|
|
|
The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 96 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate. Recipients of the Ph.D. in Philosophy will normally complete 96-102 hours, as summarized below.
| Hours |
||
|---|---|---|
Area requirements |
24 |
|
Electives |
18 |
|
MA/MS in supporting field |
30-36 |
|
Dissertation Research |
24 |
|
_________________Total |
_________96-102 |
Teaching Practicum
All students must participate in a teaching practicum.
Logic Requirement
All students must pass PHIL 641, its equivalent, or a higher level logic course.
Area requirements, 24 hours (eight courses)
Logic and Methodology, two courses, to be selected from:
PHIL 642, Mathematical Logic II
PHIL 643, History and Philosophy of Logic
PHIL 645, Philosophy of Science
PHIL 646, Philosophy of a Particular Science
PHIL 658, Philosophy of Language
History of Philosophy, two courses, to be selected from:
PHIL 611, Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 614, Medieval Philosophy
PHIL 616, Modern Philosophy
PHIL 620, Contemporary Philosophy
PHIL 623, American Philosophy
PHIL 661, Seminar in History of Philosophy
Value Theory, two courses, to be selected from:
PHIL 630, Aesthetics
PHIL 632, Social and Political Theory
PHIL 635, Ethical Theory
PHIL 662, Seminar in Ethics and Value Theory
PHIL 671, Professional Ethics
Epistemology and Metaphysics, two courses, to be selected from:
PHIL 631, Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 640, Epistemology
PHIL 650, Metaphysics
PHIL 655, Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 663, Seminar in Metaphysics and Epistemology
Electives, 18 hours (six courses) Electives may be selected from any graduate course in Philosophy. However, the courses taken to fulfill a student's area requirements and electives must include at least 4 courses from the following, each of which may be repeated as content varies:
PHIL 661, Seminar in History of Philosophy
PHIL 662, Seminar in Ethics and Value Theory
PHIL 663, Seminar in Metaphysics and Epistemology
PHIL 664, Seminar in Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science
PHIL 665, Seminar in Applied Philosophy
PHIL 682, Philosophical Authors
Supporting Degree (30-36 hours)
A thesis option master's at Texas A&M requires 30 credit hours and non-thesis option requires 36 credit hours.
The supporting degree must be in a field other than philosophy, and must supplement the student's research and teaching interests in philosophy.
All supporting degrees must be approved by the department's Graduate Program Advisory Council (GPAC), which must also approve the use of a master's degree earned at another university.
Dissertation Research (24 hours)
Students writing their dissertation will normally complete a total of 24 hours of PHIL 691, Research.
Comprehensive Exams
To be admitted to Doctoral candidacy, the student must pass comprehensive examinations in two of the following areas
History of Philosophy,
Metaphysics and Epistemology
Ethics and Value Theory.
Dissertation and preliminary examination
Students must complete and successfully defend a doctoral dissertation demonstrating the ability to make original contributions to a recognized area of philosophical research. The process of completing a dissertation begins with the formation of an Advisory Committee, composed of at least four members of the graduate faculty. A majority of the Committee, including the chair, must be a member of the Philosophy Department, and at least one member must be from some other department.
The Advisory committee is responsible for administering a written and oral preliminary examination of the student on the area in which the student's dissertation proposal has been written, approval of the proposal itself, and conducting the student's final oral defense of the dissertation.
Language Requirement
There is no departmental language requirement for the Ph.D.. The student's Advisory Committee will determine what language requirement, if any, is appropriate for the dissertation project the student wishes to undertake.
Final Examination
Satisfactory completion of an oral defense of the dissertation is the final step required for the Ph.D. degree. This examination must be scheduled in advance with the Office of Graduate Studies, and may be held only after the dissertation is in substantially final form, and all members of the student's Advisory Committee have had sufficient time to review it.
Credit for Work Done at Other Institutions
University regulations permit students to receive credit toward the PhD for courses taken at other institutions, provided those courses were not used as credit for another degree. Whether such credit may be counted as part of a student's degree plan will be determined by the student's Ph.D. Committee, subject to approval by the Department of Philosophy and the Office of Graduate Studies.
Independent of transfer of credit, students who already hold an advanced degree in a field other than philosophy from another institution may petition to have that degree count as the supporting degree for the Ph.D..
The minimum hours required for a Ph.D. at Texas A&M is reduced to 64 for students already holding a master's degree, so a student entering with the supporting master's degree in hand can expect to finish up to two years earlier.
