PhD in Philosophy

The graduate program was among the first in the United States to concentrate on phenomenology and, more broadly, nineteenth and twentieth century continental thought. We remain committed to that tradition and focus on post-Kantian European philosophy, with multiple faculty working in German Idealism, the phenomenological traditions, social and political philosophy, psychoanalytic theory, as well as structuralism, poststructuralism, and their aftermaths. We integrate this into a broader emphasis on the history of philosophy as a cluster of research areas in their own right, as a set of methodological orientations, and as the necessary background for work in contemporary thought. To this end, we also have groups of faculty working in each of the main periods the history of philosophy, including ancient and classical philosophy, medieval philosophy, and modern philosophy.