Overview
The Department of Philosophy offers programs leading to a PhD and to an MA. There are approximately 20 graduate students in residence at any time. Graduate seminars are small. Individual tutorials are frequently arranged. The size and nature of the program facilitate close and collaborative interaction among faculty and students.
The department provides a rich and active intellectual environment. In addition to regular courses, there is an active colloquium series with frequent visiting lecturers and presentations by Rochester faculty and students. The graduate students organize a biennial Epistemology Conference. Faculty and graduate students generally organize several reading groups throughout the year on topics of mutual interest.
Research Areas
Our programs offer opportunities for research and study in many areas of philosophy, including
- Epistemology
- Ethics
- History of philosophy
- Logic and philosophy of mathematics
- Metaphysics
- Philosophy of language
- Philosophy of mind
- Social and political philosophy
PhD Program
The PhD program is scheduled to take five years. It consists of three phases:
- Foundations courses
- Advanced courses and focused research
- The dissertation
Generous funding opportunities are available. Additional information about the program may be found on the PhD program page.
Interdisciplinary Programs
Philosophy students with interdisciplinary interests in cognitive science, computer science, decision theory, economics, education, linguistics, and psychology will find opportunity and encouragement to develop those interests during their graduate studies at the University. Our program also closely collaborates with the Center for Language Sciences. Additional information about interdisciplinary graduate programs can be found at the University's graduate education website.
Questions?
Contact Richard Feldman, graduate admissions director at richard.feldman@rochester.edu or Paul Audi, graduate program director at paul.audi@rochester.edu. Students can also contact Zeynep Soysal, the department’s graduate placement officer at zeynep.soysal@rochester.edu.