PDF version of this chapterGraduate Degrees
The objective of the graduate program in philosophy is to equip suitably prepared and talented students to function effectively as teachers, thinkers and writers on philosophical topics in the Western tradition. The program provides for a wide range of studies within philosophy, but emphasizes the history of philosophy, both classical and modern, along with the traditional core disciplines: ethics, epistemology, metaphysics and logic.
Because philosophy is as much a special manner of intellectual activity as it is a special subject matter, the graduate student is expected not only to master major works in the historical and contemporary literature of philosophical thought, but also to develop the ability to engage in the ongoing process of philosophical research and dialogue.
Admission Requirements
An applicant for admission normally has an undergraduate major in philosophy, but programs may be arranged for promising students who do not. At least three letters of recommendation from the student’s undergraduate teachers should be sent to the chair, graduate admissions, of the school. All applicants are required to take the verbal and quantitative General Tests of the Graduate Record Examinations.Degree Requirements
These degrees are awarded under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the Requirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School section of the catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.Master of Arts in Philosophy
The department does not accept applicants for a Master of Arts degree in philosophy. The M.A. degree is intended only as a transitional degree in the process of completing requirements for the Ph.D. in philosophy.A student may obtain an M.A. in philosophy by fulfilling the following requirements: a minimum of 36 units in the USC philosophy school, at least 24 of which must be at the 500 level. Requirements include: PHIL 500 and a 500-level course in each of the following three areas: metaphysics and epistemology, ethics and other value theory, and history of philosophy. Of the remaining five required (4-unit) courses, only four units of PHIL 590 are applicable to the degree. A publishable research paper is also required.
Juris Doctor/Master of Arts, Philosophy
Students must complete 24 units in the USC School of Philosophy and 69 units in the USC Gould School of Law.First Year: Required law school curriculum.
Second and Third Years: The School of Philosophy prefers that students take at least one philosophy course each semester. During the four semesters, students must take at least 16 units at the 500-level, including PHIL 450 Intermediate Symbolic Logic and PHIL 500 Introduction to Contemporary Philosophical Literature; one 400- or 500-level course in ethics or social/political philosophy or aesthetics or philosophy of law; one 400- or 500-level course in metaphysics or epistemology or philosophy of language or philosophy of science or philosophy of mind; one 400- or 500-level course in the history of ancient or early modern philosophy; passage of the second year review that shall include a research paper based on a completed seminar paper and completion of a publishable research paper. Students must also complete 36 additional law units.
Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy
Application deadline: January 1Course Requirements
The minimum number of course credits required for the Ph.D is 60 units. No more than 8 of these units may be from 590 courses and no more than 8 of these units may be from 400-level courses in the School of Philosophy. PHIL 450 does not count toward this maximum of 8 units of 400-level courses in the School of Philosophy. No more than eight of these units may be earned in 794 Doctoral Dissertation. Each student must pass PHIL 450 with a grade of B or better and must pass PHIL 500 with a grade of B+ or better. Both PHIL 450 and PHIL 500 must be satisfactorily completed by the end of the second year.The student may take up to two courses in a field of study related to philosophy. The Ph.D. dissertation may be written in any area of philosophy for which adequate supervision is available from within the university. Ph.D. students are also required to show evidence of practical or editorial training, or their equivalent.
Foreign Language/Research Tool Requirement
A foreign language examination, specified by the school, in French, German, Latin or classical Greek is required. The faculty may approve a replacement of the language requirement by a research tool requirement, consisting of an approved course or examination in a subject essential to the student’s research program. The course or examination must be passed before the qualifying examination is attempted.There are three levels of evaluation in the Ph.D. program prior to the dissertation:
Distribution Requirement
There is a distribution requirement of six courses at the 500 level in the School of Philosophy, one each from the following six areas: (1) epistemology (broadly construed, including philosophy of science), (2) metaphysics (broadly construed, including philosophy of mind and language), (3) ethics, (4) other value theory, (5) history of ancient philosophy, (6) history of modern philosophy. PHIL 500 and PHIL 590 courses cannot count toward this requirement. The courses in the systematic area will be taught in the tradition of Anglo-American analytic philosophy. For courses straddling two areas (for example, history of ancient philosophy and metaphysics; history of modern philosophy and ethics), instructors will indicate on the syllabus which requirement the course will satisfy. Courses dealing with subject matter within more than one of the six areas listed may be used to satisfy any of the areas encompassed by the course although no single course may be used to satisfy two requirements at once. All distribution requirements must be completed by the end of the fifth semester.Screening Procedure
Students in the Ph.D. program must pass a screening procedure before undertaking their 25th unit (seventh course) of graduate credit. This will be based on a review of the student’s work to date, and will take into account not only information acquired but also those intellectual qualities and capacities that are essential for good work in philosophy: the capacity to think and write on philosophical issues with clarity, consistency and thoroughness; the ability to understand in detail what is involved in the meaning and justification of philosophical claims or positions; the ability to recognize and to draw out fine conceptual distinctions and to perceive their logical relationships; and strong intellectual curiosity and independence of thought.Student Reviews
Graduate student progress is reviewed on a regular basis each term. In addition, apart from the screening procedure, there are more formal reviews conducted at the end of the 4th and 6th semesters of study, as described below.In the 4th semester of study, normally the spring of the second year, each student shall submit two papers, approximately 8000 words each, in different fields of philosophy (ordinarily two substantially revised papers previously submitted in seminars). The choice of papers should be made in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. The second year evaluation will be made on the basis of faculty review of the submitted papers and consideration of the student’s total record.
For the review following the 6th semester of study, students are to select one from a list of pre-designated areas in philosophy and to master the material on a pre-assigned reading list of important works in that area. At the beginning of the 6th semester, each student will take a written examination, designed by the faculty of the School of Philosophy, on the materials covered in the relevant reading list followed by an oral examination exploring their knowledge of the field. This examination must be passed by the end of the 6th semester. The examining committee for each student will consist of faculty conversant with the field and appointed by the School.
Qualifying Examination
This examination consists of a written prospectus of the proposed dissertation and an in-depth oral examination on the form and subject matter of the proposed dissertation. All faculty members may inspect the prospectus and be present at the oral, but evaluation of the qualifying examination is the responsibility of the student’s guidance committee. The examination is not passed if two or more members of the guidance committee find it unsatisfactory.The qualifying examination is not offered in the summer. Those who intend to take this examination must meet all the conditions specified in the section on general requirements for the Ph.D. Students are expected to pass the qualifying exam by the end of the 7th semester. Students who have not passed the qualifying exam by the end of the 7th semester will be subject to faculty review, and may not be allowed to continue in the program.