Applicants for the degree of Master of Arts are accepted under the general regulations of the School of Graduate Studies provided that they also satisfy admission standards of the Department. Those whose average grade in philosophy is lower than A-minus (80 percent) have little chance of admission.

For those entering the program with an Honours B.A. in Philosophy (or equivalent) the Master's program normally requires one calendar year (three terms) of full-time study. A student whose preparation in philosophy is inadequate for acceptance into the regular one-year program may be accepted as a preparatory student if any previous work in philosophy is deemed sufficiently good.

NOTE: no student admitted to a Master of Arts program in philosophy should assume any commitment on the part of the Department of Philosophy to acceptance into its doctoral program.

Requirements for the M.A. are: 

   i) Six one-term courses (or equivalent); two courses must be in the subject area epistemology and metaphysics and two in value theory. (Each year all graduate courses offered by the department will be classified as falling into one [or both] of the two subject areas.) In special circumstances, the course distribution requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Coordinator of Graduate Studies.

   ii) A Master's Research Thesis (PHIL-899) of approximately fifty pages.

Applicants for the Ph.D. degree are accepted under the general regulations of the School of Graduate Studies provided that they also meet departmental admission requirements. Normally, an applicant with less than a first-class standing in a Master's program in philosophy (80 percent coursework average) is not accepted for admission

Course Requirements

Comprehensive Requirements

No later than the end of the first week in June of the first year of the Ph.D. program, the graduate coordinator, in consultation with the candidate and relevant faculty, will form a committee of three faculty members who will direct the student in acquiring, over the course of the second year of the program, a comprehensive background in their intended areas of specialization. A candidate will be required to write at least two short papers, for purposes of discuss with the committee members, each term that discuss issues in different sets of readings. A student’s general knowledge of his or her areas will be examined orally no later than the end of June of the second year of the program. (For students who do not begin the program in September, this timetable will be adjusted accordingly.) Students who fail to demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of their areas of specialization at the oral defence will be required to withdraw from the program. (see General Regulations: Withdrawal on Academic Grounds.) Further details on the comprehensive requirement are set out in the Handbook for Graduate Students in Philosophy.

Language Requirement

There is no general language requirement. However, candidates who propose to submit a thesis in an area for which knowledge of a language or languages other than English is deemed essential must pass an examination set by the Department on a work or works within the thesis area. This requirement must be met at least twelve months before submission of the thesis for examination

Thesis

 Within three months of passing the oral examination of general knowledge of the candidates areas of specialization, candidates will submit a thesis proposal to the departmental Board of Graduate Studies, in conformity with procedures described in the Handbook for Graduate Students in Philosophy.

The defence of the thesis will be an oral examination conducted by an examining committee in accordance with the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. The examination will focus upon the thesis, but may extend to the general field in which the thesis is written.

* Two one-term courses are equivalent to one full (two-term) course.