co-founded by philosopher Will MacAskill. The group looks at four aspects of a job: (1) Role Impact — the extent to which the career enables you to help others; (2) Career Capital — ..
What To Teach In A First-Year PhD Proseminar?
Alex Guerrero (Penn), is wondering what philosophers think should be done in a first-year PhD proseminar. He writes:
Given all the recent discussion about the canon, the problematic effects of policing the borders of philosophy, the white maleness of philosophy, and so on, what do people think should be done in a first-year PhD proseminar? Assume it’s a semester ..
Grad Traps! (Guest Post by Daniel Silvermint)
Grad students of philosophy! And other relevant parties! Behold! Daniel Silvermint, assistant professor of philosophy and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Connecticut, has developed a list of unhelpful thoughts that might occur to you every once in a while. He calls them “grad traps,” and the idea is that if you are able to recognize t..