PHILOSOPHY
City University of New York Graduate Center
Program Description
CUNY's Graduate Program in Philosophy is designed to provide graduate students with a sound general training in the history of ancient and modern philosophy and in the main areas of current philosophical inquiry. The Ph.D. program is intended for those who aspire to careers in teaching and research in philosophy at the college and university level. Degree requirements can be adjusted in individual cases to permit the student to work in related fields. The program encourages well-thought-out interdisciplinary work for its own sake and for the professional opportunities it may provide.
Areas of philosophical study at the CUNY Graduate Center include history of philosophy, logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics, epistemology, moral and political philosophy, aesthetics, the philosophy of literature, applied and professional ethics.
Degrees Offered
The Graduate Program in Philosophy offers instruction at The Graduate Center leading to the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees.
The M.A. & M.A. Specialization in Ethics in Society
The M.A. program is intended to serve a number of purposes: to lay a general foundation for more advanced and specialized work at the doctoral level; to provide philosophical training of interdisciplinary relevance for students who intend to work in other scholarly areas or in business or the professions; to provide training to those who wish to pursue general philosophical studies beyond the baccalaureate level either for reasons of personal development or because they wish to teach in secondary schools or community colleges.
The Program in Philosophy has created a specialization in "Ethics in Society." This program will allow students to pursue an MA in Philosophy under the Doctoral Faculty of the Program in Philosophy. The program will provide course work in applied ethics, professional ethics, and ethics in practice, moral theory and political philosophy as well as opportunities for interdisciplinary studies and experiences of applying theory to concrete problems of society and the professions.
The MA Specialization in Ethics and Society is designed to meet the needs of people with an interest in ethics in society who want to pursue the subject or who have career goals that require the academic credentials of a degree granting program. Presently, no other program in New York City offers this level of training. The Doctoral Faculty includes philosophers with special expertise and stature in the areas of Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, and a broad variety of applied ethics specialties: criminal justice, philosophy of law, business ethics, ethics of education, feminism, bioethics, environmental ethics, ethics and international relations, and social work ethics.
Requirements for the Master of Arts
The student must follow a program of study approved by an adviser, including a minimum of 40 credits in graduate courses.
These courses must be distributed in the following manner: one course in the history of philosophy and one course from each of the following categories: logic and the philosophy of science; metaphysics and epistemology; ethics, aesthetics, and related areas. Up to two courses may be taken in a related program. These courses must contribute to a coherent program and must be approved by the Executive Officer.
In the Ethics in Society Specialization the courses must be distributed in the following manner: three courses in ethics in society; one course in ethical theory; one course in political philosophy; one course in the history of philosophy; one course in either of the categories of logic and the philosophy of science or metaphysics and epistemology. Three courses may be taken in a related program. These courses must contribute to the coherent program and must be approved by the Executive Officer.
No more than 12 credits may be transferred from other programs. No transfer credits will be approved until the student completes four courses with at least a B average. The Executive Officer will determine how many credits the student may transfer.
The student must also write a Master's thesis. In the Ethics in Society Specialization, the thesis must be in the area of ethics in society.
The Ph.D. Degree
The Ph.D. program is intended for those who aspire to careers in teaching and research in philosophy at the college and university level. Degree requirements can be adjusted in individual cases to permit the student to work in related fields. The program encourages well-thought-out interdisciplinary work for its own sake and for the professional opportunities it may provide.
Requirements for the Ph.D.
In addition to general University requirements, the student must meet the following special requirements in Philosophy.
Course of Study: A minimum of 60 graduate credits (not including dissertation research) is required for the degree. Up to 15 of these credits may, with the adviser's approval, be taken in related fields. For students admitted to the program with a master's degree in philosophy, a minimum of 30 credits are required, of which 6 credits may be in related fields.
Core Courses: There are specially designated core courses. A core course, which is not of seminar format, is designed to prepare the student for advanced and detailed work in the area. Core courses in the following areas are offered regularly:
- ethics
- metaphysics
- epistemology
- logic
- philosophy of science
- philosophy of language
- philosophy of mind
- aesthetics
- social and political philosophy
Six core courses are required as follows: (a) through (c) are required. One course from the group (e), (f), and (g) is required, and one course from the group (h) and (i) is required. These requirements may be adjusted by the Executive Officer in case of students following special and/or interdisciplinary programs. Core courses or equivalents will be prerequisites for certain seminars and advanced courses. Instructors will set prerequisites.
Logic: Knowledge of the fundamentals of logic will be demonstrated by passing (with a B+ or better) the required logic core course. This requirement may also be satisfied by passing an examination in logic and will be waived for a student who satisfactorily completes an advanced course in logic with a B+ or better.
Comprehensive Examinations: Comprehensive examinations will be offered in the following four areas of philosophy:
- metaphysics or epistemology
- ethics or political and social philosophy
- philosophy of language, or philosophy of science, or philosophy of mind
- history of philosophy
Students are required to demonstrate competence in two of these four areas by successful completion of written examinations (in areas to be chosen by students). In each remaining area, students may chose to demonstrate competence either by successful completion of a written examination or by successful completion of two advanced courses in that area (with a grade of B+ or better).
First Examination: Students are judged to have passed the first examination upon satisfaction of the logic requirement and successful completion of the two required written comprehensive examinations.
Second Examination: Students are judged to have passed the second examination upon successful completion of the remaining two comprehensive examinations.
Foreign Language and Research Techniques: The program has no general language requirement for the doctorate. When a student's dissertation prospectus committee determines that the topic of the dissertation requires the student to be able to read material in a foreign language, however, the committee will determine the method of satisfying that requirement.
Dissertation: A dissertation prospectus prepared under the supervision of a faculty member must be approved by a committee of the faculty before the student is advanced to candidacy. After the dissertation has been approved by a dissertation supervisory committee, it must be defended before a committee of the doctoral faculty in a public oral examination.
En-route M.A.
Upon completing 45 credits withan average grade of B, passing the First Examination, and satisfactorily completing a major research paper, a doctoral student may apply for an en-route M.A. degree. Those seeking an en-route master's degree should have the Executive Officer initiate the appropriate action.