Graduate Programs
CategorySummer (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…)
“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…)
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…)
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…)
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..
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..
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.
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..
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…)
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..
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…)
Stats Courses For Philosophers (guest post by Joshua Knobe)
The following is a guest post* by Joshua Knobe, professor of philosophy and psychology at Yale University. It first appeared at The Brains Blog, and follows up on post from a year ago by Knobe here at Daily Nous, “Formal Methods Training for Philosophy Graduate Students.”
What Graduate Students In Philosophy Are And Should Be Paid For Teaching
The graduate students in the philosophy program at the University of St. Andrews are concerned about their teaching conditions, some of them tell me, but they don’t have a good grasp on how their situation compares with that of philosophy students elsewhere, particularly in the UK. (more…)
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…)
Questions about Terminal MAs at PhD-Granting Programs
A philosophy professor advising an undergraduate, who did not major in philosophy, about her options for graduate school quite reasonably suggested she first pursue a Master’s degree. He let her know about a number of well known terminal MA programs (most of which are on Geoff Pynn’s list, discussed here). She had found out a little about some MA programs that mostl..
Rights Of Graduate Students In Regard To Departmental Matters
Departmental decisions—including hiring, budgeting and funding, curricular requirements, departmental policies, use of space, event planning—affect graduate students. What say do graduate students have in these decisions? What say should they have? (more…)
Grad Students: What Would You Tell Your Fellow Students, But Can’t?
First we asked what graduate students would like to say to their professors, but felt like they couldn’t. Then we asked what professors would like to say to graduate students, but couldn’t. Less for the sake of exploring all of the available logical space (but of course partly for that) and more because it was requested and might be of some use, we shall now take up..
Profs: What Would You Tell Your Grad Students, But Can’t?
Comments are still coming in on yesterday’s post, “Grad Students: What Would You Tell Your Prof(s), But Can’t?” In future posts we’ll take up some of the recurring themes in those comments. In the meanwhile, a friend proposed that we hear from the other side. That could be interesting and constructive (I say, suggestively). And so: (more…)
Grad Students: What Would You Tell Your Prof(s), But Can’t?
In the wake of last week’s post about what graduate students wish they had known going into their programs, a fellow philosophy professor suggested I ask a related question: (more…)
Grad Students: What Do You Wish You Knew?
It’s the start of the academic year,and for some people, the start of their graduate education in philosophy. Graduate students are getting oriented in their programs, and graduate programs are orientating their students. Are they doing a good job of it? (more…)