At least one year of study
in the Philosophy program is usually necessary for award
of the M.A. There is no list of required courses. The student
may elect to follow either of the following routes to the
degree: write a thesis on a subject to be chosen in consultation
with an advisor and defend the thesis in an oral examination,
or satisfy the Logic and Portfolio requirements (explained
below).
Advancement to candidacy for the M.A. requires formal application
to the Dean of Graduate Studies via the Philosophy Department
Office. Application must be made with the recommendation
of the Philosophy Department and must take place before
the beginning of the quarter in which the student expects
to receive the degree.
There is no set number
of courses required for the Philosophy track, so that work
can be tailored to the individual student’s needs
and interests. Although a master’s degree is not a
prerequisite for the Ph.D., every student is required to
have some experience in teaching. Before students receive their first appointment as TAs in this department, they must complete the TA training program offered by UCI's Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (TLTC).
The Ph.D. program is designed to take six years to complete.
University policy allows students up to a maximum of nine
years. The following are requirements for the Ph.D.:
Distribution Requirements.
Students are required to take a variety of courses in order
to become familiar with various historical periods and fields
of philosophy. No particular courses are required. Each
year, when course offerings are scheduled, notice is given
of which courses satisfy which requirements. In cases where
a given course can be used to satisfy more than one requirement,
the requirement that it satisfies will depend on the content
of the student's term paper(s).
The Distribution Requirements
are twofold:
History. To satisfy
this requirement, students must receive a grade of B or
better in at least four courses covering at least three
of the following areas: Ancient, Medieval, Modern Empiricism,
Modern Rationalism, Kant, Nineteenth Century, and Twentieth
Century.
Field. To satisfy
this requirement, students must receive a grade of B or
better in two courses in value theory and one course in
metaphysics/epistemology.
These requirements must
be completed by the end of the seventh quarter in residence.
Logic Requirement.
Students must receive a grade of B or better in an approved
logic course. This requirement must be completed by the
end of the seventh quarter in residence.
Tools of Research.
In consultation with their advisors, students decide whether
learning a foreign language or some course of study outside
Philosophy would be most useful for their dissertation research.
To satisfy this requirement, a student must pass an examination
in a single appropriate foreign language or receive a grade
of B or better in each of three appropriate graduate-level
courses in another department.
The two-hour foreign language
examination (administered by the Philosophy Department)
requires students to translate, with the aid of a dictionary,
passages from one or two philosophical authors. For the
second option, courses of study outside Philosophy will
be approved (by the Philosophy Department’s Director
of Graduate Studies) when they bear on a student's area
of philosophical concentration. Courses offered by the Department
of Logic and Philosophy of Science (e.g., in set theory
or mathematical logic) may sometimes be used to satisfy
this requirement..
The Tools of Research
requirement must be completed by the end of the ninth quarter
in residence.
Portfolio.
A portfolio of three papers is required to demonstrate a
student's ability (a) to understand, analyze, and evaluate
positions and arguments in classical and contemporary philosophical
literature, and (b) to formulate and defend an original
philosophical thesis. These virtues must be displayed at
a level of sophistication indicating the student's ability
to write a doctoral dissertation.
The portfolio must be
submitted to the Graduate Coordinator at the end of the
fourth week of the student's seventh quarter in residence.
Portfolios will be evaluated by the entire faculty of the
Philosophy Department. (Students may request that relevant
LPS faculty also be present at the evaluation meeting.)
Candidacy Examination.
In preparation for the candidacy examination, students consult
with their thesis advisor and other appropriate faculty
to prepare a reading list in their area of concentration
and a brief dissertation proposal. Students apply for candidacy
by filing appropriate forms and preparing, in consultation
with their advisor, a list of appropriate members for their
Candidacy Committee. One of these, the External Examiner,
must come from outside the School of Humanities. The Committee
is then appointed by the Philosophy Department, on behalf
of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council,
to administer the oral candidacy examination on the reading
list and proposal. This exam determines whether the student
is prepared to begin work on a dissertation.
The Candidacy Examination
must be completed by the end of the tenth quarter in residence.
The Philosophy Department Chair, on behalf of the Dean of
Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council, then appoints
a Doctoral Committee (typically taken from the Candidacy
Committee and naturally including the dissertation advisor)
to supervise the writing of the dissertation.
Dissertation
Defense. A formal dissertation defense shall be required for completion of the PhD in Philosophy. This defense may be oral or written.
