Philosophy, PhD

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky offers programs of study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Applicants may, once admitted to the Ph.D. program, apply to leave the program with an M.A. only.  

The purpose of the Ph.D. program is to develop the student’s ability to complete a Doctoral degree successfully. Doing so will enable the student to do independent research in philosophy, to secure an academic job at the University or College level, or to pursue a career in which rigorous and critical thinking are desired.  

The purpose of the M.A. degree is to provide the student with a fundamental understanding of the major historical and contemporary points of view in all of the basic areas of philosophical inquiry and to develop the student’s capacity to formulate and analyze philosophical problems. Such a degree is suitable either as preparation for further study in Philosophy or as a complement to advanced training in a variety of other fields.  

Admission Requirements

It is expected that candidates admitted to the graduate program in philosophy  will: (1) provide proof of completion of a B.A., B.S., or M.A.; (2) have given  evidence of superior skills on the GRE; (3) have achieved an overall grade-point average of at least 3.2 (4.0 scale) in all undergraduate course work; and (4) have  achieved an overall grade-point average of at least 3.5 in all graduate course work.  

The course work requirements differ depending on previous graduate course work, specifically whether one enters with no M.A. in Philosophy, a one-year M.A. in Philosophy, a two-year M.A. in Philosophy. See these checklists for summaries: 

• Checklist of PhD requirements (no previous M.A.) 

• Checklist of PhD requirements (previous one-year M.A.) 

• Checklist of PhD requirements (previous two-year M.A.)