Apply to USF Now | Graduate Admissions | Events & Workshops | Giving to the Office of Graduate Studies

Graduate Catalog 2017/2018

Philosophy (PHI)
Catalog Photo

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
CIP Code: 38.0101
College of Arts and Sciences (AS)
Total Minimum Program Hours Required (Post Bachelor's Degree): 90
Total Minimum Program Hours Required (Post Masters Degree): 60
Contact Information:
College of Arts and Sciences
Philosophy Department (PHI)
4202 E. Fowler Avenue FAO245
Tampa FL  33620

Program Director or Coordinator:
William Goodwin
Phone: 813-974-2447
Email: wgoodwin@usf.edu

Website: http://philosophy.usf.edu/

Faculty Search: Arts and Sciences Faculty List

Major Information

Contact department for information or visit web page.

Major Research Areas:
Aesthetics
Analytic Philosophy
Ancient Greek Philosophy
Continental Philosophy
Epistemology
Ethics & Contemporary Moral Philosophy
Feminist Philosophy
Medieval Philosophy
Modern Philosophy
Philosophy of Mind
Philosophy and Religion
Philosophy of Science
Social & Political Philosophy
19th and 20th Century Philosophy

Accreditation Information:

Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of College and Schools.

TOP

Admissions Information

Admission Deadlines

Major Priority Deadline

Fall: January 2
Spring: October 15
Summer: ---

Graduate Admission Application Deadlines

MASTER'S AND
EDUCATION SPECIALIST DEGREES

Admission for
Fall Semester

Admission for
Spring Semester

Admission for
Summer Semester

  • Applications received by the Priority Deadline will receive maximum consideration. 
  • Applications received after the Priority deadline, but by the Final University Deadline, are considered on a space available basis. 
  • Applications must be complete with all required information by the stated deadline.  Any application materials received after the deadline may be reviewed on a space-available basis.

Check with the Graduate Major Director for availability or to discuss options for admission in a subsequent term. 

Priority Deadline
(for funding and consideration)

Refer to Specific Major

Refer to Specific Major

Refer to Specific Major

Final University Deadline
Domestic Applicants

June 1

October 15

February 15

Final University Deadline
International Applicants

June 1

September 15

February 15

DOCTORATE DEGREES

Admission for
Fall Semester

Admission for
Spring Semester

Admission for
Summer Semester

  • Applications received by the Priority Deadline will receive maximum consideration. 
  • Applications received after the Priority deadline, but by the Final University Deadline, are considered on a space available basis. 
  • Applications must be complete with all required information by the stated deadline.  Any application materials received after the deadline may be reviewed on a space-available basis.

Check with the Graduate Major Director for availability or to discuss options for admission in a subsequent term. 

Priority Deadline
(for funding and consideration)

Refer to Specific Major

Refer to Specific Major

Refer to Specific Major

Final University Deadline
Domestic Applicants

February 15

October 15

February 15

Final University Deadline
International Applicants

February 15

September 15

February 15

Admission Requirements

You must comply with general University policies and meet general University Admission requirements in addition to those listed below.

Must meet University requirements (see Graduate Admissions) as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

  • Three (3) letters of recommendation
  • A ten (10) page philosophy writing sample
  • Brief statement of the applicant's philosophical interests
  • GRE scores

Admissions Status: Apply (Direct Receipt)

TOP

Major Requirements

Course requirements9One (1) course from each of the following three areas:
 
Total Minimum Hours 90
Once admitted, students must successfully complete at least 90 credit hours in accordance with the following requirements:
 
Core requirements 12 hours

Proseminar I and Proseminar II
Students should take PHI 5135 Symbolic Logic or an approved substitute, OR pass an examination administered by the Department of Philosophy.

 
Students complete the remaining coursework either or through general course requirements by completing the Concentration:
 
Coursework 44 hours

Students must complete at least 44 hours of regularly scheduled coursework, with at leaset one course or graduate seminar in each of the following areas:

  • Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
  • Modern Philosophy
  • 19th and 20th Century Philosophy
  • Problems of Knowledge
  • Problems of Value Theory
  • Problems of Metaphysics
Courses are selected from the following list, or other course as approved by the Graduate Director:

     PHH 6105 Seminar in Ancient Philosophy- 3
     PHH 6265Continental Philosophy I: Phenomenology to Hermeneutics-3
     PHH 6266Continental Philosophy II: Political Theory and Continental Social Theory -3
     PHH 6267Continental Philosophy III: From Structuralism to Deconstructionism- 3
     PHH 642018th Century Philosophy- 4
     PHH 6435 17th Century Philosophy- 4
     PHH 6640Contemporary Continental Philosophy- 4
     PHH 6938Seminar in the History of Philosophy- 3
     PHI 5135Symbolic Logic -3
     PHI 5225Philosophy of Language -3
     PHI 5934Selected Topics -1-3
     PHI 6305Seminar in Epistemology -3
     PHI 6405Seminar in the Philosophy of Natural Science -3
     PHI 6425Seminar in the Philosophy of Social Science -3
     PHI 6506Seminar in Metaphysics -3
     PHI 6605Seminar in Ethics -3
     PHI 6634Seminar in Biomedical Ethics -3
     PHI 6665Metaethics -3
     PHI 6706Seminar in the Philosophy of Religion -3
     PHI 6808Seminar in Aesthetics -3
     PHM 5125Topics in Feminist Philosophy -3
     PHM 5126Social Issues in Biomedical Ethics -3
     PHM 6105Seminar in Social Philosophy -3
     PHM 6305Seminar in Political Philosophy -3
     PHM 6406Seminar in the Philosophy of Law -3
     PHM 6506Seminar in the Philosophy of History -3
     PHM 6646Seminar in Development Ethics -3
     PHP 6005Plato -3
     PHP 6015Aristotle -3
     PHP 6400Seminar on Descartes' Philosophy -4
     PHP 6415Kant -3
     PHP 6420Seminar on Leibniz's Philosophy -4
     PHP 6500 Seminar on Hegals' Philosophy -4
     PHP 6520 Nietzsche and the Nietzscheans -4
     PHP 6530 Seminar in German Idealism -4
     PHP 6624 Adorno -4
     PHP 6640 Foucault -4
Language
Students writing about a text or texts written in a language other than English should demonstrate a reading knowledge of that language. Students writing about a text or texts written in English should demonstrate an elementary reading knowledge of at least two other languages in which one finds research or scholarship devoted to the text(s) being studied.

Doctoral Research
12 credit hours in area(s) of doctoral research

Comprehensive Exam
A comprehensive examination on a required list of readings constructed by the candidate and a committee of examiners

Dissertation
A written prospectus for the dissertation and an oral defense of this prospectus.
 
Concentration in Philosophy and Religion
Once admitted, students must successfully complete at least 90 credit hours including the following requirements:
PHI xxx Pro-Seminar I and Pro-Seminar II 
PHI 6706Seminar in the Philosophy of Religion 3
RLG 6035 Theory and Methods in Religious Studies 4
 
At least three courses from each of the following five areas:
Philosophy and Religion in Antiquity
    PHH 6105 Seminar in Ancient Philosophy
    PHP 6005 Plato
    PHP 6015 Aristotle
    REL RLG 6327 Seminar: Ancient Religions and Literature3
    RLG 6938 Formative Christianity?
    RLG 6938 Early Jewish Literature?
    RLG 6285 Studies in Biblical Archaeology3
Philosophy and Religion in the Medieval and Modern Periods
    RLG 6938 Augustine's Confessions?
    RLG 6938 Medieval Christian Natural Theology?
    PHH 6938 Seminar in History of Philosophy3
    PHH 6205 Seminar in Medieval Philosophy4
    PHP 6500 Seminar on Descartes' Philosophy4
    PHH 6435 17th Century Philosophy 4
    PHH 6420 18th Century Philosophy 4
    PHP 6415 Seminar on Kant3
    RLG 6938 Modern Jewish Thought?
    RLG 6938 Hermeneutics and Epistemology in Modern Religious Thought?
    Philosophy, and Religion: Ethics, Politics, and Culture
    PHI 6605 Seminar in Ethics3
    PHI 6634 Seminar in Biomedical Ethics3
    PHI 6665 Seminar in Metaethics3
    PHI xxxx Environmental Ethics?
    RLG 6189 Comparative Religious Ethics3
    RLG 6938 Buddhist Ethics?
    PHH 6265 Continental Phil I: Phenomenology to Hermeneutics3
    PHH 6266 Continental Phil II: Political Theory and Continental Social Theory3
    PHH 6267 Continental Phil III: From Structuralism to Postmodernism3
    PHI 6425 Seminar in the Philosophy of Social Science3
    PHI 6808 Seminar in Aesthetics3
    PHM 5125 Topics in Feminist Philosophy3
    PHM 6105 Seminar in Social Philosophy3
    PHM 6305 Seminar in Political Philosophy3
    RLG 6126 Religion in America3
    RLG 6143 Religion, Culture, and Society3
    RLG 6196 Religion and Modernization3
    RLG 6938Buddhism and Postmodernism?
    RLG 6938 Religious Issues in the Caribbean World ?
World Religions and Non-Western Philosophy
    REL xxxx Buddhism3
    REL xxxx Comparative Philosophy of Religion3
    REL xxxx Buddhism and Postmodernism3
    REL xxxx Seminar in Confucianism3
    REL xxxx Medical Philosophy: Chinese, Greek, Indian3
    REL xxxx Comparative Mysticism3
    PHM 5125 Topics in Feminist Philosophy3
    PHI xxxx Latin American Thought3
    RLG 6189 Comparative Religious Ethics3
    RLG 6938 Buddhist Ethics?
    RLG 6938 Religious Issues in the Caribbean World ?
 
Language Competency
Students writing about a text or texts written in a language other than English should demonstrate an elementary reading knowledge of that language. Students writing about a text or texts written in English should demonstrate an elementary reading knowledge of at least one other language in which one finds research or scholarship devoted to the text(s) being studied.
 
Doctoral Research
12 credit hours in area(s) of doctoral research.

Comprehensive Exam
A comprehensive examination on a required list of readings constructed by the candidate and a committee of examiners.

Dissertation
A written prospectus for the dissertation and an oral defense of the prospectus.

A written dissertation and an oral defense of this dissertation. The dissertation committee will be composed of
    a.Either a Major Professor appointed in both Philosophy and Religious Studies, or co-Major Professors, one of whom is appointed in Philosophy and the other of whom is appointed in Religious Studies; and
    b.At least one other member from Philosophy and one from Religious Studies.

College Degree Requirements

Refer to the College Section of theGraduate Catalog for College requirements and information.

TOP

USF Degree Requirements

See USF Degree Requirements —
http://www.grad.usf.edu/policies.php

TOP

Financial Assistance

Financial Aid

Fellowships & Scholarships

Graduate Assistantships

TOP

Registration Process

First, contact your graduate advisor for guidance courses to register for. Obtain any electronic course permit if necessary. Register for the new student orientation online at http://www.grad.usf.edu/orientation.php. Then go to http://oasis.usf.edu/ the link to OASIS, USF's on-line registration system to register for your classes. Follow the directions given on-line.

To access online course materials, students must have a USF NetID (e-mail account). Please visit: https://netid.usf.edu/una/ to obtain your NetID.

New students, including those studying online, may obtain a USFCard. Please visit: http://www.usf.edu/it/class-prep/usf-card.aspx to obtain your USFCard.

Tuition and fees: Fees are determined by the level of the course. Please visit Cash Accounting, Controller's Office, for information on tuition and fees.

TOP

Graduate Course Information

Use the list below to lookup graduate courses related to this program in the USF Course Inventory:

PHI6706, REL6706, REL6035, PHP6005, PHP6015, REL6327, REL6285, PHH6938, PHP6415, PHI6605, PHI6634, PHI6665, REL6175, REL6178, REL6182, PHH6265, PHH6266, PHH6267, PHI6425, PHI6808, PHM5125, PHM6105, PHM6305, REL6126, REL6143, REL6175, REL6195, REL6447, PHM5125, REL6178, PHI7980,