Ph.D. Degree Requirements
A student preparing for a doctorate in Philosophy must meet general College and University requirements and satisfy these departmental requirements before proceeding to PHIL 999: Dissertation enrollment:
- Complete at least 39 credit hours* of graduate work in Philosophy courses numbered 500 or above with grades in each course of at least B– and an overall grade-point average of at least B in all graduate philosophy courses. At least 24 of these hours must be at the 800 level or above (including PHIL 800 Tutorial and PHIL 901 Ph.D. Tutorial). Beyond the 39-hour requirement, additional hours in PHIL 999 Dissertation are required as appropriate in accordance with the rules of the Office of Graduate Studies and the Department.
- Complete PHIL 800: Graduate Tutorial with a grade of B- or higher in the first year of enrollment.
- Formal Philosophy Requirement. Complete PHIL 610: Symbolic Logic or PHIL 666: Rational Choice Theory with a grade of B- or higher.
- Ph.D. Course Distribution Requirement:
Metaphysics and Epistemology (6) Select two of the following: PHIL 620Philosophy of Natural Science PHIL 622Philosophy of Social Science PHIL 628Philosophy of Logic PHIL 630Philosophy of Mathematics PHIL 638Philosophy of Language PHIL 648Theory of Knowledge PHIL 650Metaphysics PHIL 654Philosophy of Mind PHIL 850Topics in Recent Philosophy: _____ PHIL 860Topics in Philosophy of Science: _____ PHIL 862Topics in Logic: _____ PHIL 868Topics in Philosophy of Language: _____ PHIL 870Topics in Metaphysics: _____ PHIL 872Topics in Theory of Knowledge: _____ PHIL 877Topics in Philosophy of Mind: _____ PHIL 888Topics in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences: _____ Value Theory (6)Select two of the following: PHIL 504Philosophy of Sex and Love PHIL 555Justice and Economic Systems PHIL 662Aesthetics PHIL 668Political Philosophy PHIL 670Contemporary Ethical Theory PHIL 671Feminist Theories in Ethics PHIL 672History of Ethics PHIL 674Philosophy of Law PHIL 676Medical Ethics: Life and Death Issues PHIL 677Medical Ethics: Professional Responsibilities PHIL 850Topics in Recent Philosophy: _____ PHIL 880Topics in Ethics: _____ PHIL 884Topics in Social and Political Philosophy: _____ PHIL 885Topics in Law and Philosophy PHIL 886Topics in Applied Ethics: _____ Ancient Philosophy (3)Select one of the following: PHIL 508Early Greek Philosophy PHIL 605The Philosophy of Plato PHIL 607The Philosophy of Aristotle PHIL 608Hellenistic Philosophy PHIL 805Plato PHIL 807Aristotle PHIL 820Topics in the History of Philosophy: _____ Modern Philosophy (3)Select one of the following: PHIL 820Topics in the History of Philosophy: _____ PHIL 824Hume PHIL 828Kant Nineteenth- and 20th-Century Philosophy (3)Select one of the following: PHIL 560Nineteenth Century Philosophy PHIL 562Kierkegaard PHIL 570Nietzsche PHIL 580Marxism PHIL 582Existentialism PHIL 590Phenomenology PHIL 592Contemporary Continental Philosophy PHIL 820Topics in the History of Philosophy: _____ PHIL 831Hegel PHIL 835Frege PHIL 843Heidegger PHIL 848Wittgenstein PHIL 850Topics in Recent Philosophy: _____ PHIL 852Quine PHIL 855Davidson PHIL 890Topics in Continental Philosophy: _____ (Topic, instructor, and specific prerequisites to be announced in the Schedule of Classes.) - PHIL 901: Ph.D. Tutorial. Students may not enroll in PHIL 901 before the third semester, but no later than the sixth semester of graduate study.
- Research Skills & Responsible Scholarship Requirement. The University requires that every doctoral student have training in responsible scholarship and research skills pertinent to the field of research and appropriate to the doctoral level. This requirement must fulfilled prior to or within the same semester the comprehensive oral exam is scheduled. For Philosophy doctoral students, this requirement is met by the following:
- PHIL 800: Graduate Tutorial
- PHIL 901: Ph.D. Tutorial
- Demonstrated competence in an approved foreign language OR completion of a faculty-approved course in a discipline related to the student's research interests.
- Pass the comprehensive oral examination for Ph.D. candidacy. This examination must be taken after all of the above requirements have been completed, or in the semester in which the requirements will be completed.
- Write and successfully defend a dissertation of substantial merit showing the planning, conduct, and result of original research.
*Reduction of Credits
University graduate credit policy does not allow for a direct transfer of credits toward the Ph.D.; however, the departmental requirement of 39 credit hours may be reduced by way of an approved petition depending on the amount and quality of equivalent graduate work completed at a previous institution. At minimum, 24 hours of acceptable graduate work must be taken in the Department of Philosophy at KU.
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