CU Boulder Philosophy
Graduate Program Rules: 2007-2008

The Department of Philosophy offers two courses of study leading to graduate degrees: an M.A. program and a Ph.D. program. The programs are discrete in the sense that satisfactory completion of the M.A. program is not sufficient for admission to the Ph.D. program.

I. The M.A. Program

A. Overview

1. Course Work: Students must take a minimum of 30 hours of approved graduate study, including the appropriate number of thesis hours.

2. Distribution Requirements: Students must satisfy the Department that they have sufficient background in the core areas of Philosophy.

3. Logic: Students must demonstrate competency in logic.

4. Thesis and Oral Defense: After choosing a Thesis Committee of three members and clearly designating one of these as the Chair, students must write and successfully defend a thesis.

B. Detailed Requirements

1. Course Requirements: A minimum of 30 hours of approved graduate study. Of these:

a. All 30 hours must be at the 5000 level or above. (Philosophy courses taken below the 5000 level may be taken as 5810.)

b. No more than 9 hours of 5810 (Special Topics) may be counted toward the 30 hour requirement.

c. No more than 6 hours of 5840 (Independent Study) may be counted toward the 30 hour requirement.

d. Between 4 and 6 hours must be 6950 (M.A. Thesis).

e. At least 18 hours must be Philosophy courses (6940 and 6950 do not count as courses).

f. No more than 9 hours of credit may be transferred into the program from other graduate programs. Students who enter the M.A. program already holding an M.A. degree may not transfer into the program any credits that applied toward the M.A. degree already held.

2. Distribution Requirements: Students must demonstrate competence in the core areas of Philosophy by passing with a grade of B or better appropriate graduate or upper division courses (possibly not for credit, as auditors) in each of the following three areas.

a. History of Philosophy sequence in either Ancient or Modern Philosophy
(one course).

b. Metaphysics and Epistemology (one course).

c. Ethics and Social or Political Philosophy (one course).

3. Logic: Students must demonstrate competence in logic by earning a grade of B- or better in PHIL 2440 or in some more advanced course in logic. Students may be exempted from this requirement by the Graduate Director if they have done suitable work in formal logic at other institutions or in other departments of this University.

4. Thesis and Oral Defense: Each student must prepare a thesis plan acceptable to the Chair of his or her Thesis Committee, and proceed to write the thesis working as closely as necessary with the Chair. At the appropriate time, the Committee will convene to hold a final oral defense of the thesis. A copy of the thesis must be furnished to each committee member at least two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the defense.

II. The Ph.D. Program

A. Overview:

1. Course Work: Students must take a minimum of 45 hours of approved graduate study, in addition to the 30 hours of dissertation credit hours required by the Graduate School.

2. Distribution Requirements: 27 hours must be devoted to satisfying specific distribution requirements.

3. Language and Technical Requirement: Students must satisfy any language and/or technical requirements that the Department judges to be necessary given the area of the dissertation.

4. Logic: Students must demonstrate proficiency in propositional calculus, quantification theory, and some of the basic concepts of metalogic, namely, interpretations and soundness.

5. Diagnostic Paper: Students must submit a diagnostic (third-semester) paper at the beginning of the third semester of graduate study. The third semester paper is reviewed and commented on but not graded.

6. Qualifying Papers: Students must submit a qualifying (fifth-semester) paper at the beginning of the fifth semester of graduate study. The fifth semester paper receives a blind review and a pass/fail judgement. Students may advance in the program only if the qualifying paper is judged acceptable by the examining committee and approved by the Department.

7. Prospectus and Oral Examination: After passing the qualifying paper, students must assemble a Prospectus Committee of five members of the Department, with a clearly designated Chair. Students must submit a written prospectus to this Committee, who, after judging the prospectus acceptable, will conduct an oral exam concerning this prospectus and related topics.

8. Dissertation and Oral Defense: Students must write a dissertation that is acceptable to the Dissertation Committee, and defend the dissertation in a public, oral defense at a time deemed appropriate by the Committee.

9. Students are expected to make reasonable progress toward the Ph.D., and will be evaluated by the Department in this regard each spring.

B. Detailed Requirements

1. Course Work:

a. Students must complete a minimum of 45 hours of approved graduate study.

b. All Philosophy courses must be at the 5000 level or above.

c. To provide a common experience in their first year, all incoming graduate students will be required to take, in one semester, Philosophy 5100, and, in the other semester, a designated 5000-level course in either metaphysics or epistemology.

d. No more than 6 hours of 5810 (Special Topics) may be counted toward the 45 hour requirement.

e. No more than 9 hours of 5840 (Independent Study) may be counted toward the 45 hour requirement. Students may not take more than 6 credit hours of 5840 from any one faculty member.

f. No more than 21 hours of credit may be transferred into the program from other graduate programs. Credits that applied toward another Ph.D. may not be transferred into this program.

g. No more than 9 hours of credit toward the graduation requirement may be taken in courses outside the department. These courses must be at the graduate level. They should be relevant to the student's main area of interest and approved by their advisor and/or the grad advisor.

2. Distribution Requirements: 27 hours must be devoted to satisfying distribution
requirements:

a. History of Philosophy (9 Hours)

Classical Philosophy (3 hours):
including 5080, 5081; others upon approval of the Graduate Director

Modern Philosophy (3 Hours):
including 5082, 5083, 5084; others upon approval of the Graduate Director

Open (3 Hours):
including courses in classical and modern philosophy, 5086, 5089 5090, 5091, 5092; others upon approval of the Graduate Director

b. Metaphysics and Epistemology (9 hours):
including 5300, 5340, 5360, 5400, 5450, 5490, 5600, 6300, 6340, 6380, 6400, 6490; others upon approval of the Graduate Director.

c. Value Theory (9 Hours):
including 5100, 5110, 5200, 5210, 5230, 5240, 5260, 5290, 6100, 6200; others upon approval of the Graduate Director

Students must earn an average of A- over any 9 hours in each of the three categories in order to satisfy the distribution requirements.

3. Language and Technical Requirement: There are no set language or technical requirements for the Ph.D. Instead, every Ph.D. student must discuss with his or her Advisor whether there are any language and/or technical requirements that the Advisor deems to be essential prerequisites to the dissertation research, and, if so, what they are. The Advisor’s recommendations must then be brought before the Department for its approval, at the earliest opportunity, and all requirements decided upon by the Department must be fulfilled by the student before the student is advanced to candidacy.

4. Logic: Students must demonstrate competence in logic by earning a grade of B- or better in PHIL 2440 logic or in some more advanced course in logic. Students may satisfy this requirement either 1) by taking all the examinations of 2440 and earning the appropriate grade or 2) by earning the appropriate grade on a comprehensive final examination to be offered in that course each semester. Students may be exempted from this requirement by the Graduate Director if they have done suitable work in formal logic at other institutions, or in other departments of this University.

5. Diagnostic Paper:

a. During the first week of the third semester of graduate study, each student who did not enter our Ph.D. program with two years of prior graduate work or with an M.A. degree from here or elsewhere will submit a diagnostic paper in a core area of philosophy. It may be an expanded version of a paper written for a first year class, and should be approximately 20 pages in length.

In the case of students who are entering our Ph.D. program with two years of prior graduate work or with an M.A. degree in philosophy from here or elsewhere, an equivalent 15- to 25-page diagnostic paper must be submitted during one's first semester in the Ph.D. program. This paper can be a paper produced for another course here or elsewhere.

In either case, a committee composed of three members specializing in the appropriate area and appointed by the Graduate Director will evaluate the work and alert students to any problems or difficulties.

6. Qualifying Paper:

During the first week of the fifth semester of graduate study, each student who did not enter our Ph.D. program with two years of prior graduate work or with an M.A. degree from here or elsewhere will submit an original paper in an area of the student’s choice. Students who enter our Ph.D. program with two years of prior graduate work or with an M.A. degree in philosophy from here or elsewhere should submit their qualifying papers during the first week of the third semester of graduate study in the Ph.D. program

Qualifying papers will be evaluated by three faculty members with expertise in that area of philosophy. The faculty member who has worked most closely with the student may be on the committee but should not chair it. The committee will be selected by the graduate advisor and will remain anonymous. The authors of the papers will also be anonymous. However, students should receive at least one set of written comments evaluating their papers.

i. The qualifying paper must be a substantial philosophical production in the student’s chosen area of philosophical specialization, and must evince the qualities appropriate to that specialization. These will normally include:

1) a thorough grounding in the relevant philosophical literature;
2) familiarity with the current lines of argumentation; and
3) command of any technical methods appropriate to the topic.

It is further assumed the papers will be polished and well structured, and will present sustained defenses of clearly articulated theses.

ii. Qualifying papers must not have been submitted for a graduate course or seminar, including independent study courses. They may, however, be substantially revised and extended versions of papers submitted for a course or seminar. Students holding an M.A. before being admitted to the Ph.D. program may submit papers based on their M.A. thesis as qualifying papers only after revision in consultation with a faculty member here. However, since one of the purposes of the qualifying paper is to demonstrate students’ ability to work independently, students should not expect too much help from faculty members. A reasonable expectation might be that a faculty member should read an outline and/or a draft and make bibliographical suggestions.

iii. The student’s Advisory Committee will determine whether this paper passes or fails. If the paper fails, the student will have one semester to submit a revised or distinct paper for evaluation.

7. Students will advance to the dissertation stage only if the Advisory Committee recommends this. The decision then rests with the entire Department, and is normally voted on at the first Department meeting after passing the qualifying paper. In making this decision, the faculty will do its best to determine the student's prospects for completing the Ph.D. successfully and in a timely fashion. Factors considered by the faculty will include:

• Completion of all coursework;
• Completion of logic requirement and technical requirement if appropriate;
• GPA;
• Evaluations by instructors following each graduate course;
• Whether or not the student has been able to identify a promising area of research, whether or not a faculty member is willing to supervise the dissertation, and whether or not a dissertation committee can be formed.

8. Prospectus Oral: After being admitted to the dissertation stage, students must assemble a Prospectus Committee of five members of the Department (a Chair, two major members, and two minor members). Students must submit to this Committee a written dissertation prospectus for examination.

a. The dissertation prospectus must include:

i. a substantial and systematic introduction to the dissertation topic;

ii an annotated table of contents;

iii. a full bibliography.

b. Prior to scheduling a date for the prospectus defense, the candidate must be recommended to be advanced to candidacy by a vote of the Department. At least two weeks prior to the prospectus defense, the candidate must formally apply for Admission to Candidacy by filing the appropriate paperwork with the Graduate School.

c. Upon deciding that the prospectus is acceptable, the Prospectus Committee will conduct an oral examination concerning this prospectus and related topics. In case of failure, this examination may be repeated only once, and within one year of the original date.

d. After passing the prospectus oral, students may change members of the Committee only with the approval of the Graduate Director, and must keep the Graduate Program Assistant informed.

9. Dissertation and Oral Defense:

a. At a time deemed appropriate by the Prospectus Committee Chair, the candidate shall establish a Dissertation Committee for the final oral defense, composed of the Chair and the two major members of the earlier committee, and two additional members of the graduate faculty, at least one of whom must be in a field other than Philosophy.

b. The dissertation shall be accepted for oral defense if four out of the five members of the Dissertation Committee so vote.

c. The candidate is required to furnish each member of the Dissertation Committee, as well as the Department, with a copy of the dissertation at least two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the oral defense. Public notice of the oral defense shall also be made at least two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the defense.

d. The dissertation oral is a public defense of the Ph.D. dissertation before the Departmental faculty, graduate students, and other interested persons. After members of the Dissertation Committee and any other members of the graduate faculty present have concluded their questioning, Philosophy graduate students who have been admitted to the dissertation stage may, with the consent of the Committee Chairperson, address questions to the candidate.

C. Progress and Advancement:

1. Students are expected to make satisfactory progress toward the degree. Satisfactory progress consists in:

a. First year:

i. completing 15-18 hours of course work for those entering the Ph.D. program.

ii. in the case of students who are entering our Ph.D. program with two years of prior graduate work or with an M.A. degree in philosophy from here or elsewhere, submission of the diagnostic paper.

b. Second year:

i. completing an additional 15-18 hours of course work.

ii. submitting the diagnostic paper.

iii. satisfying the logic requirement.

iv. in the case of students who are entering our Ph.D. program with two years of prior graduate work or with an M.A. degree in philosophy from here or elsewhere, passing the qualifying paper.

c. Third year:

i. completing all course work (for a total of 45 hours, 27 of which satisfy the distribution requirements).

ii. passing the qualifying paper.

iii. satisfying the language and technical requirement.

iv. being advanced to the dissertation stage.

v. choosing a Prospectus Committee and designating the Chair.

d. Fourth-Fifth year:

i. passing the prospectus oral.

ii. keeping the Graduate Program Assistant informed of any changes in the Committee.

iii. being formally admitted for candidacy.

iv. completing and defending one’s doctoral dissertation.

2. Graduate School Regulations:

a. For the purposes of Graduate School requirements, a student will be deemed to have passed the Preliminary Examination after:

i. completing all course distribution requirements,

ii. submitting the diagnostic paper, and

iii. passing the logic requirement.

b. For the purposes of Graduate School requirements, a student will be deemed to have passed the Comprehensive Examination and to have advanced to candidacy status after:

i. completing all course work,

ii. passing the qualifying paper,

iii. completing the language and technical requirement, and

iv. passing the prospectus oral.

Please note that being advanced to candidacy by the department and by the Graduate School are two different processes. The Deparmental advancement is based on an internal review; the subsequent Graduate School advancement requires the defense of a prospectus (the Department's equivalent to the comprehensive exam). Both conditions must be met to start the dissertation stage.

3. The M.A. Degree for Ph.D. students:

a. Ph.D. students may earn a terminal M.A. by fulfilling the requirements of the M.A. program.

b. Ph.D. students who are not advanced to the dissertation stage by the Department may apply for a terminal M.A. degree. The Department will seek the advice of the student’s Prospectus Committee in determining whether this degree is to be awarded.

c. Ph.D. students who are advanced to the dissertation stage shall be awarded an M.A. degree upon request. The Department strongly urges students to apply for the M.A. degree.

4. Students will advance to the dissertation stage only upon the approval of the entire department, which will be advised by:

a. the Graduate Studies Committee,

b. the Advisory Committee assembled to assess the student’s qualifying paper.

5. A decision regarding advancement to the dissertation stage will be made by the
end of the student’s fifth semester of graduate study.

6. Satisfactory completion of the M.A. Degree is not in itself sufficient for admission to the Ph.D. program.

7. Students should not expect support beyond the fifth year of graduate study.

8. Appeal Process:

a. Students wishing to appeal a decision regarding advancement in the program must submit a written appeal to the Graduate Studies Committee, which will seek the advice of relevant members of the faculty. The Graduate Studies Committee may elect to advise the Department to overturn its decision regarding advancement; the final decision rests with the Department.

b. Students wishing to appeal a decision regarding a Prospectus Oral or Dissertation Defense must submit a written appeal to the Committee which made the original decision.