Ph.D. Requirements

TEACHING APPRENTICESHIP

Students are required to participate in the teaching apprenticeship sequence.  The sequence guides students through the responsibilities and methods of teaching philosophy, preparing them to teach their own courses at the beginning of their third year in the program:

  • Semester 1: One credit Orientation seminar (PHIL 602)
  • Semester 2: Begin Teaching Assistantship
  • Semester 3: One Credit Teaching Practicum (PHIL 602)
  • Semester 4: Teaching Assistantship, begin teaching own course
  • Semester 5: One credit Professional Development seminar (PHIL 602); bi-weekly Teaching Support Group gatherings

The Philosophy Program Teaching Apprenticeship is designed to facilitate our students’ ability to earn their Graduate School Teaching Certificate.  For information on the requirements for this certificate, see http://www.gradsch.psu.edu/current/tacert.html.

COURSE DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT

Students must take at least one course in at least three of the following areas

  • Feminist theory
  • Continental philosophy
  • American philosophy
  • Analytic philosophy

Students must also take at least one course in each of the following historical periods:

  • Ancient
  • Medieval
  • Modern
  • Nineteenth century
  • Twentieth century

Courses may double-count across category 1 and category 2.  They may not triple-count.  The faculty member teaching a course determines which area(s) and/or historical period(s) toward which the course may count.  The required 400 level Logic course may not count as a student’s required course in analytic philosophy.

INCOMPLETES

Students are strongly discouraged from taking incompletes.  For pedagogical reasons and to facilitate the student’s timely progress through the program, work for a particular course is expected to be completed by the end of the semester in which the course is offered.

In rare cases when a faculty member approves an incomplete, the student will be given a grade of DF at the end of a semester.

Accumulation of DF's (and the F's to which they convert six weeks into the next semester in which the student is enrolled) creates serious problems for students. Unless granted a written exception by the Director of Graduate Studies, students must have the work for previous course work completed by the beginning of each Fall semester in order to continue in good standing in the Program.

Failure to meet these requirements: Each student’s progress in the program will be reviewed at the end of every Spring semester.  Those who have exceeded the incomplete limit will be informed that their funding is in jeopardy.  When students have not turned in their work for all of their courses by the beginning of the Fall semester the faculty will consider, among other appropriate measures, asking the student to take a leave of absence until the overdue work is completed and passed or to leave the Ph.D. program permanently.

CANDIDACY EXAMINATION

All graduate students must pass the departmental candidacy exam at the beginning of a student’s third semester of graduate study.  The candidacy exam has two components: a review by the full faculty of the student’s academic portfolio and an oral interview based on the portfolio.  Each student must put together a portfolio that includes:

  • Major writings from all of the student’s classes,
  • A two-page self-evaluation that includes a reflective analysis of the student’s academic progress to this point and an indication of the direction of the student’s future study,

No student with an outstanding incomplete can submit the candidacy exam.  No student who has not passed at least one language translation exam can submit the candidacy exam.  If the student cannot submit an exam, the student will be placed on probation for the Fall semester.  If the candidacy exam is not completed by the end of the Fall semester, the student will be required to take a leave of absence. 

The full faculty reviews the progress of each student.  Students are given a written evaluation from the faculty, drafted by the Director of Graduate Studies, in which they are informed of the results of the exam: pass, fail, or probation. Following this written evaluation, the Director of Graduate Studies will meet in person with each student.

Students who are placed on probation must successfully resubmit the candidacy exam at the beginning of their fourth semester.  Students who fail the candidacy exam in either their third or fourth semester may complete a terminal second year of graduate study, resulting in an MA with submission of an acceptable master’s paper, but will not be allowed to remain in the program after this time and will not become Ph.D. candidates. 

LOGIC REQUIREMENT

All graduate students must satisfy the department’s logic requirement by passing the department’s 400 level Logic class with a grade of B or higher.  The course covers the following five areas: a) informal concepts of logic; b) translation into symbolic logic notation for both propositional and predicate logic; c) decision methods (truth tables, truth trees) for both propositional and predicate logic; d) natural deduction proofs for both propositional and predicate logic; and e) formal semantics and metalogic. 

The 400 level Logic class will be offered every other year.

LANGUAGES

Written exams

Written exams demonstrating competence in two languages other than English must be passed.  The choice of languages should be relevant to the research program of the student.  The selection of languages must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

The student will request that a written exam be scheduled by completing the language exam request form and submitting it to the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Director of Graduate Studies will assign an examiner for the exam.

The author will be chosen by the student; the passage will be chosen by the examiner.

The student will have 2 hours to complete the exam and can use a dictionary for the exam.

The first exam must be taken prior to the beginning of the third semester, and the second exam must be taken prior to the beginning of the sixth semester. 

The standard for passing the exams is the same for both languages.  One reader will be given the exam initially.  If that reader passes the exam, no other reader is necessary.  If the first reader fails the exam, a second faculty member may, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the first reader, be asked to read the exam.  If that faculty member passes the exam, the student will be said to pass the exam.  If not, then the exam is failed.  Passing signifies that the student has been judged to have a reading competence in the language sufficient to use that language in philosophical research.  The precise meaning of this competence will, of course, be left to the judgment of the reader of the exam; however, it is generally taken to mean that the student is able to read and understand the text in a sufficiently sophisticated manner as to enable a serious discussion of that text.  It does not mean that the student must be able to translate the text for publication.     

Students are permitted multiple re-takes of the exam if the exam is failed.  In the event of a failing exam, the student is encouraged to discuss the timing for the re-take with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Intensive language course

A student must pass an intensive language course in a language other than English.  This course cannot be taken until the written language exam for this language has been passed.

This course must be taken and completed with a passing grade by the end of the 6th semester

Failure to meet these requirements.

If the written exams and the intensive language course are not passed by the required dates, the student will be put on probation for one semester (either Fall or Spring).  If the requirements are not met by the end of that semester, the student may be required to take a leave of absence.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

All graduate students must complete and pass the departmental comprehensive exam prior to the beginning of a student’s seventh semester of graduate study.  The comprehensive examination may not be taken until all coursework is complete, the language requirements are met and the logic requirement has been passed.  If the comprehensive exam is not passed by the required dates, the student will be put on probation for one semester.  If the requirements are not met by the end of that semester, the student may be required to take a leave of absence.

The comprehensive exam is a departmental exam administered in formal consultation with the entire faculty.  It is composed of three written parts:

  • A written exam on systematic areas of philosophy relevant to the student’s projected areas of specialty and competence, for instance: epistemology, aesthetics, metaphysics, social/political philosophy, and ethics.
  • A written exam on historical areas of philosophy relevant to the student’s projected areas of specialty and competence: Ancient, Medieval, Modern, 19th century, and 20th century.
  • An assignment determined and graded by the student’s dissertation committee and drawn from a reading list appropriate to the student’s past coursework and study and to the planned dissertation project.

Once the written portion of the exam is complete and submitted, the doctoral committe convenes with the student for an oral defense of the exam.

If the student fails the exam, after consulting with the Director of Graduate Studies and the dissertation committee, the student may either a) re-take part or all of the exam, or b) assemble a different dissertation committee to pursue a different course of study and a different dissertation project.  Either resolution of this problem must be fulfilled by the end of the semester in which the exam was failed.

Students may not defend a prospectus unless they have passed the comprehensive exam.

Once a student passes comprehensive exams, ABD status is conferred.  The graduate school requires that all ABD graduate students maintain continuous enrollment until the doctoral defense has been passed.  There are no exceptions to this requirement.  Students who do not maintain continuous enrollment will be required to register retroactively and pay all past due tuition before being permitted to defend the doctoral dissertation.

DISSERTATION REQUIREMENTS

The student will begin by asking a faculty member to be the Director of her/his dissertation by the end of the 4th semester.  At this time, the student will also consult with that faculty member about what other faculty members should constitute the dissertation committee. 

Two other members of the Philosophy Department and one member of another department from PSU will constitute the committee.  Faculty from outside PSU can serve on the committee with the permission of the Chair of the Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies.  By the end of the 5th semester, the student will submit to the Graduate Director a Committee Appointment Signature Page signed by all members to constitute her/his committee.

The dissertation prospectus will be formulated in consultation with the dissertation committee members.  Typically a prospectus will include a clear statement of the dissertation topic and problem, the case for the importance of this topic, an outline of the approach to be taken, an outline of chapters, a bibliography of the most significant primary and secondary literature (students are encouraged to set up a session at the library to help with this part of their work).  Typically, the prospectus will be about 15-20 pages long.

After the written prospectus is submitted, there will be an oral exam in which the dissertation committee members examine the student on the project as outlined in the prospectus. 

This exam should be completed by the end of the 7th semester.  The committee has the option of requiring some revisions for a passing grade.  The exam is failed if two or more members of the committee grade it as failing.  If the exam is failed, the student will discuss his/her options with the Director of Graduate Studies. 

The dissertation defense will be scheduled after the completed dissertation is approved by the dissertation advisor and second reader.  Typically, the defense will be scheduled at least 4 weeks after the final copy of the dissertation is submitted.  The committee can require revisions before the dissertation is accepted.  If the committee does not accept the dissertation, the student will discuss options with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Graduate