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Dec 05, 2025
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2025-2026 Graduate Catalog
Philosophy PhD
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The Department of Philosophy offers graduate study in a variety of subfields, with notable strengths in two areas of cross-disciplinary research that apply philosophical ideas and methods in the real world. The first is applied ontology, which links philosophical ideas and methods to the use of computers in managing data, for example in medical research or in intelligence analysis. The department is the world’s center for the academic study of theoretical and applied ontology. A second area where the department has particular strengths is in the growing field of philosophy, politics, and economics, which studies how the economy, political and social institutions, and questions of justice interact and draws on analytical tools and models from a range of disciplines to address pressing social problems. The department also excels in philosophy of science, bioethics, and early modern philosophy. The department is distinguished by its high-quality teaching, robust faculty-student interaction within a vibrant academic community, and the successful placement of our graduates in both academic and extra-academic positions.
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Required Core (3-4 credits)
At least one Seminar in Formal Methods (Logic, decision theory, formal semantics, probability, statistics, formal epistemology, computational modelling)
At least one Seminar in History of Philosophy
At least one seminar each in Metaphysics and Epistemology (including philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science)
At least one seminar in Value Theory (Ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of law, social philosophy, and political philosophy)
Electives (30-44 credits)
Students can choose from a wide selection of offerings, per semester availability. Students who are interested in the field of Applied Ontology may complete the applied ontology (AO) track - please view the coursework here. Applied Ontology Track
Students interested in the sub-field of applied ontology may complete the applied ontology (AO) option articulated below. REQUIRED (15 Credits) AO Electives (9 credits)
Select 9 credits from the following list. (Substitution of elective options not listed below is allowed with prior approval by the Director of Graduate Studies or the student’s Major advisor.) Qualifying Paper
Second-year Ph.D. students must submit a qualifying paper that demonstrates sufficient philosophical potential to write a successful dissertation, which will be graded by faculty members within each student’s chosen area of specialization. Topical and topical defense
Before beginning their dissertations, students must submit and defend a topical paper that describes the dissertation project they are planning to pursue. Dissertation (1-12 credits)
Total Credit Hours: 72
3.0 Degree GPA required For further details about program requirements, please consult the Philosophy Department’s Graduate Handbook. Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
1) Demonstrate a working knowledge of the history of philosophy, contemporary value theory, and contemporary metaphysics and epistemology (broadly construed).
2) Familiarity with philosophical methods and techniques: employ tools of critical reasoning to their own thinking and that of others; read carefully, critically and charitably; write clear, rigorous and well argued papers; accept criticism and revise work accordingly.
3) Demonstrate competency in logic: An ability to symbolize sentences, analyze arguments, detect formal and informal fallacies, carry out logical proofs and derivations.
4) Demonstrate a competency presenting philosophy papers to a professional philosophical audience within and outside the students specializations.
5) Demonstrate an ability to produce original research in a specialized area of philosophy
6) Adequately teach college level philosophy SED Statement
This program is officially registered with the New York State Education Department (SED). |
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