This should be an example of sophisticated and substantial philosophical writing. It should show your philosophical skills most strongly and manifest analytical skills at eye level with students who are already in our program. This can be the most important part of your application. A reasonable length for this is 20-25 pages with double spaced. Some candidates submit more than one writing sample; This is fine if, for example, they have very different aspects of your philosophical abilities (for example, a thesis in philosophical logic and one in ancient philosophy). If not, we will probably only review one of the documents submitted. Short 10-page articles, such as those written for a course or tutorial, rarely show us enough about a candidate`s ability to succeed, and sending several is no better. Applications for our PhD program are very competitive. It`s best to take more time to choose your best philosophical work and develop it into a mature and interesting piece.
The Department of Philosophy also offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree program. The requirements are as follows: Some students without much formal training in philosophy were extraordinarily gifted and were able to prove it before admissions committees: for example, by writing articles of publishable quality. However, the vast majority of uneducated students are not yet ready to participate in competitive doctoral programs. Distribution: Students must circulate, write or teach in at least two of the following areas: Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophy. It is not necessary to have completed a master`s degree (what we call in the US) – in some places they are called “MPhil” or “BPhil” or “MLitt” –, before applying to our PhD program. You can apply directly for the PhD, and many of our candidates do. However, many others, especially those with thinner bachelor`s degree backgrounds in philosophy, have done master`s theses. In an associate writing course, students work with a faculty member to develop and refine a pre-existing document or project. (Such a document is often, but not always, a written document for a previous graduate seminar.) During the semester, the student submits drafts of the development document and discusses each draft with the instructor before moving on to the next version.
The goal is for students to receive one-on-one mentorship in the art of writing a professional philosophy paper. have the opportunity to develop a thesis more deeply and comprehensively than is normally possible in the more hectic context of a semester-long seminar; and had the opportunity to prepare documents for the third year review. In addition to the general application requirements, the department specifically requires: 1. Proseminary, PHIL-GA 1000, (8 points). This seminar is only open to doctoral students in the first year of philosophy. It involves frequent short writing assignments, and the nature of the teaching emphasizes discussion rather than lecture. Topics are determined by the speakers, but include basic texts and ideas from analytic philosophy. These seven courses are advanced introductory courses, intermediate courses, thematic or advanced seminar courses and research seminars. Under special circumstances, students can earn 4 points (but no more than 4 points) of core courses by pursuing independent study with a faculty member in which they learn an area of interest and write an article under faculty guidance. The seven core courses must include at least one value theory course (ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of law or political philosophy); at least one course in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language or philosophy of mind; and at least one course in the history of philosophy (ancient, medieval, modern or 19th century). At least three of the courses must be outside the theory of value. Students who wish to use independent study to meet a territorial distribution requirement must first obtain approval from the faculty member supervising the independent study and the Director of Graduate Studies.
The associated writing courses (described below) do not count as core courses and cannot be used to meet land distribution requirements. The prospectus must be between five and fifteen pages at most. It should not be a philosophy article, but a dissertation plan that clearly articulates an interesting philosophical project, places the project in the space of philosophical ideas, and gives an indication of the most important relevant literature. The outline of the thesis plan can take various concrete forms. Some students may find it helpful to indicate how they plan to organize the work and what they expect to make as a major contribution to the existing literature. Others may prefer to focus on motivating and explaining the key questions they want to address, and indicate the type of research they plan to address to answer those questions. Students should consult with their prospectus advisor to decide which specific form of prospectus is best for them and their particular style of work. (Students writing a thesis consisting of three related articles should apply these guidelines to each of their topics. However, the prospectus document should not exceed fifteen pages.) If you feel that your education and preparation in philosophy is not yet strong enough to enroll in a competitive doctoral program, a master`s degree can help strengthen your doctoral application.
Not because we are impressed that you have obtained the additional degree, but because it allows you to give us a stronger writing sample and gives more professors the opportunity to see you doing advanced work and writing more useful letters of recommendation. 2. Basic course (36 points; usually nine courses of 4 points). These nine courses include advanced introductory courses, intermediate courses, thematic or advanced seminar courses and research seminars. Under special circumstances, students can earn 4 points (but no more than 4 points) of core courses by pursuing independent study with a faculty member in which they learn an area of interest and write an article under faculty guidance. There are three categories of distribution: the theory of value (ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of law and political philosophy), metaphysics and epistemology in the broad sense (metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of logic) and history of philosophy (antiquity, medieval, modern, 19th century and early 20th century). Of the nine core courses, at least two courses must belong to two of these three distribution categories and one course to the other distribution category. Other local philosophy departments: safe! Sometimes someone at NYU theoretically has to supervise your participation in the external course and approve the grade. But in practice, it doesn`t make much difference.
NYU is therefore a great place for philosophy students interested in ancient philosophy, and the Ancient Track is designed to provide guidelines and recommendations to these students. Graduation prospectus: During their third year in the program, students develop a prospectus for their thesis. The prospectus document, with a maximum length of five to fifteen pages, should not be a philosophical document, but a thesis outline that clearly articulates an interesting philosophical project, situates the project in the space of philosophical ideas and gives an indication of the most important relevant literature. If you are applying for the JD/PhD program with a dual degree, you must apply separately to NYU Philosophy and NYU Law School. Each program`s decisions are made independently based on their usual standards and do not share application documents. The cooperative nature of the program is that you can use specific courses to meet certain requirements at once. (Here are more details.) If you are accepted into both programs, we will be happy to discuss it further and put you in touch with other students who have completed this dual degree program. As mentioned above, LSAT scores cannot replace the graduate school`s GRE requirement. Our PhD students complete the courses for two years and do not decide on their thesis topic until the third year. At that time, a thesis committee was formed. We assign supervisors during your first few years in the program, but it`s just someone talking to you about the requirements of the program, the problems you have, and so on. There`s no reason why it should be someone who is directly related to your research interests.
Languages: Knowledge of Greek and/or Latin, depending on the desired research area of the thesis. This is proven by language examinations by members of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities or by a grade of A or higher in an intermediate or advanced language course in the Department of Classical Philology. This is expected to be completed by the beginning of the fourth year. Students who have already learned enough of the language must take the language exam as soon as they start the track. This track is aimed at doctoral students in philosophy who wish to specialize in ancient philosophy. Students on this track will meet all the normal requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy, and some additional recommendations listed below. Logical requirement: The department`s logical requirement can be met in four ways. Two options are to take a higher-level logic course in NYU`s philosophy department or a graduate course elsewhere, but in both cases, the suitability of the course must be approved by the director of graduate studies. A third way is to convince the department that some courses already taken meet the required standard.
