What tasks must one get through to get a PhD in philosophy?

Question

anybody out there has a phd with philosophy. What did you have to do to get it. What did you discuss in your dissertation, etc?

Answer 1

Hmm... Not sure where the previous answer got his info, maybe he lives in a different country than me? I don't have a PhD yet, but I'm going to be entering a PhD program in about a year and a half, and have done TONS of research on programs, how to apply, and what is involved. This is for programs in the US.

-To enter a PhD program, you have to submit your college transcripts, at least 3 letters of recommendation, your GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores (this is a standardized test taken at the end of college, you have to register to take it), a brief statement of purpose, and a writing sample to demonstrate your writing ability (usually between 15 and 25 pages). Application deadlines are usually in December or January before the fall that you want to begin the program, so you will need to take your GRE exam in October or November the year before you start grad school to get your scores back in time for your application. This is also the time to request your official transcripts.

Once in the program, there are several steps:
-There are breadth requirements (variety of areas of philosophy) that you must meet. These will vary by school, but generally you must take logic, and some courses in each of ethics, epistemology and metaphysics, rationalism, empiricism, Kant, and history of philosophy. All tolled these take about 5 years to complete. You must complete the logic requirement successfully by a given point in the program, or you will be expelled from the program (where this point is varies by school).
-By about the third year, you must complete a language exam in a philosophical language that relates to your area of emphasis in your work (philosophical languages are German, French, Latin, and ancient Greek). You will be given something written in that language, and will have a certain amount of time to translate it into English. If you do not successfully complete this exam by a certain point in your progress through the program (when this point is varies by school) you will be expelled from the program.
-You will have to do a thesis paper before your dissertation, that will need to prove that you are capable of writing dissertation level work. Your panel of advisors (usually 3 professors) will review your thesis, and decide whether you are ready to move on in the program. If your paper isn't strong enough you may be asked to revise it. If after revision it still isn't good enough, you will probably be expelled from the program (policies on this vary by school).
-You will have an advisor who will oversee the writing of your dissertation. This can be on any topic you choose, and if you like it can be on the same topic as your thesis paper. You will spend your 6th year working on only the dissertation.
-After you have completed your dissertation, most schools will require a dissertation defense. This involves a panel of professors questioning you about your paper. You must be able to verbally defend what you have written. The defense hearing is open to the public, and anyone who comes to it, including other professors and students, can question you as well. You must answer all of their questions satisfactorily. Only after successful completion of this defense have you earned the PhD. (Not all schools require this verbal defense, but most do.)

To answer your question about dissertations, you can do one on anything you like in the area of philosophy, and you should focus your choice of what classes to take around that topic so you can prepare to write it. You should have pretty much decided what you want to write about (at least a general idea) by the beginning of your third year. If you go to the web page of any graduate philosophy program at a university that has one, you can usually find a list of titles of recent philosophy dissertations.

Hope this helps! Good luck!!

Answer 2

Introduction:
The Ph.D. degree is comprised of an advanced course of study and research. The results of this are presented in the form of a thesis. The thesis is examined by at least three examiners, at least one of whom is external to the University of Canterbury. There is also an oral exam. There is no coursework requirement.

The normal period for completing the Ph.D. is three years. One may enrol as a part-time candidate with approval from the Academic Board. Part-time students are expected to spend a continuous period of at least 6 months in full-time study at some point during their enrolment.

Upon enrolment the student spends no more than six months preparing a detailed research proposal in close consultation with the intended thesis supervisor. Once this proposal is accepted by the Head of Department and the Academic Board the proposal shall be formally registered. Upon approval of the research proposal a Supervisor and normally one or more Associate Supervisors and/or a Supervisory committee will be appointed to oversee the candidate's research.

Prospective students must normally hold one of:

a Bachelors degree with first or second class honours (e.g., a B.A.(Hons), a B.Sc.(Hons), a four year B.A. or B.Sc. with an average equivalent to first or second class honours, or equivalent).
a Masters degree at the standard of first or second class honours (e.g. an M.A. or M.Sc. with an average equivalent to first or second class honours, or equivalent).
The prerequisite does not have to be in philosophy, but the Academic Board and the department must be satisfied that the student has sufficient background to complete the proposed course of study.

Cheers
Yee Cs

Answer 3

someone shouldn't seem down on a Philosophy PhD. no be counted what you do in existence, a sound thoughts will be your impressive asset. it really is a social international, and also you ought to understand the dynamics of argument in order to live to tell the tale. A Philosophy PhD, could have a leg-up on the Politic, in order to communicate. There exists no subject in which 2 human beings come mutually, in which having a superb-tuned thoughts isn't needed. As Aristotle positioned it, "The provider provider is time-honored with how, besides the indisputable fact that the Artist is time-honored with why." understanding 'why', will supersede each little thing else, no be counted your type of livelihood. i imagine only the decrease eschalons of society will seem down on that style of degree.

Answer 4

It's more of a task to live as a philosopher. Compared to that, a doctorate is pitifully easy. The faithful won't spoonfeed you the answer. There is no free lunch in the prytaneum for us.