Philosophy - Doctor of Philosophy

In addition to meeting the requirements of the university and of the College of Arts and Letters, students must meet the requirements specified below.

To be considered for to the Doctor of Philosophy degree program in philosophy, an applicant must submit to the department a sample of the applicant's philosophical writing.

To be admitted to the program on regular status, an applicant must have a bachelor's degree in philosophy or its equivalent. Applicants with other undergraduate academic qualifications may be admitted provisionally. Applicants with master's degrees in fields other than philosophy may be admitted provisionally to the Doctor of Philosophy program.

In addition, an international applicant is required to have fulfilled the University's English language proficiency requirement as described in the Graduate Education section of the catalog in one of the following three ways:

1. Have a total score of 580 (paper version) or 237 (computer version) or above on the Test of English as a Foreign Language with no subscore below 55 (paper version) or 21 (computer version) and have the approval of the English Language Center.
2. Have an average score of 85 or higher on the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery with no subscore below 83 and have the approval of the English Language Center.
3. Have an average score of 85 or higher on the English Language Center Test with no subscore below 83 and have the approval of the English Language Center.

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Philosophy

The student must:

1. Complete at least 45 credits in courses at the 400 level or higher in addition to the credits earned in Philosophy 999. Students entering the program with a master’s degree in philosophy may have up to 21 credits toward the Ph.D. waived, and may have up to 3 credits in each area of requirement 1. b. waived, as warranted by their academic preparation in the discipline of philosophy. Those entering with master’s degrees in fields other than philosophy may have credits toward the areas of requirement 1. b. waived, as warranted by their academic preparation in the discipline of philosophy. The 45 credits must be distributed as follows:
1. Three credits of Philosophy 801.
2. At least 6 credits in courses in each of the following four areas of philosophy: history of philosophy, value theory, metaphysics and epistomology, and logic and philosophy of science. The credits and courses that are used to satisfy requirement 1. c. may also be used to satisfy requirement 1. b. 
3. At least 33 credits from the following courses:  Philosophy 800, 810, 820, 840, 850, 860, 870, and 880. The 33 credits must include:
1. at least 2 credits in the area of the dissertation.
2. at least 2 credits in the minor field, different from the 2 credits in the area of the dissertation.
3. at least 2 credits in each of two areas outside the dissertation and outside the minor field.
   Students who have a master's degree in philosophy are only required to complete 24 credits.
4. At least 9 credits in a disciplinary or interdisciplinary minor field outside the area of the dissertation.
2. Demonstrate a reading knowledge of one language other than English for which there is a substantial literature that is related to the student’s program of study.
3. Complete a bibliography and prospectus for the dissertation.
4. Set a timetable for the completion of the dissertation acceptable to the student’s guidance committee.

Academic Standards

Only those courses for which the student received a grade of 3.0 or higher may be counted toward the requirements for the degree.

A student may accumulate no more than 6 credits with a grade below 3.0 in philosophy courses or courses taken for the purpose of satisfying degree requirements.

Due to cancellations of many international English language proficiency tests, MSU will be temporarily accepting the following tests for international students applying for fall semester 2022. In addition, MSU will be expanding the ability for students to receive provisional admission. If a provisionally admitted student is able to take a test that meets our regular admission standards prior to enrollment, we will update their admission status to regular.