Graduate Study in Philosophy at the University of Houston
The Department's M.A. program has consistently been rated among the top M.A. programs in the country in the Philosophical Gourmet Report. Our program is designed to prepare students to enter and flourish in the best Ph.D. programs in the country, and our graduates have gone on to such places as Cornell, UCLA, Princeton, and Harvard. Among their other courses, students typically take two graduate seminars in each of the four semesters in which they are in residence. Since we take turns teaching these seminars, and our interests are diverse, a student in residence for a two-year period will be exposed to a wide range of important philosophical work. For example, a student in residence from Fall 2006 through Spring 2008 would have taken seminars entitled: "Philosophy of Language"; "Leibniz's Metaphysics"; "Causation in Late Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy"; "Knowledge and Skepticism"; "Philosophy of Religion"; "Sidgwickian Ethics"; "Plato"; and "Political Philosophy," "Modality and Metaphysics," and "Bacon and Descartes: Philosophical Methods."
Seminars are designed to expose students to the standards expected in leading Ph.D. programs. Students are asked to investigate the latest literature on seminar topics and to develop oral and written presentations that demonstrate an ability to analyze and contribute to the state of play in philosophy. The department is especially concerned to mentor students in the fine art of philosophical writing. Students may choose between two tracks for developing their writing skills. One track requires a master's thesis. The other requires additional course work and reworking of what each student takes to be his or her best seminar paper under the close guidance of a faculty member. Most of our M.A. students also work as Teaching Assistants in introductory courses, and so have experience in grading, meeting with students, and tutoring.
We believe that students who do well in our program will be eminently qualified for Ph.D. programs. They will know what to expect, their ability and motivation to do graduate level work will have been tested, and they will have acquired a graduate level background that will provide a useful head start for Ph.D. work.
The Department has ten faculty members, all of whom are active in their respective fields. Prominent members include Gregory Brown (Leibniz, early modern philosophy, history and philosophy of science), Cynthia Freeland (Aesthetics, Film Theory, Ancient Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy), Bredo Johnsen (Epistemology), and William Nelson (Moral and Political Philosophy). The department has special strengths in cognitive science, value theory, and history of philosophy. We also have at least one specialist in each of the following areas: epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of religion, political philosophy, feminist philosophy, and logic.
Well-known philosophers and other thinkers frequently visit the campus to give colloquia and lectures. Recent visitors include Bas Van Fraasen, John McDowell, John Cooper, Paul Guyer, Stephen Darwall, Valerie Hardcastle, James Lennox, Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, Ned Block, Gary Watson, John Perry, Susan Haack, and Ernest Sosa.
A limited number of teaching assistantships for qualilfied applicatnts are usually available. To complete requirements for the M.A., a teaching assistant should expect to remain in residence for at least three semesters. There is a stipend (for the amount of the current stipend, contact the director of graduate studies), and tuition is remitted for all teaching assistants, although there are some student fees that assistants are responsible for paying. Applicants wishing to be considered for a teaching assistantship should submit two or three letters of recommendation and a writing sample (e.g., a term paper) directly to the department's director of graduate studies. The application deadline for those wishing to be considered for a teaching assistantship is March 25. Please understand that we decide on TA applications the first week of April, and we can consider only complete applications. We have found that it can take some time to process transcripts, both at the sending and receiving ends. For further information, contact the director of graduate studies.