Characterised by small student cohorts and substantial opportunities for engagement with faculty and esteemed visitors, the Ph.D. program provides students with opportunities to pursue intensive, high-level studies and research. In their first year, students complete course work that satisfies distribution requirements in the areas of Value Theory and Metaphysics and Epistemology, for the sake of acquiring an advanced, general education in philosophy. In their second year, students complete comprehensive papers on areas pertinent to their proposed doctoral research as well as a doctoral dissertation proposal, under the supervision of their dissertation committees. Upon successfully completing their comprehensive requirements and orally defending their dissertation proposals, doctoral candidates begin writing their dissertations. The program is structured to ensure that candidates are able to defend in their fifth year. Candidates also acquire teaching experience, often having opportunities to take full responsibility for courses as Teaching Fellows, typically in their fourth or fifth years.
Recent graduates of the Ph.D. program have gone on to tenure-track positions, sessional and other teaching positions, postdoctoral fellowships, bioethics fellowships, and professional work in clinical ethics and bioethics. Further information about Ph.D. placement can be found at the button below.
Applications for all graduate programs in philosophy are hosted online by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). Information on how to apply online can be found here. Click below to begin your application.