MA in Philosophy

The department is primarily but not solely an Analytic Philosophy department. Courses of study typically focus on philosophy of psychology and mind, philosophy of language and philosophical logic, ethics or political philosophy, or Africana Philosophy. However, students can plan a dissertation on metaphysics, history of philosophy, epistemology, or other areas. Students are able to work closely with the faculty at every stage of progress from the initial construction of a plan of study to the completion of a dissertation. The Department generally offers only Plan B (non-thesis) for the M.A. Thus a student must have 24 credits in Philosophy in order to take the M.A. examination. First year students must satisfy a formal logic requirement, normally by taking Philosophy 5307. First year students also should take Philosophy 5301 unless they have a strong background in contemporary analytic philosophy and Philosophy 5302 unless they have a strong background in ethics.