The Graduate Program in Philosophy

Work for the Ph.D. degree is offered in the fields of aesthetics, contemporary continental philosophy, epistemology, ethics, history of philosophy, metaphysics, phenomenology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and political and social philosophy. Candidates must complete at least 47 hours of formal course work.

The Department believes that the ability to read philosophical literature in languages other than English is essential for scholarly work. Students are encouraged to read foreign language materials and faculty members are encouraged to recommend them during the regular program of courses and seminars. The language requirement is satisfied when a student completes an independent readings course using material in one foreign language, usually French, German, or Greek. The requirements of the course are both philosophical and linguistic and are worked out individually in each case. There is also a logic requirement, conceived in much the same spirit as the language requirement, in which a philosophical problem area (or figure) is investigated in such a way as to make essential and appropriately extensive use of or reflection on some branch(es) of logic. Together with preliminary examinations in history of philosophy, epistemology and philosophy of science, metaphysics, and value theory, the above constitute the prerequisites for dissertation work. (See Rules and Procedures for a detailed statement of degree requirements.)

We admit students for a (24 hours of coursework plus a thesis) terminal master's degree only under special circumstances.

How to Apply to the Graduate Program in Philosophy

Application to the Graduate Program in Philosophy consists of the following five components.

Completion of the online application to the Vanderbilt Graduate School
Submission of official GRE scores
Submission of official transcripts
Submission of at least three, but at most five, letters of recommendation
Submission of a philosophically substantive writing sample of manageable length (ordinarily no more than 7,000 words)

Click here to apply online to the Graduate Program.

Additional Information

Fellowship Support and Teaching
Student Activities and Speakers Program
Rules and Procedures
Placement
Advice to Students
Graduate Students