Welcome

Welcome to the History and Philosophy of Science and Religion at Florida State University. Florida State University established a Master of Arts degree program in the History and Philosophy of Science and Religion in 2004. The FSU HPS Program provides a truly interdisciplinary perspective of the biological and environmental sciences, although we welcome applications from potential students interested in all areas of science and medicine. HPS Core Faculty members engage the study of science and society, and we are strongly committed to an interdisciplinary approach, with Affiliated Faculty drawn broadly from across the university, especially the humanities and the natural sciences.

As a major research university, FSU (and the HPS Program) offers opportunities for study and research in topics of particular relevance to the southeast, such as racial issues, conservation and problems of pollution, and clashes between science and religion. We also have major strengths in other areas: logic and formal methods, social philosophy, environmental history, intellectual and cultural history, history of the U.S. South, African American history, ancient science and mathematics, and ecology and evolutionary biology.

In 2008, our group of core faculty expanded in each of the core areas (history, philosophy, and religion) with the addition of Ronald Doel (History of Science), Kristine Harper (History of Science and Science Education), Sarah Irving (Religion and Science), and James Justus (Philosophy of Science).

FSU has competitive graduate fellowships and there are opportunities for research and teaching assistantships that include tuition waivers. FSU Library resources are quite strong in HPS and we are constantly expanding holdings. We are committed to helping our students when they complete their degree, either to further graduate work or to entering the work force. This master’s degree with its multidisciplinary breadth is appropriate for those interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in related areas of philosophy, history, religion or biology. It is also suitable for those undergraduates who would like to combine it with one of the traditional disciplines in our combined bachelors-masters program. In all cases we tailor individual course programs to suit students’ needs.

The HPS Program hosts an annual conference or workshop, supported by the The William H. and Lucyle T. Werkmeister Fund. In June 2009, the conference celebrated the 80th Birthday of the E.O. Wilson, the renowned Harvard biologist, with presentations on the dimensions of Wilson’s life and research drawing on scholarship in history, philosophy, religion, and biology.