graduate programs
TagThe Ends and Means of a Graduate Student Conference
A graduate student in philosophy has the responsibility of organizing a graduate student conference hosted by their department, and has some questions, starting with:
1. “Why put on a graduate student conference? What should the purpose of a graduate conference be?“ (more…)
Doctoral Program Attrition (guest post)
“s it turns out, the rate of attrition from philosophy doctoral programs often exceeds 30 percent.” (more…)
To Admit or Not Admit? The Question of Unfunded Philosophy PhD Students
Under what conditions, if any, should a graduate program in philosophy admit PhD students for whom it cannot provide funding? (more…)
The “Secret Syllabus” of Being a Graduate Student in Philosophy
There’s what professors expect their students to be doing in order to be successful in graduate school and beyond, and then there’s what successful graduate students are actually doing. (more…)
Recent Changes to Graduate Programs Prospective Students Should Know
Prospective philosophy graduate students are currently checking out information at department pages, discussion forums, and sites that collect data and opinions, deciding where to apply or what to think of the places to which they’ve already applied. Yet is that online information up to date? (more…)
Visualization of the Philosophical Gourmet Report
Frank Saunders, Jr. (Yonsei University Underwood International College, South Korea) has created interactive visualizations of information from the Philosophical Gourmet Report, a well-known, if controversial, reputational ranking of graduate programs in philosophy. (more…)
Philosophy Grad Program Application Info Spreadsheet
An open-access spreadsheet about philosophy graduate program admissions, including relevant links and information about application deadlines, fees, requirements, funding packages, and so on, has recently been updated. (more…)
Recent and Upcoming Retirements 2022-23
As it may be useful to prospective graduate students to know about the status of faculty at programs they’re considering, I’ll be maintaining a list here of philosophers at departments with graduate programs who have either retired already in 2022 or will be retiring sometime between now and the start of the 2023 academic year. (more…)
New Data about Philosophy Graduate Programs (guest post)
In the following guest post, Carolyn Dicey Jennings, associate professor of philosophy at UC Merced, shares some new data about graduate programs in philosophy that she and her team at Academic Philosophy Data and Analysis (APDA) have collected and analyzed. (more…)
Master’s Programs in Philosophy
According to the American Philosophical Association (APA), there are 127 graduate programs in philosophy that offer a terminal Master’s degree. However, it isn’t easy to find out much about them. (more…)
Philosophy PhD Program GRE Requirements for 2023
Will your philosophy PhD program be requiring applicants to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) for 2023 admissions? (more…)
New Name & Updated Site for Information about Graduate Programs in Philosophy
APDA is retaining its initials but altering its name to better match its activities as an “ongoing project that collects, analyzes, and distributes data concerning philosophy PhD programs and graduates, with a special focus on job placement.” (more…)
Should Philosophy Grad Programs Interview Applicants?
Recent updates posted at the Grad Cafe by prospective graduate students in philosophy have mentioned the scheduling of admissions interviews at certain departments. Not many departments, it seems, conduct interviews as part of the application practice, but some do. What’s the extent of this practice, and what are its advantages and disadvantages? (more…)
Ignored Editor Departs PGR, Raising Questions About Its Leadership & How to Best Guide Prospective Philosophy Grad Students (updated)
As mentioned in an update to last week’s post about the new edition of the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of the reputations of some PhD programs in philosophy, one of its editors, Berit (“Brit”) Brogaard (Miami), has announced that she is no longer associated with it. A statement made this evening by her and Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced) provide..
Reputational Ranking of Philosophy PhD Programs Updated
The Philosophical Gourmet Report (PGR), a ranking of philosophy PhD programs in the “English-speaking world,” has been updated. (more…)
Top 30 Philosophy PhD Programs According to APDA
Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA), which collects data about and produces a ranking of PhD programs in philosophy, has recently posted details about the top 30 programs on its ranking, including comments about the programs from the students. (more…)
Advice for Applying to PhD Programs in Philosophy (guest post)
In the following guest post*, Alex Guerrero, professor and director of graduate admissions in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University, offers some advice to those considering applying to philosophy PhD programs. (more…)
Philosophy Graduate Admissions Spreadsheet 2021-22
Reminder: there’s an open-access spreadsheet all about philosophy graduate program admissions, including relevant links and information about application deadlines, fees, requirements, funding packages, and which departments (if any) have suspended admissions for the next academic year. (more…)
Enough Ranking (guest post)
“The project of ranking one place against another completely distorts the sorts of aspirations we should have for the field.” (more…)
Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy Based on Job Placement and Student Experience (guest post)
Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA) is a resource for prospective philosophy graduate students and others to learn about how well particular graduate programs do with getting their graduates jobs, and what it is like to be a student in those programs. (more…)
CUNY Grad Students Penalized for Not Moving to NY During Pandemic
Some graduate students in their 2nd year of study at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York (CUNY) are being charged out-of-state tuition rates because, owing to the pandemic pushing courses online last year, they had not yet established residency in New York. (more…)
Writing Letters for Applicants to Philosophy Graduate Programs
One of your undergraduate students tells you they’re applying to graduate programs in philosophy. They ask you to write a letter of recommendation. So you have the talk with them. Afterwards, they still want to apply, and they’re good, so you agree. What should go in that letter? (more…)
Philosophy Grad Programs and the GRE, 2021-22 Application Cycle
Several philosophy graduate programs had previously announced that they were either permanently, or temporarily owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, no longer requiring applicants to submit Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores. What about for this coming application cycle, for admission in 2022?
Grad Students: What Do You Wish You Knew? (Volume 2)
The academic year is soon upon us (don’t shoot the messenger). Philosophy departments are getting ready for a new class of graduate students and those new graduate students getting ready for graduate school. What should those new graduate students know? (more…)
APA Creates “Beyond the Academy” Online Resources
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has created an online version of its set of resources for those with philosophical training who are seeking employment outside of academia. (more…)
Philosophy Grad Program Applicants’ Thoughts about the Application Process (guest post)
An informal survey of applicants to philosophy graduate programs, conducted in the Philosophy Graduate Applicants Facebook, Grad Cafe, and elsewhere online, provides some information about the choices of applicants and their thoughts about the application process. (more…)
Have Philosophy PhD Programs Received More Applications for 2021?
Recently, an undergraduate applying to Ph.D. programs in philosophy wrote with an anxious query about a possible increase in the number of people doing so this year, in comparison to previous years. (more…)
APDA Adds Board of Advisors
Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA), a project led by Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced) to gather, analyze, and present data about philosophy departments, including information about job placement, student experiences, departmental strengths, and diversity, has established a Board of Advisors. (more…)