Graduate Admissions

Q: How can I tell whether pursuing a PhD in philosophy is right for me?

A: There is no litmus test, but your best bet is to find out more about what such a program would involve and what the job prospects are. There are helpful blog posts about this, for instance, by CU’s own Mike Huemer: https://owl232.net, by Eric Schwitzgebel (professor at UC, Riverside): https://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2019/06/applying-to-phd-programs-in-philosophy.html, and by Jason Brennan (professor at Georgetown University): https://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2015/02/should-you-go-to-grad-school/

Q: How difficult is it to get in?

A: The admissions process is extremely competitive. The acceptance rate at CU, Boulder is under 5%. Something similar is true at other programs (and the rate is closer to 3% for the top-ranked philosophy program, NYU). By comparison, the median acceptance rate at law schools in the US is around 41%: https://www.juriseducation.com/blog/law-school-acceptance-rates. Even Stanford Law School’s acceptance rate is 7% and Harvard’s is 9.5%. It is more difficult to get into a middle-of-the pack philosophy PhD program than into one of the very best law school programs.

Q: I want to pursue a PhD in philosophy, but I haven’t studied a lot of philosophy formally. Do you have any advice for me?

A: If you have studied enough philosophy to have good letters of recommendation from philosophy professors and a good writing sample in philosophy, it is possible to be admitted into a good graduate program in philosophy without a BA in philosophy. MA programs are generally easier to get into than PhD programs, and of course can serve as a springboard to PhD programs, though most MA programs are unfunded, including ours.   

If you don’t have letters of recommendation from philosophy professors or a good writing sample in philosophy but are determined to study philosophy at the graduate level, one way to make your application competitive is to take philosophy courses at a nearby university as a non-degree student. Here at CU Boulder, you can even take graduate courses this way (with the permission of the professor). If you take several such courses and do well in them, you may be able to get some letters of recommendation and a good writing sample.

If you are near enough to Boulder and want to take a graduate-level course as a non-degree student, reach out to the professor teaching the course by email a few weeks before the start of the semester in which the course is offered, explain your background and your long-term goals, including how your taking this course fits in with them, and ask for permission to take the course. The actual process for enrolling is explained here: https://ce.colorado.edu/resources/getting-started-visiting-nondegree-student/

Q: If I want to apply, do I first need to reach out to a faculty member and ask them if they are willing to take me on as a PhD student?

No. Unlike in many European universities, professors in philosophy departments in American universities typically do not individually recruit, admit, or fund students. Applicants to our PhD program are pooled together, and a committee chooses a small number of highly qualified applicants for admission. Those students do two to three years of coursework, after which time they select a PhD advisor. There is no expectation that applicants have any contact with individual faculty members prior to applying.  

Q: If I get in, will I be able to work with the faculty member of my choice?

A: Most likely, yes. While faculty members are not under an obligation to accept a student as an advisee, in practice, professors almost always agree to work with the students who ask. 

Q: Can you give feedback on my application materials?

No. In order to ensure a fair admissions process, we cannot offer feedback on individual applications. However, you can find good advice on all components of the application on the philosophy blog Daily Nous: https://dailynous.com/2021/10/29/advice-for-applying-to-phd-programs-in-philosophy-guest-post/

Q: Can you tell me more about the graduate program in philosophy at CU, Boulder?

A: You can find detailed information about our PhD here:  

https://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/graduate/phd-program

and about our MA program here:

https://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/graduate/ma-program

A list of our graduate course offerings plus course descriptions going back several years is available here:

https://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/courses/graduate-courses

Q: What are the research strengths of the department?

We have strengths in a number of areas. See our department overview: https://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/graduate/overview

We suggest also that you review the list of our faculty members and their research interests: https://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/people in order to get a better sense of who teaches here and what we can offer. 

Q: Do you offer funding to graduate students?

A: Our PhD students are fully funded for 5 years (and we are often able to offer 6^th -year funding). Our MA program is unfunded. Occasionally, we can offer TA-ships to MA students, and some MA students find work on campus including TA-ships at other departments, but as an MA student, you cannot count on CU funding, whether from the philosophy department or from another unit on campus.

Q: I am an international student. Are the rules different for me?

A: The program requirements are the same for all admitted students. There is a slightly earlier application deadline and a slightly higher application fee for international students. International applicants must also submit evidence of English language proficiency. And of course, international students generally need student visas. For visa information, please refer to the Graduate School website: https://www.colorado.edu/graduateschool/admissions/where-begin/international-students/frequently-needed-information

Q: Do you offer application fee waivers?

Yes, in limited circumstances. See “Application fee waivers” below.

Application fee waiver requests are available for four groups of applicants, as listed below. In every case, fee waiver requests must be initiated prior to completing an application. You may apply for a fee waiver starting on October 1st. Domestic applicants must submit their request by December 15. Requests from international applicants must be received by November 1.

1. Participants in the McNair Scholars program: In order to qualify for this application fee waiver, applicants must upload a verification letter signed by the current campus McNair representative. McNair Scholars should email gradadm@colorado.edu directly for instructions on how to proceed.

2. Participants in the Gates Millennium Scholars program: In order to qualify for this application fee waiver, applicants must upload a verification letter signed by a Gates Millennium Scholars representative. Applicants should email gradadm@colorado.edu directly for instructions on how to proceed.

3. U.S. citizens who meet the following need-based eligibility:

• are currently enrolled in a degree program with no breaks in enrollment from point of entry in a degree-seeking program. In order to qualify for this application fee waiver, applicants must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program in the semester immediately preceding the academic term for which they are applying
• have continuously received need-based financial aid in each term of enrollment in your current program
• have had no breaks in financial support since onset of support

To qualify under this third category, please provide a verification letter on letterhead from your current institution's financial aid office, with an original signature certifying the specific items listed above. If you are unable to obtain a letter from your current institution’s financial aid office, please upload official financial aid award statements from all academic years of enrollment. This material should be sent to Philosophy Graduate Program Assistant Karen Sites (karen.sites@colorado.edu).

4. Highly qualified international applicants from low-currency countries: International applicants will be considered for a fee waiver if

• they come from a low-currency country;
• they have strong academic qualifications;
• their scholarly interests are a good fit with the interests of this department.

To qualify under this fourth category, applicants should supply

• the statement of purpose from their application;
• the writing sample from their application;
• a brief account of their reason for requesting a waiver.

This material should be sent to Philosophy Graduate Program Assistant Karen Sites (karen.sites@colorado.edu).

If your fee waiver request is approved, the fee for applying will be paid directly by the University of Colorado. In that case, it is essential that you not pay the fee yourself. If you pay the fee, reimbursement is not possible.

If your fee waiver request is denied, your application will not be processed until the application fee is paid. 

The Department will consider fee waivers on a rolling basis until the designated funds have been exhausted.

CU has adopted an on-line admissions system. Check out the general instructions for applying and submitting materials.

As part of the application process you will be assigned a username. The username/number you are assigned when you apply becomes your permanent student identification number at CU. If you were ever a student at CU, or if you ever applied to CU in the past, you need to use that same username associated with your name and social security number. Be aware that the process of assigning a username and login credentials takes two to three business days and must be done before you can proceed; for this reason make sure you start your application well before the due date.

Until you have completed and submitted the on-line application, your recommenders will not be notified and you will not be able to check the status of your transcripts, test scores, etc. in the portal. For this reason, you should complete your on-line application as soon as possible.

Changes or updates to your already-submitted application should be sent directly to Admissions at gradprocessing@colorado.edu

Please note that applications must be complete by the deadline, including recommendations, in order to be fully considered. You should plan ahead accordingly.

Also please note that the application system closes at 10 PM Mountain Time on the due date. Do not plan on submitting late in the day on the due date.

Once you have submitted your application, you will be able to check the status of your application and supplemental documents.

The department invites and encourages applications from minority and women candidates. The department offers fall admission only into the graduate program. The deadline for domestic applications is January 3rd.

Each application requires the following elements:

1. online application form (filled out and submitted online)
2. $60 application fee (paid online)
3. a writing sample (a sample of your philosophical work) (submitted online); the writing sample should be no more than 5,000 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.
4. 1-2 page personal statement (submitted online) explaining your philosophical background, interests, and goals. We strive to have a diverse, equitable, and inclusive graduate program; thus, you may (but are not required to) also use your personal statement to describe how your educational, professional, or personal experiences have prepared you to contribute to this aim.
5. three letters of reference (submitted online)
6. scanned unofficial transcripts from each institution of higher learning that you have attended. Uploading Transcripts

All applicants should use the online application portal.

You will first need to register. If you have ever applied for a password-protected account at CU (e.g., you applied last year), you will need to use the same username and password associated with your social security number as before. Fill out the on-line application, and pay the $60 application fee on line. Have three (3) Letters of recommendation sent to us. There are two ways to have letters sent:

1. Fill in the names of your recommenders; an email will be sent to them asking them to upload their letters of recommendation for you after you submit your application. For this reason, do not wait until the deadline to submit your application. It is HIGHLY recommended that letters be submitted online in this fashion in order to ensure proper processing.
2. If recommenders wish to send their letters by email instead of by uploading their letters, please have them email them to gradprocessing@colorado.edu

Transcripts should be scanned and uploaded or mailed as per above.

The department invites and encourages applications from minority and women candidates. The department only offers fall admission into the graduate program. The deadline for international applicants is December 15th.

Each application requires the following elements:

1. online application form (filled out and submitted online)
2. $80 application fee (paid online)
3. a writing sample (a sample of your philosophical work) (submitted online); the writing sample should be no more than 5,000 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.
4. 1-2 page personal statement (submitted online) explaining your philosophical background, interests, and goals. We strive to have a diverse, equitable, and inclusive graduate program; thus, you may (but are not required to) also use your personal statement to describe how your educational, professional, or personal experiences have prepared you to contribute to this aim.
5. three letters of reference (submitted online)
6. scanned unofficial transcripts from each institution of higher learning that you have attended. Uploading Transcripts

All applicants should use the online application portal.

International applicants should check the requirements for international applicants.

Check here to see if you are required to supply proof of English proficiency, and how to do so if you are: https://www.colorado.edu/graduateschool/admissions/where-begin/international-students/english-proficiency-requirements

International applicants have an early deadline of December 15th. This deadline is to ensure that application materials have time to be processed for the department. All applicants should use the online application portal.

You will first need to register. Fill out the on-line application, and pay the $80 application fee for international students on line. Have ETS send your TOEFL (if needed) score to CU Boulder. Upload your writing sample and statement of purpose to the online application website. If for some reason you cannot upload these documents, you must send them to the Office of Admissions (address below). Have three (3) letters of recommendation sent to us. There are two ways to have letters sent:

1. Fill in the names of your recommenders; an email will be sent to them asking them to upload their letters of recommendation for you after you submit your application. It is HIGHLY recommended that letters be submitted online in this fashion in order to ensure proper processing.
2. If recommenders wish to send their letters by email instead of by uploading their letters, please have them email them to gradprocessing@colorado.edu

Upload scans of unofficial transcripts or send your transcript(s) to the above address. The Office of Admissions will process the materials, and upload the documents for us to see online. If you send us any materials by mail, we will have to forward it to the Office of Admissions. To ensure that materials you send to the Office of Admissions are matched with your application file, print a copy of your application as a cover sheet for the items you mail to the Office of Admissions. Failure to do this can result in delays in processing. Allow sufficient time for mail to be delivered to the United States. Most items typically require 10 days to two weeks from within the United States and even more time when sent from other countries.