philosophy phd open university

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Art History Translation Renaissance History History Of Philosophy

Course type

What is a PhD?

A PhD is a Doctorate of Philosophy, a prestigious qualification which is the highest level of degree that a student can achieve, demonstrating talent, academic excellence and a thirst for knowledge. In a modern knowledge-based economy, highly educated and skilled people such as doctoral graduates, are in great demand. They form the most highly educated and skilled group in the UK and internationally. Many will go on to use their skills within academia or in research-intensive occupations in industry. However, there will be others who will draw on their research background and the skills gained through a doctoral degree in a wide variety of other occupations. Examples of the type of employment opportunities taken up by PhD holders can be found at Vitae: researcher careers.

What will I get from a PhD?

You will get a huge sense of personal achievement. Our doctoral training programme will help you develop transferable skills that will be invaluable in your subsequent career. The research techniques and methodologies you master will enable you to make a direct contribution to the advancement of knowledge in your particular subject area.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

The normal minimum entrance requirement is an upper second class honours degree or masters degree, relevant to the proposed area of study, from a recognised higher education institution in the UK or other recognised degree-awarding body.

MA History of Art and Archaeology

Soas university of london, ma history of art and architecture of the islamic middle east and intensive language (arabic), ma history of art and archaeology of east asia and intensive language (japanese), ma history of art and archaeology of east asia and intensive language (korean), ma history of art and archaeology of east asia and intensive language (chinese).

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This Master’s degree is ideal if you have done at least some philosophy in your first degree and want to take your studies to another level. It is also an ideal stepping stone towards a PhD. The MA requires more independent thinking than an undergraduate degree. Faking nature: development and restoration thesis provides an insight into philosophical study at postgraduate level.

The MA programme is studied part time, and is normally completed over two years, starting in October. It consists of two parts. Part 1 is a 60 point module studied over 31 weeks. Part 2 (which includes a dissertation) is a 120 point module studied over 47 weeks.

More information, including topics covered, details of how to apply for a place, and important guidance on preparedness, can be found on the MA in Philosophy pages.

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Introducing philosophy

Course description

Course content, course reviews.

Ever wondered what it would be like to study philosophy? This free course, Introducing philosophy, will introduce you to the teaching methods employed and the types of activities and assignments you would be asked to undertake should you wish to study philosophy and the human situation.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

understand what is involved in the study of philosophy
offer arguments for and against the main positions discussed in the study of philosophy
use philosophical reasoning techniques in a rudimentary way.

First Published: 09/08/2012

Updated: 01/07/2019

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Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.
One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.
You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.
For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.
MA in Philosophy

Studying this MA in Philosophy will hone your ability to think clearly and logically, and develop your writing, research and analytical skills. You'll study texts from different periods and philosophical perspectives, including works by Plato, Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt; and you'll investigate contemporary debates on environmental aesthetics, consciousness, global justice, emotion, and morality in politics. Finally, you'll undertake a substantial piece of independent research, writing a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Combines an in-depth study of philosophical texts and debates with a broad and diverse range of topics
Examines texts by philosophers working at different times and from different perspectives
Explores a variety of contemporary philosophical debates
Develops valuable transferable skills that are highly prized in the workplace, including communication, problem-solving and self-management
Provides excellent preparation for further study or research at doctoral level.

How to register

Select the module you will study first, read the full description, and follow the instructions to register.

To gain the 180 credits you require for this qualification, you must study the modules in the order shown below and pass part 1 before progressing to part 2:

Please note that MA Philosophy part 2 (A854) is worth 120 credits. Module fees for postgraduate modules are based on the number of credits you study. Therefore the fee for this 120-credit postgraduate module will be double that for the 60-credit postgraduate module MA Philosophy part 1 (A853).

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 60 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.

Learning outcomes, teaching and assessment

The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:

Knowledge and understanding
Cognitive skills
Practical and professional skills

If you’ve successfully completed some relevant postgraduate study elsewhere, you might be able to count it towards this qualification, reducing the number of modules you need to study. You should apply for credit transfer as soon as possible, before you register for your first module. For more details and an application form, visit our Credit Transfer website .

On completion

On successful completion of the required modules you can be awarded the Master of Arts in Philosophy, entitling you to use the letters MA (Phil) (Open) after your name. You will have the opportunity of being presented at a degree ceremony.

If you leave the programme before you qualify for a degree you can qualify for a Postgraduate Certificate in Humanities (C20) after successfully completing 60 credits.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us . This description was last updated on 19 March 2024.

You must hold a UK honours degree (or equivalent), in philosophy or a related subject. If you've got a degree conferred without honours, or that does not contain at least 20% philosophy related subjects, or with relevant experience in this field, you may still be eligible to study this qualification, subject to adjudication by the qualification team. Although the foundation module, MA Philosophy part 1 , will bring you up to date with the latest ideas and approaches, it assumes you'll have the knowledge and skills usually acquired by pursing the subject at undergraduate level. If you are in any doubt about whether you possess these skills or knowledge, you could study one of our undergraduate philosophy modules first, Investigating philosophy (DA223) (planned for October 2024) or Key questions in philosophy (A333), which are designed to introduce you to standard techniques of analysis and argument. You could also refer to the Preparatory reading indicated for MA Philosophy part 1 .

To study successfully for this MA, you need to be able to:

write clear, concise, accurate prose
read large quantities of text quickly, accurately and critically
classify evidence precisely and assess its value and reliability
argue logically, consistently and sceptically
marshal various sorts of evidence to support a logical argument.

If you’re in any doubt about the suitability of your qualifications or previous experience, please contact us before you enrol.

How long it takes

You will be able to complete this masters qualification within two years by studying one module each year.

Career relevance

This qualification will provide you with a respected qualification and valuable transferable skills such as critical thinking, research skills, time management, and problem-solving that are in demand in many areas of business, government and the media. If you are considering an academic career, the MA in Philosophy is ideal preparation for further study or research at doctoral level.

Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is a high level globally-recognised qualification that is rooted in original research.

The qualification is awarded for the outcomes of a period of advanced, individual study which demonstrates an original contribution of new knowledge or practice to your chosen discipline.

Studying for a PhD provides you with a unique and exciting opportunity to explore a research topic in real depth.

At the same time you will learn relevant research and professional skills. You will be expected to take the initiative and to develop your own ideas whilst guided and supported by your supervisory team.

The experience of undertaking a PhD will differ between subject areas. Some PhD projects are deliberately multi- or inter-disciplinary, exploring topics at the boundaries of traditional subjects, or applying approaches associated with a range of disciplines to a single research area.

All of our Academic Schools have PhD opportunities. Search our courses for a particular research area. Alternatively, if you’re not ready for a full PhD programme, we offer Research Master's degrees to prepare students for PhD study.

Types of PhD programmes

Practice-based PhD study is more commonly available in the creative and performing arts, where creative work forms a significant part of the intellectual inquiry.

The research investigation is undertaken partly by means of the creative process, while the thesis is formed of a piece of original creative work supported by a narrative and critique that places the work in an academic context.

We offer a number of practice-based PhDs including:

the School of Music's PhD by Performance and PhD by Composition ,
the School of English, Communication and Philosophy's PhD in Creative and Critical Writing .

Designed for those who have already accumulated suitable published work demonstrating a coherent research direction (as much as a conventional PhD).

In addition to the published works, students provide a 5,000 - 10,000 word critical commentary evaluating their field and indicating the original contribution to learning they have made.

To be eligible, you must have:

graduated from Cardiff University six or more years ago, or
been a member of staff for six years, or
been the holder of an honorary title from Cardiff University for six years

If you meet one of these criteria and are interesting in finding out more, please contact your Academic School .

For many subjects the demands of advanced study and research for a PhD require a demonstration of relevant skills and understanding at Master’s level as a condition of entry.

For some PhD programmes there is the need for Master’s level training to be specifically tailored to the demands of PhD research in that discipline. This may be delivered as a linked package (e.g. the "1+3" model), or via a continuous PhD programme that has embedded within it a structured component of preparatory research skills and methods training.

We offer the following Integrated PhDs:

Integrative Neuroscience (4 year Wellcome Trust)
Cancer Studies (4 year)
Economics (4 year PhD including two years of teaching, coursework and research training)
Social Sciences (1+3 year PhD including 1 year MSc in Social Science Research Methods which is mandatory for ESRC funded students who do not meet the core training requirements)

While the majority of research degrees are taken at universities and other higher education institutions, there are also some opportunities for collaborative study with an external partner.

This may mean, for example, that the project is sponsored by a company, that you spend some of your time in the workplace of the partner or that the partner contributes resources or expertise to the project.

A collaborative PhD can allow you to benefit from the input of industrialists and policy-makers and to experience first-hand the direct impact of your research.

Collaborative PhDs can include:

CASE Studentships (Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering)
Specifically advertised funded projects

Vice-Chancellor's International Scholarship for Research Excellence

Full tuition fee funding and an annual stipend to support self-funding full-time PhD international students for up to three years.

Find out more

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Doctoral Program

Stanford's Ph.D. program is among the world's best. Our graduate students receive their training in a lively community of philosophers engaged in a wide range of philosophical projects. Our Ph.D. program trains students in traditional core areas of philosophy and provides them with opportunities to explore many subfields such as the philosophy of literature, nineteenth-century German philosophy, and medieval philosophy.

Among other areas, we are exceptionally strong in Kant studies, the philosophy of action, ancient philosophy, logic, and the philosophy of science. We attract some of the best students from around the world and we turn them into accomplished philosophers ready to compete for the best jobs in a very tight job market.

The most up-to-date requirements are listed in t he Bulletin .

CHECK PHD REQUIREMENTS

From the 2020-2021 edition of Explore Degrees:

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Prospective graduate students should see the Office of Graduate Admissions web site for information and application materials.

The University's basic requirements for the Ph.D. degree including candidacy, residence, dissertation, and examination are discussed in the " Graduate Degrees " section of this bulletin.

University candidacy requirements, published in the " Candidacy " section of this bulletin, apply to all Ph.D. students. Admission to a doctoral degree program is preliminary to, and distinct from, admission to candidacy. Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is a judgment by the faculty in the department or school of the student's potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Students are expected to complete department qualifying procedures and apply for candidacy at the beginning of the seventh academic quarter, normally the Autumn Quarter of the student's third year.

Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is granted by the major department following a student's successful completion of qualifying procedures as determined by the department. Departmental policy determines procedures for subsequent attempts to become advanced to candidacy in the event that the student does not successfully complete the procedures. Failure to advance to candidacy results in the dismissal of the student from the doctoral program; see the " Guidelines for Dismissal of Graduate Students for Academic Reasons " section of this bulletin.

The requirements detailed here are department requirements. These requirements are meant to balance structure and flexibility in allowing students, in consultation with their advisors , to take a path through the program that gives them a rigorous and broad philosophical education, with room to focus on areas of particular interest, and with an eye to completing the degree with an excellent dissertation and a solid preparation for a career in academic philosophy.

Normally, all courses used to satisfy the distribution requirements for the Philosophy Ph.D. are Stanford courses taken as part of a student's graduate program. In special circumstances, a student may petition to use a very small number of graduate-level courses taken at other institutions to satisfy a distribution requirement. To be approved for this purpose, the student’s work in such a graduate-level course would need to involve an appropriate subject matter and would need to be judged by the department to be at the level of an 'A' in a corresponding graduate-level course at Stanford.

Courses used to satisfy any course requirement in Philosophy (except Teaching Methods and the summer Dissertation Development Seminar) must be passed with a letter grade of 'B-' or better (no satisfactory/no credit), except in the case of a course/seminar used to satisfy the third-year course/seminar requirement and taken for only 2 units. Such a reduced-unit third-year course/seminar must be taken credit/no credit.

At the end of each year, the department reviews the progress of each student to determine whether the student is making satisfactory progress, and on that basis to make decisions about probationary status and termination from the program where appropriate.

Any student in one of the Ph.D. programs may apply for the M.A. when all University and department requirements have been met.

Proficiency Requirements

First-year Ph.D. Proseminar : a one quarter, topically focused seminar offered in Autumn Quarter, and required of all first-year students.
two courses in value theory including ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, social philosophy, philosophy of law. At least one of the courses satisfying this distribution requirement must be in ethics or political philosophy.
Two courses in language, mind, and action. One course satisfying this requirement must be drawn from the language related courses, and one from mind and action related courses.
two courses in metaphysics and epistemology (including metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science). At least one of the courses satisfying this requirement must be drawn from either metaphysics or epistemology.
Instructors indicate which courses may satisfy particular requirements. If a course potentially satisfies more than one requirement the student may use it for only one of those area requirements; no units may be double-counted. Students must develop broad competencies in all these areas. Those without strong backgrounds in these areas would normally satisfy these distribution requirements by taking more basic courses rather than highly specialized and focused courses. Students should consult with their advisor in making these course decisions, and be prepared to explain these decisions when reviewed for candidacy; see requirement 6 below.
Logic requirement: PHIL 150 Mathematical Logic or equivalent.
History/logic requirement. One approved course each in ancient and modern philosophy, plus either another approved history of philosophy course or PHIL 151 Metalogic.
Students should normally take at least 64 graduate level units at Stanford during their first six quarters (in many cases students would take more units than that) and of those total units, at least 49 units of course work are to be in the Philosophy department. These courses must be numbered above 110, but not including Teaching Methods ( PHIL 239 Teaching Methods in Philosophy) or affiliated courses. Units of Individual Directed Reading are normally not to be counted toward this 49-unit requirement unless there is special permission from the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
Prior to candidacy, at least 3 units of work must be taken with each of four Stanford faculty members.

Writing Requirement: Second Year Paper

The second year paper should demonstrate good scholarship and argumentative rigor, and be a polished piece of writing approximately 8000 words in length. The second year paper need not bear any specific relationship to the dissertation. It may be a version of a prospective dissertation chapter, but this is not required. The final version must be turned in on the last class of the Second Year Paper Development Seminar in Summer Quarter of the second year. Extensions of this deadline require the consent of the instructor of the Second Year Paper Development Seminar and the Director of Graduate Studies and are only granted in exceptional cases (e.g., documented illness, family crisis). The final paper is read by a committee of two faculty members and it is an important consideration in the department’s decision on the student’s candidacy.

Teaching Assistancy

A minimum of five quarters of teaching assistancy are required for the Ph.D. Normally one of these quarters is as a teaching assistant for the Philosophy Department's Writing in the Major course, PHIL 80 Mind, Matter, and Meaning. It is expected that students not teach in their first year and that they teach no more than two quarters in their second year. Students are required to take PHIL 239 Teaching Methods in Philosophy during Spring Quarter of their first year and during Autumn Quarter of their second year. Teaching is an important part of students’ preparation to be professional philosophers.

Review at the End of the Second Year for Advancement to Candidacy

The faculty's review of each student includes a review of the student's record, an assessment of the second year paper, and an assessment of the student's preparation for work in her/his intended area of specialization, as well as recommendations of additional preparation, if necessary.

To continue in the Ph.D. program, each student must apply for candidacy at the beginning of the sixth academic quarter, normally the Spring Quarter of the student's second year. Students may be approved for or denied candidacy by the end of that quarter by the department. In some cases, where there are only one or two outstanding deficiencies, the department may defer the candidacy decision and require the student to re-apply for candidacy in a subsequent quarter. In such cases, definite conditions for the candidacy re-application must be specified, and the student must work with the advisor and the DGS to meet those conditions in a timely fashion. A failure to maintain timely progress in satisfying the specified conditions constitutes grounds for withholding travel and discretionary funds and for a denial of advancement to candidacy.

Writing Seminar : In the Summer Quarter after the second year, students are required to attend the Second Year Paper Development Seminar. The seminar is intended to help students complete their second year papers.
Upon completion of the summer writing seminar, students must sign up for independent study credit, PHIL 240 Individual Work for Graduate Students, with their respective advisors each quarter. A plan at the beginning, and a report at the end, of each quarter must be signed by both student and advisor and submitted to the graduate administrator for inclusion in the student's file. This is the process every quarter until the completion of the departmental oral.
In Autumn and Winter quarters of the third year, students register in and satisfactorily complete PHIL 301 Dissertation Development Proseminar. Students meet to present their work in progress and discuss their thesis project. Participation in these seminars is required.
During the third and fourth years in the program, a student should complete at least three graduate-level courses/seminars, at least two of them in philosophy (a course outside philosophy can be approved by the advisor), and at least two of them in the third year. The three seminars can be taken credit/no-credit for reduced (2) units. Courses required for candidacy are not counted toward satisfaction of this requirement. This light load of courses allows students to deepen their philosophical training while keeping time free for thesis research.

Dissertation Work and Defense

The third and following years are devoted to dissertation work. The few requirements in this segment of the program are milestones to encourage students and advisors to ensure that the project is on track.

Dissertation Proposal— By Spring Quarter of the third year, students should have selected a dissertation topic and committee. A proposal sketching the topic, status, and plan for the thesis project, as well as an annotated bibliography or literature review indicating familiarity with the relevant literature, must be received by the committee one week before the meeting on graduate student progress late in Spring Quarter. The dissertation proposal and the reading committee's report on it will constitute a substantial portion of the third year review.
Departmental Oral— During Autumn Quarter of the fourth year, students take an oral examination based on at least 30 pages of written work, in addition to the proposal. The aim of the exam is to help the student arrive at an acceptable plan for the dissertation and to make sure that student, thesis topic, and advisors make a reasonable fit. It is an important chance for the student to clarify their goals and intentions with the entire committee present.
Fourth-Year Colloquium— No later than Spring Quarter of the fourth year, students present a research paper in a 60-minute seminar open to the entire department. This paper should be on an aspect of the student's dissertation research. This is an opportunity for the student to make their work known to the wider department, and to explain their ideas to a general philosophical audience.
University Oral Exam— Ph.D. students must submit a completed draft of the dissertation to the reading committee at least one month before the student expects to defend the thesis in the University oral exam. If the student is given consent to go forward, the University oral can take place approximately two weeks later. A portion of the exam consists of a student presentation based on the dissertation and is open to the public. A closed question period follows. If the draft is ready by Autumn Quarter of the fourth year, the student may request that the University oral count as the department oral.

Below are yearly lists of courses which the faculty have approved to fulfill distribution requirements in these areas: value theory (including ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, social philosophy, philosophy of law); language; mind and action; metaphysics and epistemology (including metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science); logic; ancient philosophy; modern philosophy.

The most up-to-date requirements are listed in t he Bulletin .

Ph.D. Minor in Philosophy

To obtain a Ph.D. minor in Philosophy, students must follow these procedures:

Consult with the Director of Graduate Study to establish eligibility, and select a suitable advisor .
30 units of courses in the Department of Philosophy with a letter grade of 'B-' or better in each course. No more than 3 units of directed reading may be counted in the 30-unit requirement.
Philosophy of science
Ethics, value theory, and moral and political philosophy
Metaphysics and epistemology
Language, mind and action
History of philosophy
Two additional courses numbered over 199 to be taken in one of those (b) six areas.
A faculty member from the Department of Philosophy (usually the student's advisor) serves on the student's doctoral oral examination committee and may request that up to one third of this examination be devoted to the minor subject.
Paperwork for the minor must be submitted to the department office before beginning the program.

Interdisciplinary Study

The department supports interdisciplinary study. Courses in Stanford's other departments and programs may be counted towards the degree, and course requirements in Philosophy are designed to allow students considerable freedom in taking such courses. Dissertation committees may include members from other departments. Where special needs arise, the department is committed to making it possible for students to obtain a philosophical education and to meet their interdisciplinary goals. Students are advised to consult their advisors and the department's student services office for assistance.

Graduate Program in Cognitive Science

Philosophy participates with the departments of Computer Science, Linguistics, and Psychology in an interdisciplinary program in Cognitive Science. It is intended to provide an interdisciplinary education, as well as a deeper concentration in philosophy, and is open to doctoral students. Students who complete the requirements within Philosophy and the Cognitive Science requirements receive a special designation in Cognitive Science along with the Ph.D. in Philosophy. To receive this field designation, students must complete 30 units of approved courses, 18 of which must be taken in two disciplines outside of philosophy. The list of approved courses can be obtained from the Cognitive Science program located in the Department of Psychology.

Special Track in Philosophy and Symbolic Systems

Students interested in interdisciplinary work relating philosophy to artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, linguistics, or logic may pursue a degree in this program.

Prerequisites—Admitted students should have covered the equivalent of the core of the undergraduate Symbolic Systems Program requirements as described in the " Symbolic Systems " section of the Stanford Bulletin, including courses in artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive science, linguistics, logic, and philosophy. The graduate program is designed with this background in mind. Students missing part of this background may need additional course work. In addition to the required course work listed in the bulletin, the Ph.D. requirements are the same as for the regular program, with the exception that one course in value theory and one course in history may be omitted.

Joint Program in Ancient Philosophy

This program is jointly administered by the Departments of Classics and Philosophy and is overseen by a joint committee composed of members of both departments:

Christopher Bobonich , Philosophy (Ancient Greek Philosophy, Ethics)
Alan Code , Philosophy, Philosophy (Ancient Greek Philosophy, Metaphysics)
Reviel Netz , Classics (History of Greek and Pre-Modern Mathematics)
Andrea Nightingale , Classics, (Greek and Roman Philosophy and Literature)
Josh Ober , Classics and Political Science (Greek Political Thought, Democratic Theory)

It provides students with the training, specialist skills, and knowledge needed for research and teaching in ancient philosophy while producing scholars who are fully trained as either philosophers with a strong specialization in ancient languages and philology, or classicists with a concentration in philosophy.

Students are admitted to the program by either department. Graduate students admitted by the Philosophy department receive their Ph.D. from the Philosophy department; those admitted by the Classics department receive their Ph.D. from the Classics department. For Philosophy graduate students, this program provides training in classical languages, literature, culture, and history. For Classics graduate students, this program provides training in the history of philosophy and in contemporary philosophy.

Each student in the program is advised by a committee consisting of one professor in each department.

Requirements for Philosophy Graduate Students: These are the same as the proficiency requirements for the Ph.D. in Philosophy.

One year of Greek is a requirement for admission to the program. If students have had a year of Latin, they are required to take 3 courses in second- or third-year Greek or Latin, at least one of which must be in Latin. If they have not had a year of Latin, they are then required to complete a year of Latin, and take two courses in second- or third-year Greek or Latin.

Students are also required to take at least three courses in ancient philosophy at the 200 level or above, one of which must be in the Classics department and two of which must be in the Philosophy department.

Ph.D. Subplan in History and Philosophy of Science

Graduate students in the Philosophy Ph.D. program may pursue a Ph.D. subplan in History and Philosophy of Science. The subplan is declared in Axess and subplan designations appear on the official transcript, but are not printed on the diploma.

1. Attendance at the HPS colloquium series. 2. Philosophy of Science courses. Select one of the following:

PHIL 263 Significant Figures in Philosophy of Science: Einstein
PHIL 264: Central Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Theory and Evidence
PHIL 264A: Central Topics in Philosophy of Science: Causation
PHIL 265: Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time
PHIL 265C: Philosophy of Physics: Probability and Relativity
PHIL 266: Probability: Ten Great Ideas About Chance
PHIL 267A: Philosophy of Biology
PHIL 267B: Philosophy, Biology, and Behavior

3. One elective seminar in the history of science. 4. One elective seminar (in addition to the course satisfying requirement 2) in philosophy of science.

The PhD program provide 5 years of financial support . We also try to provide support for our sixth year students and beyond though we cannot guarantee such support. In addition to covering tuition, providing a stipend, and covering Stanford's health insurance, we provide additional funds for books, computer equipment, and conference travel expenses. Some of the financial support is provided through requiring you to teach; however, our teaching requirement is quite low and we believe that this is a significant advantage of our program.

Stanford Support Programs

Additional support, such as advances, medical and emergency grants for Grad Students are available through the Financial Aid Office. The University has created the following programs specifically for graduate students dealing with challenging financial situations.

Graduate Financial Aid homepage :

https://financialaid.stanford.edu/grad/funding/

Cash Advance: https://sfs.stanford.edu/gradcashadvance

Emergency grant-in-aid : https://financialaid.stanford.edu/pdf/emergencygrant-in-aid.pdf, family grants: https://financialaid.stanford.edu/pdf/gradfamilygrant2021.pdf, housing loans: https://financialaid.stanford.edu/loans/other/gradhousing.html, program characteristics.

Our program is well known for its small size, streamlined teaching requirements, and low average time to degree.

The program regulations are designed to efficiently provide students with a broad base in their first two years. In the third year students transition to working on their dissertations. During the summer prior to the third year, students are required to attend a dissertation development seminar. This seminar introduces students to what is involved in writing a dissertation. During the third year the course load drops to just under one course per quarter.

The rest of the time is spent working closely with a faculty member, or a couple of faculty members, on the student's area of research interest. The goal of the third year is that this process of intensive research and one-on-one interaction will generate a topic and proposal for the dissertation. During the fourth and fifth year the student is not required to take any courses and he or she focusses exclusively on research and writing on the dissertation.

Stanford University

Being a part of Stanford University means that students have access to one of the premier education institutions in the world. Stanford is replete with top departments in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. In addition, our professional schools, such as the Stanford Law School , are among the best. The range of research in a variety of areas, many of which touch on or relate to philosophical issues, is simply astounding. Students have the freedom to take courses across the university. Graduate students also regularly earn joint degrees with other programs.

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As a PhD student in the Harvard philosophy program, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your ideas, knowledge, and abilities. You'll work with other doctoral students, our faculty, and visiting scholars, all in a stimulating and supportive environment. The program has strengths across a broad range of topics and areas, so you'll be able to pursue your interests wherever they may lead, especially in moral and political philosophy, aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of logic, philosophy of language, the history of analytic philosophy, ancient philosophy, Immanuel Kant, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. In addition, students can pursue joint degrees with classics, Harvard Law School, and in Indian philosophy.

Incoming cohorts consist of five to eight students per year. You will have substantial access to our renowned faculty and all the resources that Harvard makes available. This relatively small size also gives students a sense of intellectual community.

The curriculum is structured to help you make your way towards a dissertation: graduate-level coursework, a second-year research paper, a prospectus to help you identify a dissertation topic, and then the dissertation itself. Past dissertations in the department have addressed a broad range of topics: Aristotle, Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau; contemporary moral and political philosophy; metaphysics; epistemology; and logic.

In addition to your research, you will also have the opportunity to develop your teaching skills in many different settings across the University.

You can find graduates of the PhD program in many universities. Some of our students have gone on to faculty positions at Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, and Stanford University. Other graduates have gone on to diverse careers in, among others, the arts, the law, secondary education, and technology.

In addition to the standard PhD in philosophy, the department offers a PhD in classical philosophy in collaboration with the Department of the Classics and a coordinated JD/PhD program in conjunction with Harvard Law School.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Philosophy and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Philosophy | Classical Philosophy | Indian Philosophy

For information please consult the Department webpage on the graduate program overview .

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Philosophy .

Academic Background

Applicants to the program in Philosophy are required to have a solid undergraduate background in philosophy, indicating that they have a good grounding in the history of philosophy, as well as familiarity with contemporary work in ethics, epistemology and metaphysics, and logic.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Optional

Writing Sample

A writing sample is required as part of the application and should be between 12 to 30 pages long. The sample must address a substantial philosophical problem, whether it is an evaluation or presentation of an argument, or a serious attempt to interpret a difficult text. The upload of the writing sample should be formatted for 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper, 1-inch margins, with double-spaced text in a common 12-point font, such as Times New Roman.

Applicants seeking admission to the coordinated JD/PhD program must apply to and be separately admitted to Harvard Law School and the Department of Philosophy.

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Philosophy

See list of Philosophy faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

Find a Job in Philosophy

Graduate student handbook.

Find more information about graduate studies in philosophy at Brown University

Brown University Ph.D. program in Philosophy is designed to provide strong support for students’ research.

In the first year, students focus exclusively on course work. Teaching responsibilities begin in the second year, continue through the fourth year, and return in the sixth year. After devoting two years to coursework, students begin their research in the third year by conducting literature reviews under the supervision of faculty members, and by enrolling in a seminar intended to promote work aimed at publication. These special courses help students identify dissertation topics.

Dissertation

Dissertation work begins in earnest in the fourth year. In that year and in succeeding years, students enroll every semester in a special seminar, the dissertation workshop, in which they present their research and receive feedback from faculty and peers. During this time they also work closely with dissertation advisers and other members of their dissertation committees.

In the fifth year, students set teaching aside so they can concentrate on dissertation research. In this year, they may, if they like, spend periods of time at other universities, interacting with faculty and students who share their interests. Teaching responsibilities generally take the form of work as assistants in courses run by faculty, but in the fourth and sixth years, students may apply to be teaching fellows, in which case they have full responsibility for undergraduate courses. There are also opportunities for summer teaching.

Ph.D. Requirements

The preliminary requirements for the Ph.D. are satisfied by demonstrating competence in logic, philosophy of science, language, and mind, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and history of philosophy. This may be done either by passing prescribed courses with a quality grade or through satisfactory completion of an individually tailored major-minors program, planned in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and submitted to the department for approval.

Within seven semesters of full-time or equivalent residency at Brown, the student must gain admission to Ph.D. candidacy. Admission to candidacy is granted after satisfaction of the preliminary evaluation and distribution requirements and upon approval of a dissertation prospectus by a dissertation committee. An oral defense of the dissertation is required once it is completed.

Master's Degree

Any student who has completed the preliminary requirements for the Ph.D. is eligible to be awarded an M.A., either as an additional or a terminal degree. The degree may also be awarded to Brown undergraduates admitted to the A.B./A.M. program.

Funding and Financial Support

Financial support is guaranteed for the first six years of study, and also for the first five summers.

The Brown Graduate School makes substantial awards in support of travel by graduate students.

The Open Master's Program allows students to apply to pursue an M.A. degree in another discipline while pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy. Students admitted in this program automatically receive an additional year of financial support to complete their M.A. degree.

College of Arts & Sciences

PhD Program

Requirements for the phd.

In order to be admitted to candidacy for the PhD, students complete the following requirements within six (6) semesters from beginning the PhD program.

Earn 45 credits, distributed as specified below;
Pass all required comprehensive exams;
Satisfy the logic requirement;
Complete the Dissertation Transition Seminar;
Hold pre-proposal meeting

At least 15 courses (45 credits) are required and are to be distributed as follows:

Proseminars During their first year of residency in the PhD program, all students are required to pass the Ethics Proseminar and a year-long proseminar covering selected issues that arise in metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of science (LEMMS Proseminar 1 & LEMMS Proseminar 2).
Be focused on an historical figure(s), movement(s), or period(s)
Approach its material with a primary learning goal to understand, interpret, reconstruct, and critically evaluate the texts. Whether a particular course satisfies these requirements, and whether it counts as Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, or Modern, will be determined by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with appropriate faculty.
Advanced Topical Courses Students must take two topically oriented courses at the 8000-level, one in a normative area and one in a non-normative area.
Taking PHIL-5001, Intermediate Logic, and earning a grade of B or higher;
Taking and passing an examination administered by the Department on the material covered in PHIL-5001; or
By receiving a final grade of B+ or higher in an equivalent or more advanced course at another institution. Under (i) above, with approval by the Director of Graduate Studies as well as the faculty who teach PHIL-5001, an equivalent or more advanced course at Georgetown may be substituted for PHIL-5001. Under (iii) above, the Director of Graduate Studies a well as the faculty who teach PHIL-5001 must approve the proposal to certify a course from another institution as equivalent to or more advanced than PHIL-5001. Students who fail to pass the Logic requirement during their first year in the program may have one further opportunity to pass the requirement.
4000–4999 Level Courses No more than one fifth (⅕) of the credits required for one’s degree may be earned in courses below the 5000-level. Courses below the 4000-level may not be taken for graduate credit

Timeline for the Ph.D. Program

The timeline below assumes that students are on financial aid. Those who are not should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies and develop a personalized plan of study that is realistic given the student’s other commitments. Additionally, this timeline applies (only) to students who matriculated in the Ph.D. program in or after Fall 2018. Finally, there are variations on this pattern in virtue of alternative funding plans (special or outside fellowships, research assistantships tied to faculty grants) or advanced standing.

You will take four courses per semester and so complete 8 of the required 15 courses (24 of the required 45 credits).
Complete eight (8) courses or 24 credits, including the two Proseminars (Ethics and the year-long LEMMS Proseminar); two comprehensive examinations based on the Ethics and LEMMS Proseminars; and the Logic requirement (PHIL-551or its equivalent and PHIL-350 if needed). Students will have a non-service Fellowship during Year 1 (see IV.A.2 below).
Participate in the non-credit First-Year Seminar, an informal seminar where you will learn about the department’s expectations for graduate students and how to navigate life as a grad student.
Financial aid : first-year students on financial aid have a non-service “fellowship” year. This means that they are supported to devote themselves full-time to their coursework.
You will take three courses per semester, and so complete an additional 6 of the required 15 courses (18 of the required 45 credits), for a running total of 14 of the 15 required courses (42 of the required 45 credits).
Course selection is at your discretion, but you must have a plan to satisfy the requirements in the history of philosophy and the two required systematic courses at the 500+ level, one in normative philosophy, and one in non-normative philosophy. You should consult with the DGS on this plan.
Financial aid : the second year in the program is a service stipend year. This typically entails serving as a Teaching Assistant for a large introductory course in both semesters. You will be responsible for leading two weekly discussion sections of 22–25 students each, grading your students’ work, holding office hours, attending the course plenary lectures, and other duties as assigned.
Complete your final course, ensuring that all coursework requirements for the Ph.D. have been completed.
Participate in the non-credit Third-Year Seminar, where you will begin to think about your dissertation proposal with fellow third-year students, the leader of the seminar, and perhaps with other faculty.
You must hold a “pre-proposal” or dissertation organization meeting by the end of the third year. In this meeting, you will plan a path toward a formal dissertation proposal with a proposed dissertation committee and mentor.
Financial aid : service responsibilities resemble those of second-year students, with the additional possibility of serving as a teaching assistant for PHIL-099, Political and Social Thought, the introductory philosophy course for first-year students in the School of Foreign Service. (You may apply for this position during the second year in the program. Three students are chosen each year. The position comes with summer preparation and a summer stipend.)
You must defend a formal dissertation proposal by the end of the fall semester of the fourth year (your seventh semester in the program). This requires writing a formal proposal according to the regulations of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and defending that proposal in a formal oral defense. Students who do not pass the oral defense may try a second (and final) time during their eighth semester in the program.
Financial aid : during your fourth year, you will begin to teach your own courses as an instructor of record (a “Teaching Associate”). You will choose a Teaching Mentor, who along with the Department’s Coordinator of Teaching Associates will guide you through the process of designing and teaching courses. There is also substantial teacher training available through the University’s Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship.
Financial aid : your fifth year in the program will be a second non-service fellowship year. You will devote yourself entirely to writing your dissertation, with the goal of putting yourself in a position to complete and formally defend the dissertation during the sixth year
Financial aid : funding is not guaranteed for the sixth year, but it has usually been available to students who have made good progress through the program. If funded, you will teach again as a Teaching Associate, gaining additional valuable experience as an instructor.
You should defend your doctoral dissertation during this sixth year, as well as prepare for seeking post-doctoral employment.

Years Seven and Eight

You may, if needed, take a seventh year to complete and defend your dissertation, and it is permissible to apply for an eighth year in the program if necessary.
However , no financial aid is likely to be available for the seventh and eighth years.

Alternatively, use our A–Z index

Attend an open day

Discover more about Philosophy at Manchester

PhD Philosophy / Overview

Year of entry: 2024

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Bachelor's (Honours) degree in a cognate subject at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
Master's degree in a relevant subject - with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)

Full entry requirements

Apply online

Please ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.

Application Deadlines

If you would like to be considered for University of Manchester funding, we reccomend you apply as early as possible. If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self-funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.

For September 2024 entry: 30 June 2024
For January 2025 entry: 30 September 2024

Programme options

Programme overview.

Become part of a lively PhD community, with weekly PGR led research seminars.
Gain the opportunity to regularly present and discuss your work within your department and at conferences.
Benefit from access to experts in a range of philosophical research areas.

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The University holds annual open days, where you will have the opportunity to find out more about our facilities and programmes. On this day, you will learn more about the School of Social Sciences, our Philosophy department, and our resources. You will also be able to meet academic and admissions staff who will be able to answer any questions that you may have.

For more information, see open days.

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:

PhD (full-time) UK students (per annum): £4,786 International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,500
PhD (part-time) UK students (per annum): £2,393 International, including EU, students (per annum): £10,750

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Scholarships/sponsorships

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards available to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered.

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting your funding application and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.

For more information about funding, visit our funding page to browse for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

School of Social Sciences PhD Studentships 2024 Entry
AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships 2024 Entry
China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2024 Entry
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards 2024 Entry
Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2024 Entry
PhD Studentship with the Stuart Hall Foundation (Social Sciences) 2024 Entry
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
Humanities Doctoral Academy Humanitarian Scholarship 2024 Entry

Contact details

See: School Subjects

Programmes in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.

Social Sciences

Regulated by the Office for Students

The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website .

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website .

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Graduate Program

The Graduate School has developed a quick reference guide [pdf] to help you quickly access the information you need about semesters and graduate student credit hours, GA appointments, and enrollment. More in formation can be found in the Graduate School Handbook . Department's Graduate Program is a strong one with an excellent placement record. Placement information is available for graduates of our doctoral program since 1995-96. Areas of special strength in the Department include: Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic, Logic, Modern Philosophy, Ethics and Metaethics, Moral Psychology and Action Theory, Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Language, History of Analytic Philosophy, and Metaphysics and Epistemology.

Most graduate course work takes the form of seminars that are used to satisfy Course Number and Distribution Requirements . For more information about the program requirements please see the links in the right hand column. Beginning students are required to take a First-Year Seminar which is an intensive introduction to a topic and is usually taught by two faculty members. The William H. Fink Prize for the outstanding graduate student essay in philosophy is awarded annually. The Philosophy Department has several affiliated professors from other departments. Many of both the graduate students and the faculty make use of the relationship between the excellent Department of Linguistics , Department of Mathematics , Department of Political Science , and Department of Comparative Studies by attending one another's seminars, colloquia, reading groups, etc. Some of the graduate students have gone on to obtain dual degrees (or certificates) in these other departments.

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CORRESPONDENCE
02 April 2024

How can we make PhD training fit for the modern world? Broaden its philosophical foundations

Ganesh Alagarasan 0

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati, India.

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You have highlighted how PhD training assessment has stagnated, despite evolving educational methodologies (see Nature 613 , 414 (2023) and Nature 627 , 244; 2024 ). In particular, you note the mismatch between the current PhD journey and the multifaceted demands of modern research and societal challenges.

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Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

Get your phd in chemistry.

Thank you for your interest in the graduate program at the University of Iowa Department of Chemistry. The Department has had a chemistry PhD program for over 75 years and currently consists of over 25 research faculty, over 130 graduate students, and over 20 postdoctoral associates, research scientists and visiting scholars. Our graduates and postdocs have accepted positions at leading academic and industrial institutions and national laboratories.

State-of-the-art research labs, support facilities, and classrooms are located in the Chemistry Building and the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratory. Extensive resources are readily accessible such as NMR, mass spectrometry, and X-ray analysis facilities, advanced computational resources, and complete machine, electronics, and glass shops. In addition to strong programs in the core areas of analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry, we offer unique research opportunities in emerging interdisciplinary areas such as biocatalysis, natural products, materials, surface science, bioinorganic, chemical sensors, chemical education research, and environmental and atmospheric chemistry.

The Department of Chemistry funds the tuition for all of our graduate students in good standing. In addition, we offer teaching and research assistantships that pay an annual stipend and provide employee benefits such as health insurance. Additional funding from a variety of sources is also available.

For more information, contact the graduate program by e-mail at [email protected] .

Student resources

First year student guide
Annual review resources
Teaching assistant resources
Postdoctoral scholar resources
Thesis and dissertation
General catalog
Current courses

Degree requirements

Competency requirement.

Students must demonstrate basic competency in three chosen sub-disciplines of chemistry (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, physical). Competency is established in one of the following ways: Scoring at the 50th percentile level (national norm) on the proficiency exam, completing a one-semester review course with a grade of C or better (courses specified below), or completing a one-semester graduate-level/advanced course in that sub-discipline of chemistry with a grade of B or better. The competency requirement must be fulfilled before the beginning of the student's third semester in the graduate program.

Review courses

Courses currently designated as review courses are:

CHEM:4171 (formerly 4:171): Advanced Analytical Chemistry
BIOC:3120 (formerly 99:120): Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I
CHEM:4270 (formerly 4:170): Advanced Inorganic Chemistry
CHEM:4372 (formerly 4:172): Advanced Organic Chemistry
CHEM:4431 (formerly 4:131): Physical Chemistry I

Advanced course requirement

Beyond the competency requirements, a minimum of four additional courses that total at least 11 semester hours of graduate credit must be completed by the end of the fourth semester in residence. Grades of "B" or higher must be attained in all of these advanced courses. A grade of "B-" does not meet this requirement. Research, seminar, and pedagogy credits, courses that are doubly listed with sub-100 level numbers, courses taken with the S/U grade option, and courses with grades of "B-" or lower cannot be used to fulfill this requirement. The student is strongly encouraged to develop a detailed course plan that is reviewed and approved by the research advisor.

Comprehensive examination

The oral comprehensive examination is designed to assess the student's overall progress, knowledge of fundamental chemical principles and chosen area of specialization, and general competency for PhD research.

Before the beginning of the second semester after a permanent advisor has been appointed, a Graduate Academic Committee (GAC) of five faculty, at least four from Chemistry, will be formed for each student with a PhD degree objective. The committee will consist of the research advisor and four additional members invited by the student subject to the advisor’s approval.

The five member committee for the comprehensive examination is the same as the student's Graduate Academic Committee (GAC). Additional faculty members may be invited to attend the oral comprehensive examination and may be consulted in judging the presentation when it bears upon their areas of expertise.

To be eligible to take the Comprehensive Examination, the student must have a cumulative average of 3.00 or greater on appropriate graduate coursework at The University of Iowa. Appropriate graduate coursework includes review courses (Section II.B.), graded seminar presentations (Section III.F.), courses that satisfy the advanced course requirement (Section III.A.), and additional courses in chemistry or related disciplines that are judged appropriate by the student’s GAC. Graduate Chemistry Orientation (CHEM:5091, formerly 4:191), Ethics in Chemical Sciences (CHEM:5092, formerly 4;192), Research in Chemistry (CHEM:7999, formerly 4:290) and Research Seminar (CHEM:6990, formerly 4:291) shall be graded on an S/U basis and therefore are not included in the computation of the cumulative average.

The general comprehensive examination requirements set by the Graduate College must be completed by the end of the fourth semester in residence, unless written consent is received from the GAC and is approved by the Departmental Graduate Review Committee (DGRC). A student who fails to meet this requirement may be dropped from the PhD program. A student on academic probation is not eligible to take the comprehensive exam. Students entering with a Master's degree and those exempted from review courses are strongly encouraged to take the comprehensive examination during the second or third semester in residence.

The comprehensive examination is a two-part oral examination. The first part consists of an oral defense of the student's research problem and progress, and will be based upon a written Research Report submitted by the student. The second part consists of an oral defense of an original Research Proposal submitted by the student. The Research Report and the Research Proposal must be submitted (together) prior to five weeks before the last day of classes in the semester during which the examination is to be taken (or, for a spring semester examination, by the last Friday prior to Spring Break, whichever is earlier). It is strongly recommended that the examination be held at the earliest possible date in the semester to facilitate scheduling.

If the GAC approves both the Research Report and the Research Proposal, the oral examination may be scheduled. The student should then complete a Formal Plan of Study and a Request to the Graduate College for the PhD Comprehensive Examination. At the examination, the student will be asked to present a short (20 minute) summary of their research project. During or following this presentation, the committee will ask questions designed to probe the student's understanding of the research topic and important background material, the experimental methods and techniques which are important in the particular area, and the goals and significance of the research. The committee next will examine the candidate's understanding of areas related to the Research Proposal. The student will be asked to give a short (30 minute) presentation of the Research Proposal. The committee will ask questions designed to probe the quality and the student's understanding of the proposal. Typically, however, this discussion will evolve into a wide-ranging examination of the student's general competency in the chemical sciences.

Seminar requirements

Each student is expected to give a minimum of two acceptable seminars. One seminar must cover the student's research. The other may also deal with the student's research, or can be an extensive literature report. The student may register for the appropriate divisional seminar course and receive letter grade credit during those semesters in which the seminars are presented. The final PhD defense cannot be used to meet this requirement.

The research conference/three-month seminar

At least three months before the anticipated final defense, the PhD candidate must meet with their graduate academic committee. If scheduling permits, the research work can be reported as a research seminar during a regularly scheduled divisional seminar, with a subsequent committee meeting for questions and advice.

Final defense of the PhD dissertation

The Dean of the Graduate College will make a public announcement of a candidate’s final defense three weeks prior to the exam date. This final oral examination is open to the public. Dissertation copies must be made available to all members of the examining committee not later than two weeks before the examination date.

Milestones toward the PhD

The milestones on the path toward earning your PhD in chemistry at the University of Iowa are described below. These are illustrative of a typical student; most students follow this path, but some variations are possible.

Typical timelines for PhD completion

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US News & World Report Releases 2024 Rankings Of America’s Best Grad Schools

Texas A&M University is one of the nation’s leaders in graduate education, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

The university has 33 programs in the Top 50 spanning across agriculture, business, computer science, education, health, law, political science, public affairs, psychology, science, and veterinary medicine. U.S. News announced this week that the release of rankings for engineering, medical and clinical psychology will be delayed.

In its Best Graduate Schools ranking, the publication placed 10 of Texas A&M’s graduate programs in the Top 20; among those, six are Top 10:

College of Arts and Sciences

Industrial and organizational psychology, No. 7 (No. 6 public)
Inorganic chemistry, No. 5 (No. 2 public, No. 1 in Texas)
Nuclear physics, No. 7 (No. 6 public, No. 1 in Texas)

School of Law, overall No. 26

Dispute resolution, No. 5 (No. 3 public, No. 1 in Texas)
Intellectual property, No. 6 (No. 2 public, No. 1 in Texas)

School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, overall No. 10 (No. 9 public, No. 1 in Texas)

According to U.S. News , the rankings are based on expert opinion on program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. Texas A&M currently enrolls 16,762 graduate and professional students (fall 2023), in more than 170 master’s, 94 doctoral and five professional degree programs.

“I’m so proud of our graduate students, the world-class faculty who mentor them and the outstanding programs that set them on a path to success in their chosen fields,” said Gen. (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, president of Texas A&M University. “Post-graduate education at Texas A&M contributes immeasurably to our research enterprise and our teaching and service missions. Congratulations to the students, faculty and staff whose work is reflected not just in rankings, but each and every day on our campuses and in the world at large.”

Texas A&M School of Law in Fort Worth, which has seen a remarkable rise in the U.S. News rankings, this year rose three spots overall, an increase of 57 spots in five years.

The Bush School of Government and Public Service, which ranks No. 26 overall in public affairs, has seen gains this round in non-profit management, up six places to No. 21. “The Bush School continues to make strides as a world-class Public Affairs school,” said Frank B. Ashley III, interim dean. “Employers know that graduates of our Public Service and Administration program are career-ready leaders with a passion for public service.”

Other notable rankings include:

Analytical chemistry, No. 11 (No. 10 public)
Applied mathematics, No. 13 (No. 6 public)
Legal writing, No. 11 (No. 7 public, No. 1 in Texas)
Marketing, No. 29 (No. 9 public)
Management, No. 27 (No. 11 public)
Statistics, No. 13 (No. 7 public, No. 1 in Texas)

View the full rankings for Texas A&M here and review the U.S. News methodology here .

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SDSU Speech-Language Pathology graduate program soars to 12th nationally

Several SDSU programs improved in year-over-year rankings demonstrating the university's growing competitive nature.

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usSan Diego State University’s master’s degree program in speech-language pathology is No. 12 in the nation and the College of Education is No. 48, according to new rankings of graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report.

Released Tuesday , both numbers improve upon the most recent previous rankings for those programs. The speech-language pathology program climbed up from its last highest ranking in 2020 at No. 25, and the ranking for the College of Education is one slot higher than the program’s best placement set last year.

Ignatius Nip , director of the SDSU School of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences said the M.A. program stands out in several ways.

“We have emphasized training all speech-language pathologists (SLPs) on how to assess and treat speech, language, and communication disorders in people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds,” Nip said.

“We also have strong relationships and collaborations with the greater San Diego community which provides our students with ample opportunities to gain clinical experience in a wide range of settings,” he added.

The program’s partnerships include local public schools, acute care hospitals, medical outpatient facilities and private practice.

U.S. News publishes rankings in some categories of college education annually; others are issued on an irregular basis.

The No. 48 position for the College of Education is its highest ever from U.S. News.

"The steady ascent of our college in recent years is very gratifying, but it comes as no surprise," said Y. Barry Chung , dean of the College of Education. “Our reputation for teaching, research and community impact has been well known here in the San Diego region for decades. I'm delighted the secret now seems to be out among our national peers, as well."

The part-time MBA program in the Fowler College of Business is No. 53, matching the ranking it received in 2021 and 15 steps higher than last year.

Among other SDSU graduate school rankings of note for 2024:

The School of Public Health is No. 29 in the nation, audiology is No. 30 and physical therapy is No. 53.

The nursing program, in the College of Health and Human Services is listed at No. 55, its highest ranking in at least five years. The social work program is No. 51.

“Over the last three years, the School of Nursing has made concerted efforts to address the national nursing shortage by expanding our pre-licensure, ADN to BSN, and graduate programs to meet the nursing workforce needs of San Diego and Imperial Counties,” said Karen Macauley , professor and director of the school.

The school “has been fortunate to secure significant state and federal funding to conduct nursing research and develop pipelines into our Bachelor's and Graduate Nursing programs,” she said.

Macauley added: “We have committed to inspire compassionate, ethical and visionary nurse leaders and achieve excellence and innovation in nursing education, practice, and research while advancing the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities.”

Jeff Ristine, Peggy Pico and Michael Klitzing contributed to this article. This article will be updated to include rankings for the SDSU/University of California San Diego joint doctoral program in clinical psychology upon publication by U.S. News, which were delayed.

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UT’s Excellence and Impact On Display in Latest Graduate School Rankings

Tower and orange flowers 2024 iPhone originals, no RAW files

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin continues to be one of the premier schools for graduate studies, according to U.S. News & World Report’s partial release of its most recent “Best Graduate Schools.” UT made gains in several disciplines, including the College of Education’s jump into the top 10.

U.S. News has delayed release of its engineering, medicine and clinical psychology rankings, areas in which the University has historically achieved No. 1 and top 10 rankings.

Even with the partial release of the graduate rankings, UT maintained its top 10 spot for five colleges and schools: the College of Education (No. 8); the School of Information (No. 5); the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (No. 8); the College of Pharmacy (No. 6); and the Jackson School of Geosciences (No. 7), ranked under Earth Sciences. Three specialties ranked No. 1 in the country: Accounting, Latin American History and Sociology of Population. Overall, the University has 42 graduate schools and specialty programs ranked in the top 10 when combined with previous years.

“These rankings are striking and reflect our ability to continue to attract exceptional faculty and students. Our excellence is evident in our set of more than 40 schools, programs and specialties ranked in the top-10 in this partial release alone, including several that are the best in the country, if not the world,” said President Jay Hartzell. “Our talent is what puts UT at the leading edge of discovery in AI and robotics, life sciences, population research, and many other disciplines that are at the forefront of solving many of the world’s most pressing problems and bettering society.”

Among the highlights in this year’s rankings:

The College of Education is now ranked in the top 10, moving up eight spots to No. 8.
The McCombs School of Business moved up four ranks to No. 16 overall.
The Information Systems MBA program in the McCombs School of Business is ranked No. 4 this year, marking 31 years that it has ranked in the top 5. Accounting has been ranked No. 1 for 18 years.
The College of Pharmacy moved up one spot to No. 6. Computer Science moved up one rank to No. 7.
The Nursing master’s program rose six spots to No. 14.

U.S. News & World Report’s graduate rankings, which are published separately from the yearly ranking of undergraduate programs, are considered the gold standard of graduate and professional rankings. They are based on surveys of academic leaders and, for select programs, additional quantitative measures including placement test scores, student/faculty ratios, research expenditures, salary by profession and job placement success.

The publication updates some of its specialty rankings each year and republishes the most recent rankings in other areas. The rankings for engineering, medicine and psychology will be released at a later date, according to U.S. News.

Graduate schools, programs and specialties that U.S. News ranked in the top 25 are listed below.

Business – 16

Accounting – 1
Business Analytics – 8
Entrepreneurship – 10
Finance – 13
Information Systems – 4
Management – 11
Marketing – 11
Production/Operations – 15
Project Management – 4
Real Estate – 8
Supply Chain/Logistics – 16
Executive MBA – 15
Part-Time MBA – 7

Education – 8

Counseling – 15
Curriculum/Instruction – 12
Education Policy – 9
Educational Administration/Supervision – 5
Educational Psychology – 6
Elementary Teacher Education – 10
Higher Education Administration – 14
Secondary Teacher Education – 10
Special Education – 7

Health Disciplines (other than Nursing)

Audiology – 12
Pharmacy (College of Pharmacy) – 6
Social Work (Steve Hicks School of Social Work) – 8
Speech-Language Pathology – 14
Business/Corporate Law – 17
Constitutional Law – 11
Contracts/Commercial Law – 15
Criminal Law – 20
Intellectual Property Law – 15
International Law – 25
Tax Law – 13

Library and Information Studies Schools (School of Information) – 5*

Archives and Preservation – 4*
Digital Librarianship – 7*
Information Systems – 8*
Master’s – 14

Public Affairs – 13

Public Policy Analysis – 15

The Sciences

Biological Sciences – 25*

Ecology/Evolutionary Biology – 8*

Chemistry – 16*

Analytical – 4*
Inorganic – 14*
Organic – 20*
Physical – 14*

Computer Science – 7

Artificial Intelligence – 9
Programming Language – 7
Systems – 10

Earth Sciences (Jackson School of Geosciences) – 7*

Geochemistry – 13*
Geology – 2*
Geophysics and Seismology – 5*
Paleontology – 3*

Mathematics – 13*

Algebra – 19*
Analysis – 8*
Applied Math – 7*
Topology – 8*

Physics – 13*

Cosmology/Relativity/Gravity – 10*
Condensed Matter – 22*

Statistics – 27*

Social Sciences and Humanities

Economics – 22*

English – 17*

American Literature After 1865 – 18*

History – 11*

African American History – 10*
Latin American History – 1*
Modern U.S. History – 16*

Political Science – 19*

American Politics – 20*
Comparative Politics – 18*

Psychology – 23*

Behavioral Neuroscience – 8*
Social Psychology – 9*

Sociology – 11*

Sociology of Population – 1*
Sex and Gender – 6*
Social Stratification – 13*

Fine Arts – 23*

Sculpture – 6*

*Ranking not revised for 2024-25. Based on latest available ranking.

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A PhD is a Doctorate of Philosophy, a prestigious qualification which is the highest level of degree that a student can achieve, demonstrating talent, academic excellence and a thirst for knowledge. In a modern knowledge-based economy, highly educated and skilled people such as doctoral graduates, are in great demand.
Writing your research proposal
A traditional PhD, a Doctor of Philosophy, usually studied full-time, prepares candidates for a career in Higher Education.. A Professional Doctorate is usually studied part-time by mid- to late-career professionals.While it may lead to a career in Higher Education, it aims to improve and develop professional practice.
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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Open University
What is a PhD? A PhD is a Doctorate of Philosophy, a prestigious qualification which is the highest level of degree that a student can achieve, demonstrating talent, academic excellence and a thirst for knowledge. In a modern knowledge-based economy, highly educated and skilled people such as doctoral graduates are in great demand.
Research Degrees
Research degrees. The OU supports a diverse community of around 900 postgraduate research students, doing cutting-edge PhD and Professional Doctorate projects: at our beautiful campus in Milton Keynes. through innovative Doctoral Training Partnerships. around the globe, linked through Affiliated Research Centres.
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Faking nature: development and restoration thesis provides an insight into philosophical study at postgraduate level. The MA programme is studied part time, and is normally completed over two years, starting in October. It consists of two parts. Part 1 is a 60 point module studied over 31 weeks. Part 2 (which includes a dissertation) is a 120 ...
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Requirements for the PhD In order to be admitted to candidacy for the PhD, students complete the following requirements within six (6) semesters from beginning the PhD program. At least 15 courses (45 credits) are required and are to be distributed as follows: Timeline for the Ph.D. Program The timeline below assumes that students are […]
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The Ph.D. Degree and the University . The Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) emphasizes research and intensive specialization in a field of scholarship. By agreement with Columbia University, the Ph.D. degree may be earned through Teachers College in designated fields of study in which the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences does not offer ...
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Texas A&M University is one of the nation's leaders in graduate education, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.. The university has 33 programs in the Top 50 spanning across agriculture, business, computer science, education, health, law, political science, public affairs, psychology, science, and veterinary medicine.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2024. San Diego State University's master's degree program in speech-language pathology is No. 12 in the nation and the College of Education is No. 48, according to new rankings of graduate schools by U.S. News & World Report. Released Tuesday, both numbers improve upon the most recent previous rankings for those programs.
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AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin continues to be one of the premier schools for graduate studies, according to U.S. News & World Report's partial release of its most recent "Best Graduate Schools.". UT made gains in several disciplines, including the College of Education's jump into the top 10.

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