Department of Philosophy

Graduate Degree Requirements

GRADUATE HANDBOOK

(Revised August 2008)

CONTENTS

1. ADMISSION

2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

3. M.A. DEGREE

3.1 M.A. Committee

3.2 Requirements for the M.A.

A. Cumulative grade point average, incompletes, and evaluation

B. Logic requirement

C. Required core courses

D. History requirement

E. Breadth requirement

F. Thesis M.A.

G. M.A. by Examination

H. Language requirement

I. Graduate teaching

J. University-wide requirements

4. Ph.D. DEGREE

4.1 Special Area Committee

4.2 Dissertation Committee

4.3 Requirements for the Ph.D.

A. Cumulative grade point average, incompletes, and evaluation

B. Admission to Ph.D. candidacy

C. Further credit hour requirements for the Ph.D.

D . Language requirement

E. Dissertation Prospectus

F. Dissertation

G. Graduate Teaching

H. University-wide requirements

5. ADDENDUM: TUTORIALS

1. ADMISSION

The department encourages students who are interested in a Ph.D. program to enroll directly in that program. The department will also admit students into the M.A. program.

To be admitted to either program, a student must attain a total score of at least 1100 (verbal plus quantitative) on the Graduate Record Examination, and must have had at least a 3.0 grade point average during the last two years as an undergraduate (satisfaction of these requirements is, of course, not a guarantee of admission). Occasionally an applicant who fails to meet these requirements, but who possesses special qualifications, may be admitted. The applicant’s baccalaureate degree need not be in philosophy, but, unless the circumstances are exceptional, he or she should have completed some coursework in philosophy.

To receive applications for admission to the program and to the university, please contact the Department of Philosophy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1500 (Telephone 850-644-1483).

Further information about Florida State University may be obtained at www.fsu.edu . Further information about the Department of Philosophy may be obtained at www.fsu.edu/ ~philo .

2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

A number of teaching assistantships, carrying taxable stipends, are available to currently enrolled graduate students and to new applicants. A small number of fellowships, awarded by the University or the College, are also available. Holders of fellowships are not required to perform any assistantship work. Students may apply for assistantships and fellowships by completing the departmental application for admission (see above).

Applications for financial assistance will not be considered until all of a student’s application material has been received by the department. To receive priority for teaching assistantships and fellowships, completed applications should be received by January 3 . Further full or partial teaching asistantships may be available for applications received by April 30.

Information on other forms of financial assistance (grants and loans) may be obtained from:

Office of Financial Aid, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2430 (Telephone 850-644-5716).

3. M.A. DEGREE

The department offers a thesis M.A. and an M.A. by examination. The thesis option requires the completion of an M.A. thesis (see 3.2 F below), and the examination option requires the completion of additional coursework and an M.A. examination (see 3.2 G below).

3.1 M.A. Committee

In consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, students will select a major professor toward the end of the first year in residence. In consultation with the major professor, a minimum of two other faculty members will be selected to form the student’s M.A. committee. (One member may be from outside the department of philosophy if appropriate for the student’s area of study.) The M.A. committee will be responsible either for supervising the M.A. thesis (in which case the major professor serves as chair of the thesis committee and the candidate's thesis advisor) or administering the M.A. examination, depending upon which option the student selects. All members of the student's M.A. committee must have at least master's directive status.

3.2 Requirements for the M.A.

A. Cumulative grade point average, incompletes, and evaluation

Each M.A. student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. Failure to maintain a satisfactory grade point average is a ground for dismissal from the program.

A grade of ‘I’ (‘incomplete’) may be given in a course only if the student presents to the instructor a reasonable excuse for not completing course assignments. If there is no agreement with the instructor before grades are due that a grade of ‘I’ will be given, the student will receive a failing grade. Incompletes may not be extended without the approval of the department. A request for an extension, with justification, should be in the hands of the instructor of record at least 3 weeks before the expiration of the incomplete.

At the end of each Spring semester, all students must prepare a Student Activity Report describing their academic achievements for the preceding year. The department faculty evaluate each student’s progress in a meeting normally held during the week in which Spring grades are due. Students then receive a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies reporting the results of this evaluation.

B. Logic requirement

All M.A. students are required to establish qualification in modern logic by passing Modern Logic I (PHI 5135) with a grade of “B-” or better. (PHI 3130 or an equivalent course in symbolic logic is a prerequisite.) Students who do not initially receive at least a “B-” may retake the course only once (under the tutorial number PHI 5998: see section 5). Failure to pass the course on the second attempt constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program.

C. Required core courses

I. PHI 5665, Core Course in Ethics.

II. PHI 5555, Core Course in Metaphysics & Epistemology.

All M.A. students are required to pass each of these courses with a grade of “B” or better. Students may retake either of these courses only once (under tutorial PHI 5998: see section 5). Failure to achieve a "B"in either course on the second attempt constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program.

D. History requirement

All M.A. students must satisfy a history of philosophy requirement as follows: at least two seminars in different historical periods (e.g., one in Ancient philosophy and one in Modern philosophy). Seminars will be identified by the instructor as fulfilling one of these areas.

E. Breadth requirement

In addition to taking the two seminars required to meet the history requirement, all M.A. students must take at least one seminar in each of two areas: (i) contemporary metaphysics/philosophy of mind/epistemology, and (ii) value theory.

F. Thesis M.A.

1. Credit hour requirements: 33 hours

• 18 hours out of the total 33 must be letter-graded philosophy seminars (these include the 12 seminar hours taken to fulfill the history and breadth requirements; students may repeat a given seminar number up to 3 times (for a total of 9 hours), but repetition beyond this requires departmental approval). (See also section 5.)

• 6 hours out of the total 33 must be thesis hours (PHI 5971).

The logic and core course requirements total 9 hours; thus these courses combined with the required seminar and thesis hours yield the required total of 33 hours. Students may, of course, take additional hours.

2. Thesis prospectus

During the student’s second year in residence, the student is responsible for preparing a thesis prospectus to be approved by every member of the M.A. committee. The thesis prospectus should include a description and defense of a viable research project (5-10 pages) and a bibliography. A graduate seminar paper may be the basis of the prospectus.

3. Thesis

A student’s thesis committee is charged with guiding the M.A. candidate through the successful completion of an original piece of philosophical work of normally 50-100 pages in length. The student must orally defend the thesis before being awarded the M.A.

The following procedures are to govern the preparation and defense of the thesis:

1. Copies of the thesis in the form in which the candidate's thesis advisor and the candidate expect it to be defended shall be made available to all members of the thesis committee, and placed in the departmental office, at least 4 weeks prior to the date of the oral defense.

2. An announcement of the place and time of the oral defense shall be presented to the Office of Graduate Studies and posted around the department at least 2 weeks prior to the date of the oral defense.

G. M.A. by Examination

1. Credit hour requirements: 33 hours

21 hours out of the total 33 must be letter-graded philosophy seminars (these include the 12 seminar hours taken to fulfill the history and breadth requirements; students may repeat a given seminar number up to 3 times (for a total of 9 hours), but repetition beyond this requires departmental approval). (See also section 5.)

The logic and core course requirements total 9 hours; thus these courses combined with the required seminar hours total 30 hours, which leaves only 3 further hours required.

2. M.A. Examination

Each student should select a topic to be the focus of either a four-hour closed book examination, or a take-home examination plus oral defense, at the discretion of the student’s M.A. committee.

In the Fall, Spring and Summer terms, written examinations will be given during the thirteenth week of the term. Results will be reported to the student in writing on the Monday of the fifteenth week of the term.

The M.A. examination may be retaken only once. Failure to pass the examination on the second attempt constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program.

Students should register for the M.A. examination course (PHI 8966; zero hours) at the beginning of the semester in which they intend to take their M.A. examination.

H. Language requirement

Proficiency in a foreign language demonstrated by satisfactory performance on the Graduate School Foreign Language Test of the Educational Testing Service, or certification by the appropriate language department, or completion of twelve (12) semester hours in a foreign language with an average grade of at least 3.0 (‘B’), or four years of a single language in high school.

I. Graduate teaching

The department recommends that M.A. students whose ultimate goal is to teach philosophy enroll in the Teaching Philosophy course. This course is required for those M.A. students serving as teaching assistants.

J. University-wide requirements

Students should consult the current edition of the Florida State UniversityGeneral Bulletin(Graduate Edition) to ascertain additional university-wide requirements.

4. Ph.D. DEGREE

Candidates for the Ph.D. fall into three categories:

(i) Those without an M.A. in philosophy who are admitted directly to the Ph.D. program

(ii) Those who were admitted to the M.A. program, have completed all of their M.A. requirements (or are about to), and now seek to continue to the Ph.D.

(iii) Those with an M.A. in philosophy from another institution

The department's M.A. degree is intended to constitute the first part of the requirement for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D.; thus students in category (i) should first pursue, and gain, the M.A. degree (they should consult with their major professor concerning whether to select the thesis or examination option).

Students in category (ii) should petition the department for admission to the Ph.D. program, and, should they succeed, embark on fulfilling the Ph.D. requirements below after receiving their M.A. Admission to the Ph.D. program for students in this category is based on the same criteria as for those in category (iii), namely GPA, GRE, written work (each applicant should submit one or two writing samples) and letters of recommendation.

Students in category (iii) should first meet with the Director of Graduate Studies for the purpose of determining a program of study for their first 2-4 semesters, during which they should plan to satisfy the departmental M.A. requirements 3.2 A-E above. Such students may petition the department to transfer up to 15 hours of credit for graduate courses and seminars taken at other institutions, and to have some, or perhaps all, of these count toward meeting some of requirements 3.2 A-E. In considering the request, the department will take into account the nature of the course(s) and the grade(s) received.

4.1 Special Area (Advisory/Examining) Committee

Once a student in category (i) or (ii) has obtained the M.A., or a student in category (iii) has fulfilled requirements 3.2 A-E, s/he should select a major professor (who must have doctoral directive status) appropriate for his or her planned area of concentration (in the case of students in category (i) or (ii) this may, but need not, be their M.A. major professor). In consultation with the major professor, the student then selects a special area committee comprising the major professor and at least two other members of the department. All of these other members must have master's directive status, and at least one of them must have doctoral directive status. This committee is charged with guiding the student's progress toward the special area examination (see 4.3 B below), setting this examination, and evaluating the student's performance on it. The special area examination is the final requirement for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. (see 4.3 B below). The special area committee and any subsequent changes thereto must be approved by the department.

4.2 Dissertation Committee

After the student has been admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. (see 4.3 B below) and before s/he reaches the stage of defending the dissertation prospectus (see 4.3 E below), the dissertation committee must be formed. This committee, all members of which must have doctoral directive status, must number at least three: at least two from within the department, one of whom will chair the committee and serve as the student's dissertation advisor, plus at least one external member, who serves as representative-at-large of the graduate faculty. At least two members are normally drawn from the student’s special area committee. Additional outside members may be added as appropriate, but the number of philosophy department faculty on the committee must exceed the number of outside members. The outside member(s) need not be from the College of Arts and Sciences, but, as noted above, must have doctoral directive status. It is the student's responsibility to check that all members of the dissertation committee have doctoral directive status – particularly the outside member(s). The dissertation committee and any subsequent changes thereto must be approved by the department.

4.3 Requirements for the Ph.D.

A. Cumulative grade point average, incompletes, and evaluation

As for the M.A. (see 3.2 A above)

B. Admission to Ph.D. Candidacy

As prescribed above, all Ph.D. students must meet M.A. requirements 3.2 A-E, which requires 21 hours at the graduate level. In addition, those in categories (i) and (ii) will have additional graded seminar hours at the graduate level, as may those in category (iii) (perhaps by petition). These hours may all be counted toward the 60 hour requirement below; and the seminar hours may be counted toward the 30 hour seminar requirement.

The requirements, then, for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. in philosophy are as follows:

1. M.A. required

The student must have the M.A. degree in philosophy, and, if the M.A. is from elsewhere, they must have completed M.A. requirements 3.2 A-E.

2. Credit hour requirements: 60 hours (see also 4.3 C)

At least 30 hours must be letter-graded seminars in philosophy.

Students may repeat a given seminar number up to 3 times (for a total of 9 hours), but repetition beyond this requires departmental approval. (See also section 5.)

As part of the 60 hour requirement the student may, but need not, take DIS hours, supervised teaching hours, supervised research hours, graduate language hours, and/or graduate hours outside philosophy, subject to the following limitations. Of the 60 hours, at most:

• 6 can be DIS hours or tutorial hours (excluding tutorials that are fulfilling seminar hours: see section 5)
• 3 can be supervised teaching hours
• 3 can be supervised research hours
• 3 can be graduate language hours
• 12 can be graduate hours outside philosophy

3. Special Area examination

Each student, with the advice of their special area committee, should select a series of topics and a related reading list to be the focus of either a four-hour closed book examination, or a take-home examination plus oral defense, at the discretion of the student’s special area committee. This exam should be related to the student's dissertation topic.

In the Fall, Spring and Summer terms, written examinations will be given during the thirteenth week of the term. Results will be reported to the student in writing on the Monday of the fifteenth week of the term.

The special area examination may be retaken only once. Failure to pass the examination on the second attempt constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program.

Students should register for the preliminary examination course (PHI 8964; zero hours) at the beginning of the semester in which they intend to take their special area examination.

C. Further credit hour requirements for the Ph.D. (see also 4.3 B 2)

Beyond the 60 hours required for admission to candidacy, a further 30 are required for the Ph.D. At least 24 of these further 30 hours must be dissertation hours.

As part of the total 90 hours required for the Ph.D., the student may, but need not, take DIS hours, supervised teaching hours, supervised research hours, graduate language hours, and/or graduate hours outside philosophy, subject to the following limitations. Of the 90 hours, at most:

• 12 can be DIS hours or tutorial hours (excluding tutorials that are fulfilling seminar hours: see section 5)
• 5 can be supervised teaching hours
• 5 can be supervised research hours
• 3 can be graduate language hours
• 12 can be graduate hours outside philosophy

D. Language requirement

While there is a university language requirement for the M.A. degree (see 3.2 H), there is none for the Ph.D. However, when knowledge of a particular foreign language is deemed necessary for a student's chosen dissertation focus by either the special area or dissertation committee, the student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of that language.

E. Dissertation Prospectus

By the sixth week of the semester in which a student first registers for dissertation hours, a dissertation prospectus must be submitted and orally defended (failure to do this on time may jeopardize the student's funding or enrollment in the Ph.D. program). The prospectus should include a description and defense of a viable research project (5-10 pages) and a bibliography. The prospectus will be defended before the student’s dissertation committee.

F. Dissertation

A student’s dissertation committee is charged with guiding the doctoral candidate through the successful completion of an original piece of philosophical work, usually during the last year or 18 months of residence, but the dissertation may be written in absentia when the university graduate residency requirements have been met. The student must orally defend the dissertation before being awarded the doctorate.

The following procedures are to govern the preparation and defense of the dissertation:

1. Copies of the dissertation in the form in which the candidate's dissertation advisor and the candidate expect it to be defended shall be made available to all members of the dissertation committee, and placed in the departmental office, at least 4 weeks prior to the date of the oral defense.

2. An announcement of the place and time of the oral defense shall be presented to the Office of Graduate Studies and posted around the department at least 2 weeks prior to the date of the oral defense.

G. Graduate Teaching

The department recommends that students whose ultimate goal is to teach philosophy enroll in the Teaching Philosophy course. This course is required for those students serving as teaching assistants or instructors.

H. University-wide requirements

Students should consult the current edition of the Florida State University General Bulletin (Graduate Edition) to ascertain additional university-wide requirements.

5. ADDENDUM: TUTORIALS