Ph.D. in Philosophy

Gain a world-class education from a top public university. Develop the career skills you need through hands-on experiences. Build your network in our vibrant learning community. And do it all in our special graduate program.

Our graduate program, which is approximately 30-40 students in total, admits about 7 new Ph.D. students per year. The interests and expertise of our faculty are wide-ranging and our students are exposed to a variety of areas in Philosophy. For information on our faculty, and their areas of research and publications, please see https://philosophy.uconn.edu/faculty/. Our faculty produces research that is internationally prominent, and the size of our program enables faculty members to devote close attention to each student.

Benefits of Our Program

Our department offers many opportunities for trying out ideas and brainstorming. They include:

  • a weekly ‘brown bag’ discussion, in which graduate students and faculty in the department can try out papers and ideas;
  • a colloquium series, with invited outside speakers;
  • chapters of SWIP and MAP; and
  • several research groups.

 

Program Details

Ph.D. Program Requirements

  • Philosophy Coursework
    • For any and all requests to count non-PHIL courses toward these requirements, contact the Director of Graduate Studies
    • For students admitted before Fall 2022
      • Students admitted without a Master's degree complete a minimum of 54 credits (18 courses)
      • Students admitted with a Master's degree complete a minimum of 24 credits (8 courses)
      • All students must take:
        • PHIL 5301
        • PHIL 5307
    • For students admitted in Fall 2022 on
      • Students admitted without a Master's degree complete a minimum of 45 credits (15 courses)
      • Students admitted with a Master's degree complete a minimum of 30 credits (10 courses)
      • All students must take:
        • PHIL 5301
        • PHIL 5307
        • One course in Ethics and Social Political Philosophy: either PHIL 5302, or PHIL 5315, or PHIL
          5350, or PHIL 5380. Substitutions can be made and require the permission of the Director of
          Graduate Studies.
        • One course in Metaphysics and Epistemology: either PHIL 5312, or PHIL 5330, or PHIL 5331,
          or PHIL 5340 or PHIL 5342. Substitutions can be made and require the permission of the
          Director of Graduate Studies.
        • One course in History of Philosophy: either PHIL 5320, or PHIL 5327. Substitutions can be
          made and require the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies.
  • Graduate School Coursework
    • 15 credits of GRAD 6950
  • Master's Exam
  • Proposal
  • General Exam
  • Dissertation Prospectus
  • Dissertation and Oral Defense

See more about current requirements in the graduate catalog.

M.A. Program Requirements

  • Philosophy Coursework
  • Master's Exam

See more about current requirements in the graduate catalog.

Dissertation and Exams

Master's Exam:

  • The Master's Exam is identical to 2 PAPERS ON ANY TOPIC IN PHILOSOPHY.
  • The primary function of the ‘Masters Exam’ is to determine whether students in our PhD program have completed work that merits an MA in Philosophy.
  • Tip: consider choosing high quality papers you have written for seminars that could be submitted for the General Exam.
  • Typically due in April of the second year (but can be done sooner).
  • While passing the Master's Exam is required for the PhD Program, students who already have a Master's degree should not submit the Report on the MA Exam for Plan B Master's unless they want to earn a UConn Master's degree.

Proposal:

  • The primary function is to determine whether students in our PhD program can motivate and explain an idea or problem that could be fruitfully explored with further research. Proposals should:
    • Motivate and explain an idea or problem that it would be fruitful to develop with further research.
    • Demonstrate that the author is capable of conducting research.
    • Make some suggestions about how the author would go about exploring the idea or problem.
  • Typically due in April of the second year (but can be done sooner).

General Exam:

  • The General Exam is identical to 3 PAPERS. TOPICS ARE IN SPECIFIC AREAS:
    • 1 PAPER IN METAPHYSICS & EPISTEMOLOGY (BROADLY CONSTRUED);
    • 1 PAPER IN ETHICS/SOCIAL/POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY (BROADLY CONSTRUED);
    • 1 PAPER IN HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY (BROADLY CONSTRUED).
  • Tip: 2 of these papers can be papers you submitted for the Masters Exam.
  • Typically due in April of the third year (but can be done sooner).

Dissertation Prospectus:

  • SNYOPSIS OF YOUR DISSERTATION THAT MOTIVATES A PROBLEM, INCLUDES A CHAPTER OUTLINE AND SUMMARY.
  • Typically due in April of the third year (but can be done sooner).

Dissertation and Oral Defense:

  • The dissertation has both a written and oral component.
  • The Dissertation is usually submitted at the end of Year 5 (but can be done sooner).

    Timeline

    Year 1

    Fall

    1. Enroll in 3 PHIL graduate courses (9 credits), including 5301 and 5307

    Spring

    1. Enroll in 2 PHIL graduate courses (6 credits)

    Year 2

    Fall

    1. Enroll in 3 PHIL graduate courses (9 credits)

    Spring

    1. Enroll in 2 PHIL graduate courses (6 credits)
    2. Complete Masters Exam and Proposal
    3. Submit Report on the MA Exam and Ph.D. Plan of Study to Degree Audit. Stipend will increase to level 2 for subsequent semester.

    Year 3

    Fall

    1. Enroll in 3 PHIL graduate courses (9 credits)

    Spring

    1. Enroll in 2 PHIL graduate courses (6 credits)
    2. Complete General Exam and Proposal
    3. Submit Report on the General Exam and Dissertation Proposal to Degree Audit. Stipend will increase to level 3 for subsequent semester if all paperwork is filed on time per the academic calendar.

    Year 4/5

    Fall

    1. Enroll in GRAD 6950-006 (6 credits)
    2. Write dissertation

    Spring

    1. Enroll in GRAD 6950-006 (6 credits)
    2. Write dissertation
    3. Defend dissertation and submit all applicable paperwork

    More Resources

    Check out the Registrar's guides to successfully completing your graduate program:

    Masters Degrees

    Doctoral Degrees

    Please note students earning an M.A. on the way to the Ph.D. should include a comment on their Report on the Plan B Masters that they are "earning the Masters on the way to the Ph.D. and based on the approved Ph.D. Plan of Study."

    Admissions

    Requirements

    In addition to the Graduate School's requirements, the following materials are required to complete the Philosophy application package:

    1. three letters of recommendation, preferably from your Philosophy professors (forms not required)
    2. transcripts (Applicants must have a minimum 3.00 grade point average; official transcripts must be provided if admitted)
    3. a statement of your academic goals and interests
    4. a CV
    5. a 10-15 page sample of your philosophical writing

    Find full admissions requirements for Philosophy graduate programs.

    Contact Us

    Storrs campus offices are located in Manchester Hall.

    University of Connecticut

    Department of Philosophy

    344 Mansfield Rd, Unit 1054

    Storrs, CT 06269-1054

    Please send any questions to philosophy@uconn.edu or to our Director of Graduate Studies.