Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Graduate School.

Candidates for the doctoral degree must complete ninety credits beyond the baccalaureate degree, including thirty credits of dissertation directed study. In order to continue in the program and gain admission to candidacy, a student must satisfy the following:

1. Pass PHI 5050 or the Departmental Examination in elementary logic before the second year in the doctoral program;
2. Complete the Departmental Advanced Logic Requirements by the end of the fourth year;
3. Satisfy the course requirements in metaphysics/epistemology, value theory, and history of philosophy by the end of the fourth year;
4. Complete the two preliminary essays by the beginning of the fourth year; and
5. Pass an oral examination on the dissertation prospectus, by the fifth year;

The thirty credit dissertation registration requirement is fulfilled by registering for PHI 9991, PHI 9992, PHI 9993, and PHI 9994 (Doctoral Dissertation Research and Direction I, II, III, and IV, respectively), in consecutive academic year semesters. The candidate’s doctoral committee must approve the doctoral dissertation prior to an oral presentation open to all interested faculty and students.

Before receiving a Ph.D., the student must give some classroom lectures under the supervision of the faculty of the Philosophy Department.

Academic Scholarship: All course work must be completed in accordance with the regulations of the Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.