Prospective Students - Graduate

Philosophy

Areas of Study and Research

The Department of Philosophy specializes in analytic as opposed to continental European approaches to philosophy. Our faculty is large, with a wide range of philosophical interests. Students can pursue work in ancient, medieval and modern history of philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of science, and many areas in value theory including meta-ethics, normative theory, political philosophy, and practical ethics. The Center for Values and Social Policy sponsors many special events, especially in areas such as environmental ethics, science policy, feminist ethics, and bioethics. Some students take graduate certificates in related fields such as Women’s and Gender Studies, Religious Studies, Environmental Policy, and Cognitive Science.

Degrees Offered

MA
Requires 30 hours of approved graduate study, demonstrated proficiency in the core areas of philosophy, and a successful thesis defense.

PhD
Requires 45 hours of approved graduate study. In addition to the minimum 30 hours of dissertation credit hours required by the Graduate School; demonstrated proficiency in the core areas of philosophy; a possible technical and/or foreign language requirement, depending on the dissertation topic; satisfactory completion of two qualifying papers; and a successful dissertation defense.

Admission

Graduate School Minimum Admissions Standards
Individual graduate departments may have additional or more restrictive standards by which they evaluate graduate applicants. However, the Graduate School at CU-Boulder has established minimum standards for graduate admission. Applicants must:

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, or have done work equivalent to that required for such a degree.
   
2. Show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research, as judged by the student’s scholastic record.
   
3. Have adequate preparation to enter graduate study in the chosen field.
   
4. Have at least a 2.75 (2.00=C) undergraduate grade point average. Note: Applicants who cannot meet this undergraduate standard may still secure regular admission if they have completed 9 semester hours of relevant graduate course work with at least a 3.25 average.

Philosophy Admissions Requirements
Applicants must:

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university.
2. Submit GRE General Test Scores.
3. Submit three letters of recommendation.
4. Provide a writing sample

Minimum Standards for Applicants
The average GPA and GRE scores for those accepted into the Ph.D. program for academic year 2008-9 were:

• Undergraduate GPA: 3.87
• Graduate GPA (which not all had): 3.39
• GRE Scores
  • Verbal 708
  • Quantitative 741
  • Analytical 5.8

For Ph.Ds who enrolled, the scores were:

• Undergraduate GPA 3.60
• GRE Scores
  • Verbal 650
  • Quantitative 732
  • Analytical 5.6

Those accepted into the MA program in 2008-9 had the following scores:

• Undergraduate GPA: 3.63
• GRE scores:
  • Verbal 611
  • Quantitative 651
  • Analytic 5.1

Financial Support Available
All applicants to the PhD program are automatically considered for support through teaching assistantships.

Application Information and Deadlines   Fall admission Yes Application deadline January 15 International application deadline December 1 Financial assistance application deadline January 17   Spring admission No   Summer admission No

Contact Information

University of Colorado at Boulder
Department of Philosophy
Graduate Program Coordinator
Hellems 169B
232 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0232
Phone: 303-492-3172
Fax: 303-492-8386
e-mail: phildept@colorado.edu
web site: www.colorado.edu/philosophy/