The Doctoral Program

An Overview

The features of the doctoral program, including its administration, the ongoing activities of the students, all formal requirements, the special milestones, are numerous. In this section, they are briefly outlined, in a systematic way, so that one can grasp the general structure of the program. In the following section, they are elaborated in greater detail.

Orientation--the two- or three-day long period immediately preceding (and sometimes also overlapping with) registration each fall, during which orientation and advising activities occur.
Advising--the Graduate Student Advisor helps each student plan and carry out an individualized program of study. About midway in the student's graduate program, the faculty member who is likely to become the student's dissertation director takes over most advising responsibilities.
Course distribution requirement--a set of required basic courses, suited to a given student's personal needs, consisting of no fewer than 24 credit hours nor more than 36 credit hours of work
Logic Requirement--an exam is administered once a year. Students may attempt to pass this exam no more than three times. Students can also complete this requirement through successful completion of a one-semester course in logic.
The pro-seminar--each fall a seminar is offered for all and only first year students which emphasizes skills of philosophical writing.
Qualifying paper requirement--the centerpiece requirement of a PhD program prior to the doctoral dissertation itself. Three high-quality papers in philosophy are to be submitted to and passed by the faculty.
Courses and the course requirement--by the conclusion of a student's doctoral program, he or she must have completed at least 48 credit hours of enrollments in courses, seminars, tutorials and independent study.
Seminars and the seminar requirement--fulfilled by satisfactory completion of at least three graduate seminars (included within the 48 credit hours for courses)
Admission to formal candidacy--a milestone reached on completion of all the aforementioned requirements.
Colloquium requirement--a colloquium paper, generally extracted from one's dissertation in progress, is delivered and defended before the Department, and evaluated by the attending faculty.
Dissertation prospectus--the student must submit to the Department a detailed précis of his or her intended doctoral dissertation.
Topical examination--an oral discussion of one's prospectus with a small faculty committee to determine acceptability of the proposed dissertation.
Dissertation committee--upon successful completion of the topical examination, a faculty committee of three members is appointed to supervise and ultimately evaluate the student's dissertation research.
Title, scope, and Procedure Form--a formal outline of one's proposed dissertation, approved by all the members of one's dissertation committee, and by the Department Chair, must be filed with the Graduate School.
Diploma order--a document filed at the opening of the semester in which one anticipates the completion of one's PhD program.
Submitting the dissertation--the dissertation is a book-length contribution to philosophical scholarship whose composition has usually occupied the final year or more of one's doctoral program.
The defense of the dissertation--the student's final formal activity prior to the award of the PhD degree. It is an extended discussion of the dissertation before a committee of professors, some from the Department faculty and at least two faculty from related fields outside of Philosophy.

Orientation

During orientation (just before registration) each new graduate student's early semesters in the program will be planned, with special emphasis on planning courses that help satisfy the department's distribution requirement and supplement and not duplicate the background the student already has. The planning will be done by the Graduate Student Advisor, in conference with the student concerned, and will be based on such information as is contained in the Department's file on the student, including prior transcripts, and on any diagnostic exams or diagnostic conferences with other faculty members.
On one of the days of orientation, the faculty will administer a three-hour long Exam in Logical Technique. In the case of a new student, the outcome will determine placement in a particular logic course.
In consultation with the student, the Graduate Student Advisor, will decide whether a new student will take a two-hour examination in either French, German, or Greek to determine whether he or she already has the skills to pass the Department language requirement or needs to give some immediate attention to the acquisition of such skills.

Advising

The Graduate Student Advisor will advise all graduate students for their first year in the program. In the following years, each student will be advised by a member of the graduate committee who is closest to the student’s field of interest. When the student’s course work and qualifying papers have been completed, the faculty member who seems most suitable given the student's area(s) of specialization, and most likely eventually to direct the student's dissertation, will assume the responsibility of advising the student from then on (or until some different faculty member becomes the student's dissertation director and advisor).

As is detailed below, the Graduate Student Advisors also coordinate and administer the several pre-doctoral-candidacy requirements. Thus, a student ought always turn to his or her Advisor with questions or problems concerning any of those requirements or any other aspect of the early years of his or her graduate program.

Course Distribution Requirement

Each student’s program will be so planned that it includes seven core courses at the 400-level, distributed across three areas as follows:

Two core courses in analytic/contemporary philosophy: 4065, 4141, 4142, 4210.
Two core courses in value theory: 4310, 4315, 4320, 4400.
Three core courses in history of philosophy, to include at least one in ancient philosophy and one in modern philosophy: Phil 4510, 4520, 4530, 4550, 4560, 4570, 4575.

Typically, core courses will include an examination that will require a synthesis of the material taught in the course; this may take the form of an in-class final examination, in-class tests set through the semester, or take-home examinations. A grade lower than B- in a distribution requirement course will deny a student credit for the course under this requirement and mandate that a substitution be allowed by the advisor or that the student be recommended to the Department for discontinuation from the PhD program.

In some cases, substitutions across areas may be appropriate. For example, depending on a student's program, it may make sense to count "Kant's Practical Philosophy" as meeting the value theory rather than the history core course requirement (but not both). In some cases, too, students may come to the program with substantial enough training in a particular area to justify waiving one or another component of the distribution requirement. The Director of Graduate Studies must approve substitutions or amendments.

The course distribution requirement is normally to be completed by the end of a student’s second year in the program.

Graduate Core Courses

Analytic/Contemporary

4065 - Advanced Phil of Language
4141- Advanced Epistemology
4142 - Advanced Metaphysics
4210 - Advanced Phil of Science

History

451 - Plato
452 - Aristotle
4530 - Hellenistic Philosophy
4550 - Continental Rationalism
4560 - British Empiricism
4570 - Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
4575 - Kant and Kantian Practical Philosophy Value Theory

Value Theory
4310 - 20th Century Metaethics
4315 - Normative Theory
4320 - British Moralists
4400 - Advanced Social and Political Philosophy

The Exam in Logical Technique

Every year during orientation, a three-hour test of logical technique will be given, and all students in the graduate program who have not yet passed this exam must take it, including the then new students (excepting those with no appropriate logical training). In the case of a new student, the outcome of the exam will be determined quickly enough so that it may have a bearing on whether a logic course is to be included in the student's coming semester's registration. A student will be entitled to three opportunities to pass this exam. Evaluations of exams in logical skills are performed by a three-member faculty committee appointed by the Department Chair, and are reported as Pass with Distinction, Pass, or Fail. Failing the exam three times is cause for the Graduate Student Advisor to recommend to the Faculty that the student be dropped from the graduate program. However, a student may alternatively fulfill the logic requirement by earning a grade of at least B in either Phil 301G or Phil 405.

The Pro-seminar

Every fall semester, the Department's Pro-seminar in Philosophy is offered, with enrollment consisting of, and limited to, all students entering their graduate study in philosophy in the Washington University Department. The focus of the seminar is on the development, by each enrolled student, of the skills associated with writing philosophical papers. Toward this end, students are asked to write a relatively large number of short philosophical papers with specified subject matter, and will be given regular, and pointed, critical feedback on these efforts. Although the seminar is directed by one member of the faculty, other faculty members may appear in the roles of guest discussion leaders throughout the semester. The topic of the Pro-seminar varies from director to director and from year to year.

Evaluation of students' performance in the Pro-seminar as in any graduate course consists of ordinary letter grades, comments on written work, classroom feedback, as well as the instructor's written evaluations that are presented for discussion to the faculty as a whole at the close of the semester.

The Qualifying Paper Requirement

Three qualifying papers are required, one in each of three areas: analytic/contemporary philosophy; history of philosophy; and value theory. These must be 5000-7000 words, and of professional or near professional quality. Three copies of the paper, along with a 150-200 word abstract and an accurate word count, must be submitted to the Philosophy Department. The deadlines for submission are as follows:

1st QP due at the beginning of the first semester, second year
2nd QP due at the beginning of the first semester, third year
3rd QP due at the beginning of the second semester, third year

Each paper will be evaluated by a committee of three faculty members appropriate to its topic, selected by the Graduate Student Advisor. Each paper may be awarded any of the evaluations: Pass with Distinction, Pass, Revise and Resubmit, or Fail. There is no right to redo an unacceptable paper. At the discretion of the evaluation committee, a given unacceptable paper judged to merit such treatment may be returned to the student for revision and resubmission by a deadline to be determined by the committee chair. But an unacceptable paper may also be the basis for the evaluation committee’s recommending that the student-author be discontinued from the PhD program.

While qualifying papers generally begin as seminar papers, a good or excellent seminar paper is not necessarily an acceptable QP, although it is generally a good start. The QP is to be a bridge from writing seminar papers to publishing work in professional journals, that is, to take part in the ongoing critical discussions of philosophical issues. A QP should be a real candidate for such entry into the professional debate. For example, a QP should show a familiarity with the most recent and most important literature in the field, even if this was not required for the seminar paper.

The following rules govern qualifying papers:

QPs will be submitted on the first day of the semester in which they are due. Papers that are submitted after this date do not fall under rules 2 and 3. below, but do fall under rule 4.

The Graduate Advisor will assign committees for the QPs promptly.
Faculty will be expected to evaluate the papers within two weeks of receiving them.
QPs must be approved or failed by the end of the semester (defined as the day grades are due) in which they are submitted. If the paper is not approved by the end of the semester, the student may be required to submit an entirely new paper (and not just a revised version of the old one). Exceptions will be made only if the QP committee thinks that there are special circumstances that warrant an extension.

Courses and the Course Requirement

A course is any enrollment for graduate credit, including independent studies or directed readings, but excluding research enrollments both at the masters and doctoral levels. Of the 72 credit hours that the Graduate School requires for the PhD, a student must normally complete a minimum of 48 credit hours of course enrollments in the Department. Up to 12 credit hours of graduate level course enrollments outside philosophy may be included among the requisite 72, but they must hang together as a set of courses associated both with one another and with one's primary area of specialization in philosophy. And of course they do not count among the 48 course work credit hours in philosophy. We encourage fulfillment of the entire course requirement by full-time study, and at least one academic year as a full-time student in residence is necessary to meet the Graduate School's residency requirement for the PhD.

Students who desire to spend time specifically honing their writing skills may arrange a tutorial in philosophy with a faculty member. Since the point of the tutorial is to work on writing, the student should already be familiar with the subject matter and the main literature to be dealt with. While additional research will probably be involved, the student should be in a position to begin writing at an early stage of the tutorial. The tutor and student will meet regularly in an individualized, one-on-one tutorial in which one or more papers on a topic and in an area of the student's choosing are worked and reworked under the tutor's close supervision. The aim of the tutorial will have been accomplished when the tutor is satisfied that the student has developed a reasonably good sense of philosophical issues, a reasonable facility in constructing forceful philosophical arguments, and a level of writing ability appropriate to PhD candidacy. Alternatively, the tutor may recommend, after a single tutorial semester or two, that the student be discontinued from the PhD program owing to the absence of adequate promise to acquire the requisite philosophical skills.

Seminars and the Seminar Requirement

Many of the Department's courses are taught as seminars, which typically involve formal oral presentations of papers written by students. Although conduct of seminars differ in detail from instructor to instructor, typically the students play a dominant role in the conduct of each seminar session (as readers of papers, commentators, or participants in the ensuing discussion), and the instructor in charge may adopt a more passive role than in a regular course. Students are evaluated not only on the quality of their written work, but also on their performance as participants in the seminar discussions; hence their faithful attendance, careful preparation, and active participation are of utmost importance.

Each student is required to complete the Pro-seminar and at least two additional seminars in philosophy carrying a total of at least six additional credit hours.

Advancement to Formal Candidacy

A student is admitted to candidacy for the PhD degree upon successful completion of all the requirements thus far discussed: Course Distribution, Foreign Language, Logical Technique, Qualifying Papers, Courses, and Seminars.

The Colloquium Requirement

Graduate students are mandated to attend department colloquia on a regular basis, and each student is required to present and defend a paper in a colloquium before the Department by the end of his or her eighth semester in the program. The paper is to be on a topic suitable for presentation before a learned society and may be excerpted from the student's dissertation in progress. The paper must be approved for presentation by a member of the faculty before it is presented. When such approval has been obtained, the student should notify the chairperson of the Colloquium Committee to arrange a time and place for the presentation. Once the paper has been presented and defended in a discussion with those in attendance, a vote of the Departmental faculty members attending the colloquium determines whether the student has satisfactorily completed this requirement. Students are encouraged to present papers before other students as practice (Cave Series), although presumably one's experiences in seminars have already provided some relevant background and training.

The Dissertation

A candidate for the PhD degree must successfully complete and defend a doctoral dissertation that makes an original contribution to philosophical knowledge. For further information about this requirement see Regulations and Schedule Concerning the Presentation and Format of Doctoral Dissertations and Attendant Fees in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, available from the Department Secretary. Students are responsible for fulfilling the requirements set forth in that document as well as those described below.

Students who have completed their course work requirements are permitted to enroll for up to nine hours of dissertation research (Phil. 591) for one semester thereby affording them the opportunity to explore ideas for a dissertation topic. They are permitted to do this with the understanding that sometime before the following semester they are expected to write a prospectus (see below) and to take a topical examination (see below).

Doctoral dissertation guide (will be udated 2009)
http://artsci.wustl.edu/GSAS/Policies/DoctoralGuide2005.pdf

The Prospectus.

A student who is ready to begin working on a dissertation composes a 9 to 15 page prospectus outlining the topic to be investigated and a plan for conducting the related research. This prospectus, which may have been prepared in close consultation with a faculty member who is at least prima facie a likely dissertation director, is presented to the Department Chair as indication that the student is ready for the Topical Examination on the prospectus.

The Topical Examination.

The student is required to take an oral examination given by a committee of faculty members who have been involved in the preparation of the prospectus. The purpose of the topical examination is to determine whether the proposed dissertation is viable and whether the student is adequately prepared to undertake it. The examination may be repeated.

The Dissertation Committee.

When a student has passed the topical examination, the Department Chair, in consultation with the student and other members of the Department, appoints a dissertation committee consisting of three members, one of whom serves as dissertation director.

Thesis Title, Scope, and Procedure Form.

As soon as the dissertation committee has been appointed, the Notice of Title, Scope, and Procedure of Dissertation (Thesis) form should be completed, the signatures of the dissertation committee members and of the Department Chair obtained, and the form submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. By Graduate School regulations, this form must be in their hands not later than December 1 of the year in which all requirements for the degree will be completed.

Diploma Order.

At the beginning of the semester at whose close the student expects to be awarded the PhD degree, the student must submit a Diploma Order to the Registrar.

Submitting the Dissertation.

A final draft of the dissertation must be in the hands of the committee at least five weeks before the date set by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as the last day to submit dissertations to the Graduate School in the semester in which the degree is to be awarded.

The Defense of the Dissertation.

When the dissertation committee has accepted the dissertation, an oral defense is scheduled. This examination is conducted by the dissertation committee, other faculty members from the Department of Philosophy, and normally, two or three faculty members from related fields outside of philosophy. For further information see Instructions for Doctoral Orals, available: Doctoral dissertation guide (will be udated 2009)
http://artsci.wustl.edu/GSAS/Policies/DoctoralGuide2005.pdf

Upon successful defense of the dissertation, a student who has satisfied the other Department and University requirements for the degree is awarded the PhD in Philosophy.