The graduate program in philosophy is designed to equip promising students for careers as philosophers and teachers of philosophy. To that end, the program provides broad general training, an opportunity for specialized research in the major areas of philosophic inquiry, and experience in undergraduate teaching. Students pursue an individual plan of study appropriate to their background, interests, and aims.
In the Standard Program, the first four semesters of graduate study are typically devoted to formal course work and independent research; by the end of the fifth semester, the student takes the general examination; having passed generals and demonstrated a capacity for doing scholarly work, the student proceeds to write a doctoral dissertation. The requirements for the three Special Programs–the Logic and the Philosophy of Science Track, the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Philosophy, and the Interdepartmental Program in Political Philosophy–are all variations on the requirements for the Standard Program.
Although there is no admission with advanced standing, regardless of previous work in philosophy, students with a strong undergraduate background, or those who have done graduate work at other institutions, may be able to satisfy the standard pre-generals requirements more quickly and hence take the general examination in two years or less.