Graduate Programs
CategoryBeing an “Awesome First-Year Graduate Student”
As his son approaches graduate school, Eric Schwitzgebel (University of California, Riverside), has been thinking about advice he can offer him to be an “awesome first-year graduate student”. (more…)
Philosophy Graduate Program Application Information Spreadsheet
Someone created a useful tool for students applying to graduate programs in philosophy: an admissions and application spreadsheet.
U. Chicago Reforms PhD Programs: Lifts Limits on Funded Time, Sets Limits on Number of Students
The University of Chicago has announced several reforms to its Ph.D. programs in the humanities, social sciences, and some other fields. (more…)
Elite 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.”
Teaching-Focused Philosophy PhD Programs
Which philosophy PhD programs focus on training students to teach and getting them placed into permanent teaching-oriented jobs (with some success)? (more…)
San Francisco State U. to Launch Grad Certificate in AI Ethics
San Francisco State University has developed a graduate program in artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. (more…)
The Transformative Experience of Graduate Study in Philosophy (guest post by L.A. Paul & John Quiggin)
“If a prospective student can’t, through no fault of their own, properly evaluate the disvalue of not getting a job, this changes the way we need to assign responsibility for the choice.” (more…)
Despite Move, CEU Is Accepting Applications
Central European University (CEU), despite having been forced by threat of closure by the Hungarian legislature to move from Budapest to Vienna for the next academic year, is accepting applications. (more…)
Summer (2019) Programs in Philosophy for Graduate Students
Last week’s post about upcoming summer programs in philosophy for undergraduates prompted a few requests for a similar post for summer programs in philosophy for current graduate students. (more…)
A Reputational Survey of Philosophy Programs Plotted Against Program Placement Data
To what extent does getting one’s PhD in philosophy from a program that does well in a reputational survey increase one’s chances of finding a permanent academic position? (more…)
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…)
University of Pennsylvania Philosophy Stops Requiring the GRE
The Department of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania has decided to, at least temporarily, stop requiring applicants to its PhD program to submit GRE scores, and not take them into account even if included in applications. (more…)
Student Discouraged by Sectarian and Defeatist Professors
A recent college graduate who finished near the top of his class wrote to me last year to share a problem he was having with the professors in the small philosophy department at the college he attended: disagreement over which graduate programs in philosophy to apply to. (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…)
Program Funds Non-Academic Internships for Philosophy PhD Students
A new internship program developed by the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University (MSU) provides funding for PhD students to support their work with non-academic organizations.
Philosophy PhD Program Rankings: APDA’s 2017 Final Report
Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA) has released its complete 2017 Final Report, an 81-page document that collects data on PhD-granting philosophy programs (including ratings by former students, placement rates, and diversity) and the discipline as a whole (including hiring networks, placement maps, cluster analyses of programs, job descriptions, non-academi..
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…)
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..
University of Florida Reopens PhD Program
Admissions to the Ph.D. program in philosophy at the University of Florida (UF) were suspended in the wake of the 2007-2008 economic downturn. That suspension has now been lifted: the UF Department of Philosophy will once again be accepting applications for admission to its Ph.D. program. The M.A. program, which had been in operation during this period, will continu..
“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…)..
Mentoring Workshop For Women Graduate Students In Philosophy
Athena in Action is a networking and mentoring workshop for graduate student women in philosophy. Applications are now being accepted for its third annual workshop, which will be taking place this summer. (more…)
APA & other Academic Organizations Issue Statement on Tax Bill
The American Philosophical Association (APA) today joined with 34 other academic organizations to issue a public statement opposing the provision in the tax reform bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would result in graduate school tuition waivers counting as taxable income. They currently do not. (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…)
Carnegie Mellon Philosophy Eliminates Application Fee (guest post by Kevin Zollman)
The Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has eliminated the fee for applying to its graduate programs. Below is a guest post* by Kevin Zollman, associate professor of philosophy at CMU and the philosophy department’s director of graduate studies, explaining the rationale for this change. (more…)
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 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..
APA 2014 Guide to Graduate Programs
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has released its 2014 Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy. The guide provides information on faculty, program strengths, placement, financial aid, and demographics. The APA notes: “All data in the guide are self-reported by representatives of the institutions, and data are included only for institutions that complete..