About the Doctorate Program

PhD students choose between two tracks, the "Traditional Track" and the "Philosophy and the Science" track. Each track has its own set of degree requirements. In the traditional track, the first two years are devoted to course work, and the third year is devoted to writing a conference paper, preparing for qualifying exams and preparing a dissertation proposal. In the philosophy and the sciences track, two and a half years are devoted to course work, including four graduate courses in some empirical science, and the qualifying exams and dissertation proposal are postponed to the beginning of the fourth year. The final year or two of residency are devoted to actually writing the dissertation.

Most students enrolled in the PhD program receive full tuition remission and earn a living stipend by working as teaching assistants for regular faculty. Current stipends are at least $14,000 per year. Graduate students assist in the grading and advising of undergraduates and often lead their own recitation sections. Advanced graduate students may be offered the opportunity to teach their own undergraduate courses. Some of these courses take place during the regular academic year, but most take place during the summer. Many students who have completed the first three years in good standing and have begun work on an approved dissertation will receive a predoctoral Taft fellowship, which likewise carries tuition remission and a living stipend without teaching obligations. Taft fellowships are awarded in competition with students from ten different departments.

For more information on the graduate program, please click on links in the second row above. For still more information, please fill out the Graduate Information Request Form, or contact:

Prof. Thomas Polger
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Philosophy
University of Cincinnati
P. O. Box 210374
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0374
email: thomas.polger@uc.edu
telephone: 513-556-6328