Coursework:

A minimum of eighteen courses (fifty-four hours of coursework) is required for the Ph.D. This includes work completed for the M.A. degree (but excludes credits awarded for the completion of an M.A. thesis).

Candidacy:

Ph.D. candidacy follows upon (i) completion of all coursework for the Ph.D., and (ii) passing one part of the Graduate Reading List Examination.

Other Requirements:

  1. Completion of a second Graduate Reading List Examination.
  2. Written translation examinations, administered by the School of Philosophy, in which the candidate demonstrates basic reading competence in French and German. Both examinations must be completed at least one year before the dissertation is defended.

Ph.D. Dissertation:

  1. Within two years of attaining Ph.D. candidacy, the student must have the Ph.D. dissertation proposal approved by the student's faculty board and submitted to the Dean for approval by the faculty of the School of Philosophy and the University.
  2. The candidate must present a dissertation which gives evidence of power of research, of ability to do independent scientific work, of mastery of the candidate's part of the chosen field, and is of sufficient merit to warrant publication.
  3. When the dissertation is completed and tentatively approved by the director and readers, a public oral examination will be conducted by an oral examination board. The board will consist of a chair and a secretary who will be appointed from University faculty outside the School of Philosophy, plus the director and the two readers of the dissertation.
  4. The completed Ph.D. dissertation must be defended no later than five years after attaining candidacy.
  5. Final approval of the Ph.D. dissertation is realized after the defense, when all conditions on the part of the board have been met and any objections satisfied.

The Ph.D. degree is granted when all the above requirements have been fulfilled by the candidate and approved by the faculty of the School of Philosophy and the Academic Senate of the University.