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Queen's University
 

Philosophy

M.A, Ph.D

The Queen’s University Philosophy Department offers high quality graduate programs that aspire to give students both a solid general education in philosophy and opportunities for specialized work on topics of your choice. Our faculty is very productive in a broad range of areas of research. The small size of the graduate programs allows for individual attention and a collegial atmosphere.

The writing and analytic skills that our M.A. students develop have consistently made them very desirable candidates for jobs in both the public and private sectors, and sought-after applicants at the best Law Schools, professional M.A. and M.B.A. programs, and the most competitive Ph.D. programs in North America and Europe.

Program Contacts


Judy Vanhooser
Graduate Assistant
Department of Philosophy
Watson Hall, Room 312
Queen’s University
Kingston, ON Canada, K7L 3N6
Telephone: 613.533.2182
Web: http://www.queensu.ca/philosophy


Application Deadline:  February 2 to qualify for funding, but we will accept later applications

Notification of acceptance is in early March.

The Ph.D. program affords opportunities to pursue high-level studies and research and to work closely with members of our faculty. Many candidates also acquire valuable teaching experience while they are writing their theses and often have opportunities to take full responsibility for courses as teaching fellows.


"My Graduate experience at Queen’s has been exceptionally rewarding. The Philosophy department is both intimate and vibrant – offering the benefits of smaller classes with the advantages of a diverse faculty. The departmental life is further enriched by the internationally renowned academics that frequently speak at our weekly colloquiums. The professors here have shown themselves to be both supportive and challenging."

—Christine Esselmont, Ph.D. candidate

Degrees Offered / Length of Program

  • M.A.: 12 months
  • Ph.D.: 4 years

Method of Completion

Coursework, research paper, and oral defence

Degree Level Expectations & Learning Outcomes

M.A - view this information as a pdf (94KB)

PhD - view this information as a pdf (95KB)

Supervisors and Fields of Study

Master’s students may arrange for a supervisor after your first term. Ph.D. students may arrange for a supervisor during your second year. There is no need to contact a supervisor in advance.

The five approved OCGS fields of study are:

  • Ethics
  • Social & Political Philosophy
  • Epistemology & Metaphysics
  • Philosophy of Language
  • Applied Ethics

Supervisors & areas  of interest:

  • Kerah Gordon-Solmon: (Oxford) Political Philosophy, Bioethics
  • Susan E. Babbitt: Epistemology, Moral Philosophy, Feminist Theory, Philosophy of Culture
  • David J. Bakhurst: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, Russian Philosophy
  • J.E. Bickenbach: Social Policy Analysis, Bio-Ethics, Philosophy of Law
  • Jacalyn Duffin: Medical Epistemology
  • Deborah Knight: Philosophy of Art, Mind, and Language
  • Rahul Kumar: Moral and Political Philosophy
  • Will Kymlicka: Political Philosophy
  • Henry Laycock: Ontology, Philosophy of Language
  • Stephen R. Leighton: Ancient Philosophy, Philosophical Psychology
  • A.M. Macleod: Emeritus: Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy
  • Lorne Maclachlan: Emeritus: Perception, Logic, Metaphysics
  • Adèle Mercier: Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Natural Language Semantics, Linguistics, Logic
  • Jon A. Miller: Early Modern (esp. rationalism), Ancient (esp. Hellenistic), African Philosophy
  • Joshua Mozersky: Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Science
  • Christine Overall: Feminist Philosophy, Applied Philosophy, Social Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
  • Carlos G. Prado: Emeritus, Epistemology
  • Udo Schüklenk: Bioethics
  • Sergio Sismondo: Science and Technology Studies
  • Mick Smith: Environmental Philosophy, Postmodernism, Social Theory
  • Christine A. Sypnowich: Political Philosophy, Jurisprudence, Marxist Theory, Feminist Theory
  • Jacklyn Davies: Feminist Theory, Critical thinking
  • Paul Fairfield: Contemporary Continental Philosophy
  • Margaret Moore: Social and Political Philosophy
  • Ram Murty: Indian Philosophy and Mathematical logic
  • Cheryl Cline: Clinical Ethics
  • Andrew Lister: Political Philosophy
  • Michael G.Pratt: Philosophy of Law

Employment Opportunities

Graduates from our programs have found work in: university-level teaching positions, government sector work, and private sector work.

Funding Information

  • Ph.D: Minimum $18,000 guaranteed
  • M.A.: All admitted students are offered a funding package of a grant and a teaching assistantship. Please contact the Department for details.

Our department will nominate students for internal awards. We encourage you to apply for external awards such as SSHRC and OGS awards. Queen’s issues an automatic $5,000 top-up award to winners of federal government tri-council awards.

Academic Prerequisites

M.A.:

  • Honours B.A. in Philosophy or equivalent
  • Grades: An average of A- (in Philosophy courses only) is normally required to be competitive for admission.

Ph.D.:

  • M.A. in Philosophy
  • Grades: First class standing (80% or better) is required to be competitive. 

Other Requirements

  • Statement of Interest (part of online application form)
  • Writing sample (maximum: 10-15 pages, attached separately)

Test Requirements

If required, a TOEFL score of 600 (paper-based) or TOEFL iBT minimum scores of: writing (24/30); speaking (22/30); reading (22/30); listening (20/30), for a total of 88/120. Applicants must have the minimum score in each test as well as the minimum overall score.

 

Program Profiles

View this information as a PDF (266 KB)

PDF files can be viewed using Adobe Reader.

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Kingston, Ontario, Canada. K7L 3N6. 613.533.2000