Philosophy Department Graduate Student Handbook

University Seal

Introduction

Coursework

Papers and Projects

Dissertation Area Reading List, Paper, and Examination

Dissertation

Financial Aid

Introduction

About the Department

Fordham University's Department of Philosophy has a long and distinguished record, having offered programs in philosophy for more than 150 years. Committed to philosophical pluralism, our faculty is particularly strong in aesthetics, continental philosophy, early modern and modern philosophy, epistemology, ethics, medieval philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and social and political philosophy.

Philosophy graduate course requirements at Fordham, whether in the Ph.D., M.A., or early admission M.A., reflect the department's commitment to pluralism and to the value of philosophizing with a solid understanding of the history of philosophy. All students are, therefore, given serious exposure to ancient, medieval, and modern philosophy, as well as contemporary thought.

In the belief that philosophy graduate students should be encouraged from the outset to argue, to write, and, if they wish, to publish, the Fordham philosophy program's graduate degree requirements place an emphasis on papers rather than written examinations. Ph.D. students proceed to dissertation work following the successful submission of article-length studies and oral defenses. M.A. students gain their degree on the basis of course work and essays.

Philosophy students and faculty at Fordham together benefit from the exceptional academic and research environment provided by New York City. A number of regional philosophical associations provide an opportunity to pursue philosophical research well beyond the library and classroom, e.g., at symposia, conferences, and public lectures. Fordham is also a member of the New York City Graduate School Consortium consisting of several schools in the New York Metropolitan area and beyond (e.g., New York University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Rutgers). The departmental lecture series exposes students to outstanding scholars from all over the world.

The scholarly reputation of the Fordham philosophy faculty is recognized nationally and abroad. As well as publishing scholarly books and articles, the faculty serve as officers of philosophical organizations and as editors of philosophical journals and book series. Members of the department edit several well-known journals: International Philosophical Quarterly, the Journal of Scottish Philosophy, New Blackfriars, and New Nietzsche Studies. In addition, numerous book series are edited by our faculty: Environmental Ethics and Philosophy (SUNY Press), Great Medieval Thinkers (Oxford University Press), Guides to the Good Life (Oxford University Press), Outstanding Christian Thinkers (Continuum), Medieval Philosophy: Texts and Studies (Fordham University Press), and Cambridge Hegel Translations (Cambridge University Press).

The Fordham philosophy faculty take special pride in actively assisting their graduate students insofar as they wish to prepare for careers as teacher-scholars. In addition to providing coursework and related research opportunities, the department strongly supports the professional development of its graduate students through yearly seminars on professional writing and on the teaching of philosophy. Graduate student teaching fellows also receive mentorship and periodic evaluations from faculty.

View placement information for our most recent graduates.

Fordham Philosophical Society

Created and organized by students, the Fordham Philosophical Society (FPS) seeks, as its main purpose, to foster the professional development of students in the philosophy program. Our mission is to support and further the scholarly endeavors of students through a variety of established programs and activities, including topical and historical reading groups, biennial graduate philosophy conferences, and biannual symposia.

Its aim is not only to facilitate progress through the academic programs leading to the conferment of M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in philosophy, but also to enable the individual student to pursue and meet his or her personal professional and scholarly goals, including publication and professional presentation.

The FPS provides a forum for social and academic community among students, and a link to the faculty, acting as a liaison especially to the Department Chair and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Acting closely with department and university administrators, the FPS provides a voice to its graduate students, whereby concerns, problems, and suggestions may be brought to the appropriate forum for discussion. Finally, through the establishment of reading groups, symposia series, conferences, etc., the FPS seeks to open an avenue for ever greater scholarly and intellectual exchange between students and faculty, in the hope of creating and sustaining a true community of philosophical discourse.

Coursework

Advisement and Registration

The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is the official advisor to all graduate students, and students must consult with the DGS before registering for classes to ensure that they are on track to fulfill their program requirements.

Courses

M.A.
All M.A. students in philosophy take 30 hours of coursework with at least one course in each of the following areas:

  • Ancient philosophy
  • Medieval philosophy
  • Modern philosophy
  • Contemporary philosophy (analytic, continental, American, contemporary Thomism, feminist, environmental, etc.)

The 30 hours of coursework will consist either of nine courses plus a three-credit M.A. special project, or eight courses plus a six-credit M.A. thesis. To remain in the program, master’s students must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA (based on a 4.0 scale).

Ph.D.
Ph.D. students entering with an M.A. in Philosophy take 30 hours (10 classes) of coursework. Students entering the Ph.D. program without an M.A. in Philosophy take 48 hours (16 classes) of coursework. All students, regardless of whether they enter with a prior M.A., must satisfy both historical and topical coursework requirements. Historical courses foreground historical methods in philosophical study, such as focusing on a period or figure. Topical courses foreground topical modes of philosophical study, such as focusing on a question or philosophical problem.

  1. All students must take 4 courses in the history of philosophy, with one in each of the following periods:
  • Ancient
  • Medieval
  • Modern
  • Contemporary [=post-Hegelian (where methods of study are historical; for instance, figure-based)]
  1. All students must take 2 seminars that focus on topics in philosophy, with one in each of the following areas:
  • Metaphysics and Epistemology
  • Value Theory (Ethics, Aesthetics, Social and Political)

Each course will be assigned an attribute to the distribution areas, and courses can have more than one attribute. The DGS, in consultation with the instructor, identifies the attribute(s) for a particular course. In cases where a course has more than one attribute, the students, in consultation with the DGS, will choose which attribute will apply in their case. For each student, one course can satisfy one and only one attribute. (For example, the same course can satisfy the Ancient requirement for one student and the Metaphysics and Epistemology requirement for another student, but it cannot satisfy the Ancient requirement and the Metaphysics and Epistemology requirement for the same student.)

Students entering with an M.A. will have their graduate transcripts evaluated by the Director of Graduate Studies in order to determine which of these course requirements have already been satisfied at the graduate level.

To remain in the program, students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.5 (based on a 4.0 scale).

Ph.D. students will earn an M.A. in cursu by completing 30 graduate course credits at Fordham.

Advisory Committee

At the beginning of their course of studies, each Ph.D. student is assigned an Advisory Committee nominated by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Three faculty members constitute the Advisory Committee. One serves as chair of the committee. The composition of the Advisory Committee reflects the pluralism of the department. It meets with the student two times in the first year (once in the fall and once in the spring) and then once in the spring semester during the year(s) of coursework thereafter. After coursework, it is replaced by the student's dissertation committee, with the expectation that a dissertating student and their committee will have routine meetings. One member of the original Advisory Committee is designated as an advisor on non-dissertation matters through the dissertation years.

The main role of the Advisory Committee is to advise students about their requirements, to check on their progress, to offer perspective on the student's professional development, to promote the students' professional interests, to keep them apprised of development in the department and university relevant to their program of study, and to make sure that they are making the most of their coursework years and of the pluralism of the department. In particular, in the spring meeting, students discuss with their Advisory Committee the courses they intend to take in the following academic year. Students discuss their professional development and progress in the program both in the fall and in the spring meetings.

The Advisory Committee reports back to the DGS, especially in case of problems or specific issues. The DGS remains ultimately responsible for the progress of the students in the program and meets with them every semester for course registration advising.

If an Advisory Committee member is on leave, meetings may continue with only two faculty members.

Proseminar/Teaching Seminar

All first-semester Ph.D. students are required to take the proseminar in Philosophical Research and Writing, which covers the basics of academic research and writing in the discipline. All students who wish to teach in the department must also take the seminar in Philosophical Education ("Teaching Seminar"). Although both of these courses carry credit for purposes of maintaining full-time or part-time status, they do not count toward the 30-hour/48-hour coursework requirement.

Full-Time Status

To be considered full-time, students must be registered for 9 credits (three philosophy department courses). Students not registered for 9 credits but still wishing to be considered full-time students should fill out a "Matriculated Student Status Certification" form and have it signed by the DGS.

Logic Requirement

All Ph.D. students must demonstrate an understanding of the elements of symbolic logic, either by taking PHIL 5100 (Logic I), or by taking a departmentally administered logic exam.

Language Requirement

Ph.D. students must demonstrate a strong level of reading competence, as determined by their Advisory Committees, in one language other than English. Considering a student's intended dissertation area, the Advisory Committee recommends both which languages and which level of competence the student must satisfy.

Language exams are offered each semester and are administered by Fordham faculty. When students feel they are prepared to take the language exam, they should contact the DGS, who will then set up the exam with an appropriate faculty member. Language exams generally consist of translating about 600 words of academic prose from the relevant language to English. The student is given two hours to translate the material with the aid of a hard copy dictionary.

Accelerated Master's Program

The accelerated master's program in philosophy allows academically strong philosophy majors presently enrolled in Fordham College Rose Hill or Fordham College Lincoln Center to attain both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in philosophy in five years. Courses on the graduate level begin before completing the B.A., enriching the undergraduate departmental experience and serving to distinguish graduation transcripts. The accelerated master's program offers financial aid to a certain extent, since, by double-counting three graduate courses, the M.A. total tuition bill is less than it would have been otherwise. Please consult the the GSAS Accelerated Master's Program page for more information.

Admission to the Accelerated Master's Program

The program is available to philosophy majors who have a cumulative 3.2 overall grade point average or above and at least a 3.5 in philosophy after five semesters of work in the College. Students who qualify will receive a description of the program and an invitation to apply from the Chair or Associate Chair of the department after grades for the Fall Semester (Junior Year) have been posted and before registration for Fall Semester (Senior Year) begins. In the Spring Semester of junior year, students interested in the early admission program will be required to formally indicate their desire to matriculate by filling out an application to the graduate program and submitting it to the Graduate School Admissions Office. Certain special conditions apply to these applicants:

  • Two letters of recommendation are required
  • The application fee is waived

The application will be reviewed by the department's Admissions Committee, which will make a recommendation to the Chair for or against admission to the M.A. program. The department's recommendation will be forwarded to the Graduate School for final action.

Accelerated Master's Degree Requirements

Students admitted into the program take three 5000-level graduate courses in their Senior Year. The graduate courses count toward the completion of both the B.A. degree and the M.A. degree. Students will participate in the normal B.A. graduation ceremonies in May following their Senior Year. Students then take six graduate courses at the 5000-level or above in the fifth year in order to complete the required 27 credit hours (9 courses) for the M.A. degree. All other requirements for the normal M.A. in Philosophy, including required course distribution, GPA, and the special project, apply.

Registering for Graduation

When a student anticipates that all of the requirements for the degree will have been met by the end of the current semester, the student must register to graduate online and then inform the DGS of their intention to graduate. Degrees are granted in February, May, and August.

NYC Graduate Consortium

Fordham University participates in a graduate school consortium with several other universities in the New York Metropolitan area. With the permission of their advisers at the home institution and faculty at the host institution, Ph.D. students at any of the participating universities can take one or more courses at any other school in the consortium. Students register and receive credit at their home institution, and the home institution covers tuition costs.

Fordham's membership in the consortium means that Fordham graduate students have the opportunity to take courses not only from Fordham's own internationally recognized faculty, but also from New York-based philosophers and professors. The institutions that participate in the graduate school consortium include:

  • Fordham University
  • Columbia University
  • Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY)
  • New York University
  • The New School for Social Research
  • Princeton University
  • Rutgers University
  • Stony Brook University
  • Teacher's College, Columbia University

Registering for a Consortium Class

Fordham students who wish to register for courses through the consortium must be matriculated in a GSAS doctoral program and must have completed at least one year of full-time doctoral study before taking a consortium course. Only one consortium course may be taken each semester, and courses may not be taken through the consortium during the summer. To register for consortium courses, fill out the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium Registration Form and obtain the required signatures. The form should then be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies. Deadlines for making consortium course changes (add, drop, change of grade type) are governed by the GSAS academic calendar.

Papers and Projects

M.A. Special Project

All Master’s students must complete a three-credit special project, or they may select the six-credit thesis option (see below). Possibilities for the special project include, but are not limited to:

  • Writing a research paper of 7,500 to 8,000 words;
  • Writing a paper applying philosophical ideas or concepts to another discipline or to a student’s outside interest, professional work, or volunteer service;
  • Writing a paper incorporating a series of interviews with philosophical commentary;
  • A video or other media-based project with significant philosophical content (the project must be at least thirty minutes in length); or
  • A project exemplifying or related to the digital humanities.
  • [For students in the Ph.D. program, completing 30 graduate course credits at Fordham is sufficient for receiving the M.A. in cursu.]

Two faculty members evaluate the special project on a Pass/Fail basis. The student must receive a grade of Pass from both faculty evaluators. If one evaluator assigns a grade of Pass and the other assigns a grade of Fail, a third faculty member will evaluate the project, and the student must receive a grade of Pass from the third evaluator in order to complete the requirement successfully. Special Projects must be submitted no later than December 15 for the fall semester and April 15 for the spring semester.

M.A. Thesis

M.A. students electing the thesis option will take 24 credit hours (8 courses), satisfying the M.A. distribution requirement, and complete a six-credit thesis containing a minimum of 15,000 words and not exceeding 20,000 words.

Students selecting the thesis option must by the end of their penultimate semester have identified and secured a thesis director who will guide the student through the thesis. The student must also have prepared a two- to three-page thesis proposal for approval by the director and a second reader appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The director and reader will consider the student’s previous work in determining the acceptability of the thesis proposal. The completed thesis will be read and evaluated by the mentor and the same reader on a scale of High Pass/Pass/Fail. The student must receive a grade of at least Pass from both readers. If one reader assigns a grade of Fail, the thesis will be read by a third faculty member, and the student must receive a grade of at least Pass from the third reader in order to complete the requirement successfully. Theses must be submitted no later than December 10 for the fall semester and April 10 for the spring semester.

Students successfully completing the thesis-option M.A. program will be in a position to apply to Ph.D. programs. M.A. students wishing to pursue the Ph.D. at Fordham must apply separately to the Ph.D. program. Their applications will be evaluated with all the other applications received for the Ph.D. program.

Ph.D. Qualifying Paper

Ph.D. students entering the program without an M.A. must submit a qualifying paper (5,000-7,500 words, including footnotes but excluding bibliography) of professional quality by the end of their third semester. The requirement is intended to promote the student's breadth of knowledge and professional development, and to help the student develop an AOC (area of competence). Hence, the qualifying paper will normally be in an area different from the student's intended dissertation area. Students should discuss their qualifying paper plans, including choice of topic, with their Advisory Committee. The paper will be blind reviewed by two readers chosen by the Director of Graduate Studies. If both readers deem the paper of professional quality (for example, suitable for a professional conference presentation or suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal), the paper receives a High Pass and the requirement is satisfied. If both readers assign a grade lower than a High Pass, the requirement is not satisfied. If one reader assigns a High Pass grade and the other assigns a grade lower than a High Pass, a third reader will be chosen by the Director of Graduate Studies. If the third reader assigns a High Pass grade, the requirement is satisfied. If the third reader does not assign a High Pass grade, the requirement is not satisfied. Students who do not satisfy the qualifying paper requirement on their first attempt may revise and resubmit once for reevaluation. When evaluating resubmissions, readers will take into account the student's response to feedback and the extent to which they engaged with the revision process.

Evaluating Qualifying Papers

The following list of questions represents the kinds of questions that readers have in mind when evaluating qualifying papers. It is offered here only as a guidance to students, questions that they might have in mind when composing their papers. It is important to note that different qualifying papers might have different philosophical ends and styles, and this means that, for different papers, different kinds of questions will come to the fore, while others recede into the background. It is also important to recognize that this set of questions is not exhaustive. Nor does this list—or any subset thereof—identify a set of sufficient conditions for a paper to receive a grade of High Pass.

With those caveats, here is the list of questions:

  • Does the paper address an important problem or issue in current philosophical scholarship?
  • Does it develop a clear philosophical approach or method in discussing the problem or issue at hand?
  • Is it well organized and clear?
  • Is the reasoning in the paper sound?
  • Is the textual and historical scholarship sound?
  • Does it take into account relevant existing scholarship and publications?
  • Does it make a significant contribution to current philosophical scholarship?
  • Does it use proper scholarly format and style?
  • Are there any other comments about the paper relevant to the issue of its readiness for submission to a professional journal?

A paper needing only minor revision for publication merits a High Pass. A paper requiring substantial revision merits a Pass, whereas a paper that is deemed not publishable even with revisions merits a Fail.

Dissertation Area Reading List, Paper, and Examination 

Reading List and the Oral Examination

All Ph.D. students must pass an oral examination based on both a reading list and a related paper. This paper is distinct from the Qualifying Paper submitted by the end of the third semester by the students entering the program without an M.A.

The student develops the reading list in consultation with the their dissertation mentor and two examiners (appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the mentor). The list is then approved by the committee and by the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies.

Once the reading list is approved, the student is responsible for having a Reading List Approval Form signed by all members of the committee and by the Chair (or, if designated, the Director of Graduate Studies).

The reading list should consist of three distinct areas, at least one of which should be historical. This may take the form of one historical period and two contemporary approaches, or two historical periods and one contemporary approach. The reading list should provide the student with the requisite background for the dissertation and, thus, should consist of the major primary and secondary sources in the dissertation area. The reading list should present the major alternative positions that characterize the dissertation area and should limit itself to the most important representatives of these positions. Students can ask the Director of Graduate Studies to consult some past "model" reading lists.

Students entering with an M.A. must have their reading list approved by their committee by the end of their third semester. Students entering without an M.A. must be approved by the end of their fifth semester. In both cases, students must pass their oral exam within a year of their reading list's approval (i.e., the end of the fifth semester for students entering with an M.A., and the end of the seventh semester for students entering without an M.A.). The oral exam will focus on both the full reading list and on the student's related paper, which must be submitted no later than one month before the date of the examination. Each student is expected to be able both to defend their paper's thesis and to answer questions regarding any of the items on their reading list. Oral exam dates for the fall must be set by October 15 and, for the spring, by March 15.

After the oral exam, members of the committee will write reports detailing the reasons for the grade they assign. These reports must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies within three days of the examination. Students must earn a grade of High Pass on the exam by earning a grade of High Pass from at least two of the examiners. No student receiving a grade of Fail from any examiner can achieve an overall grade of High Pass for an exam. Students may retake this examination no more than once, and a retake must be completed in the semester following the original examination.

Expectations Regarding Reading List and Exam

Graduate students studying at Fordham have every reasonable expectation that faculty, particularly those involved in graduate teaching, will be involved in the various aspects of their progress through the program, including reading list exam committees, proposal committees, and dissertation committees. Having found a faculty member who agrees to serve as mentor for the reading list and its exam, students should, in consultation with the mentor, find two further faculty members who agree to serve on that committee. Mentors should supervise the student's progress throughout the development of the reading list; other committee members should be willing to consult and offer feedback as needed in developing the list. All three members must approve the reading list as well as the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies.

During the process of developing the list, the mentor and the other two committee members should provide timely feedback when requested. Under normal circumstances, a reasonable response time for responding to a proposed reading list will be no longer than 1-2 weeks.  Students should schedule a reading list exam in consultation with the mentor and committee members, who should make an effort to be flexible in their scheduling.

It is expected that faculty members who agree to participate on a reading list committee will be involved for the duration of the project. If a faculty member must withdraw from the committee due to unforeseeable circumstances, they will give notice to the graduate student as early as possible and consult with the Director of Graduate Studies or Department Chair.

Grading Scale for the Oral Examination

The grading scale for oral examinations is High Pass, Pass, and Fail.

Dissertation

What Students Can Expect

Shortly after completing the reading list oral examination, students need to select both a topic and a mentor (director) for their dissertation. As they seek to sharpen the topic to the place where it can become a written proposal, students should discuss their ideas with a variety of faculty members. In this way, they will get a breadth of input and also get a better sense of the faculty members with whom they would like to work. Discussing a possible topic with a faculty member does not commit either party to a mentoring relationship. When the student has decided who they want to work with, they need to ask that faculty member specifically whether they will be their mentor. Once an agreement is in-place, the student and mentor will work together to bring the topic to the form of a written proposal.

Having found a faculty member who agrees to serve as a mentor, students should, in consultation with the mentor and the Director of Graduate Studies, find two further faculty members (readers) who agree to serve on the Proposal Defense Committee to read the dissertation in its entirety and to serve on the Dissertation Defense Committee. These faculty members are usually, but not necessarily, drawn from the Reading List committee. In addition, one additional faculty member (examiner) should be identified for the Proposal Defense Committee, but the examiner is not committed to reading the dissertation in its entirety.

The mentor and student should set a provisional target date for the completion of the dissertation, and they may also agree on a provisional or working timeline for the completion of particular chapters and a draft of the whole. 

Mentors should supervise the student’s progress throughout the writing process. Readers should be willing to read and offer feedback as needed on individual chapters or portions of the dissertation. The mentor and readers should provide timely feedback when requested. During the academic year, mentors and readers, if materials have been submitted to the readers, should provide feedback on chapters or larger drafts within a month of submission. The mentor (and readers, if appropriate) and the student should discuss the schedule for returning work during the summer months. If the feedback cannot be given within this time frame, mentors and/or readers should communicate with the student about when feedback can be expected.

Mentors on leave should work out with the student a plan for continued involvement during the leave period. Readers going on leave should communicate with the student and their mentor about expectations of involvement during the leave period. 

It is expected that faculty members who agree to participate on a reading list or dissertation proposal committee will be involved for the duration of the project. If a faculty member must withdraw from the committee due to unforeseeable circumstances, they will give notice to the graduate student as early as possible and consult with the Director of Graduate Studies or Department Chair.

Dissertating students, for their part, should remain in contact with their mentors and readers, respond to communications and feedback for revisions in a timely manner, and keep mentors and readers informed of any needed alterations to the working timeline or target completion date.

Students expecting spring defense date and graduation should aim to submit a draft of the dissertation by the end of the fall semester to allow time for revisions. Students expecting a fall defense date should aim to submit a draft of the dissertation before the start of the fall semester to allow time for revisions.

The Proposal

The body of the written, double-spaced dissertation proposal should be at least 3,000 but no more than 6,000 words and should include:

  • a working title;
  • an account of the topic and of its philosophical importance;
  • a strategic overview or outline, normally including a tentative sequence of chapters or sections;
  • a statement of the relation of the project to previous, especially current, discussions; and
  • a word count at the end of the body of the proposal

In addition, the proposal should include a bibliography of appropriate primary and secondary sources.

Dissertation Proposal Committee and Proposal Defense

The Dissertation Proposal Committee comprises the mentor, two readers, and a fourth faculty member (examiner) chosen in consultation with the mentor and Director of Graduate Studies.

The faculty members designated as readers agree to read the completed dissertation and possibly to be involved in the process of its production. The student is responsible for securing the agreement of all faculty members to serve. The student is also responsible for negotiating a two-hour time slot agreeable to all five parties involved and for reserving a room. While the defense may not take a full two hours, it should not go longer than two hours.

The proposal defense comes near the beginning of the dissertation process and is not intended as a presentation and defense of the conclusions the dissertation will reach. Its focus is more concerned with questions being asked in the dissertation than on the answers being given, though this is not incompatible with having one or more working hypotheses or tentative theses. The purpose is to determine whether the topic is "big" enough to be of significant philosophical import and "small" enough to be manageable in the time and space available. The discussion is not so much an exam as an attempt to formalize the earlier discussions, giving faculty members with interest or expertise related to the topic the opportunity to make suggestions for approaches to the topic, a bibliography to be explored, possible issues to be avoided, and so forth. This meeting is not open to the public.

The written proposal should be in the hands of each member of the committee at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense. They should also be given advanced notice of when they will be receiving the proposal. Proposals should be presented during the fall and spring terms and not requested during vacation periods.

The dissertation proposal will normally by defended by the end of the eighth semester (or the sixth semester for students who enter with an M.A. in philosophy). A date for the dissertation proposal defense must be set by October 15 for a defense in the fall semester and by March 15 for a defense in the spring semester. This will qualify a student to complete the requirement in that semester even if scheduling conflicts dictate that the defense be moved into the early part of the following semester. It is strongly recommended that students work to set a date with their committee as early as possible in the semester (for the fall, in September, and, for the spring, in January) so that the date can be set before the faculty members' calendars are filled.

The Dissertation

In all technical respects, the dissertation must meet the requirements of the Graduate School. These standards can be found in the GSAS Academic Policies and Procedures Guidebook. The department encourages the use of inclusive language.

The dissertation itself should be an original work of philosophical interpretation and/or argument, written in clear prose, and as jargon-free as the topic permits. It should demonstrate a high level of philosophical comprehension and an extensive mastery of the appropriate primary and secondary sources. The relevant literature is often far too large to be exhaustively mastered, but the dissertation should demonstrate the student’s ability to locate a significant body of texts appropriate to the topic and to employ them effectively (though not excessively) in developing the topic. It should demonstrate language skills appropriate to its subject matter.

During the writing of the dissertation, students should be in regular conversation with their mentors, submitting written drafts of chapters or sections from time to time for feedback and refinement. At or near the time of the proposal defense, the mentor, student, and two readers should come to an agreement on how the two readers will be involved. It is given that they will read the final draft of the completed dissertation and be questioners at the oral defense, but the nature and extent of their involvement during its writing are negotiable.

The dissertation should not exceed 350 pages, including notes and bibliography, in standard 12-point typeface. The purpose of this limitation is to compel the author to exercise judgment about what is essential to the project.

The complete dissertation should be in the hands of the mentor and the two readers at least four weeks prior to the defense. The summary should be in the hands of the examiners at least two weeks prior to the defense. Again, all members of the committee should also be given some advanced notice of when they will be receiving the dissertation or summary essay.

A date for the dissertation must be set by October 15 for a defense to occur in the fall semester and by March 15 for a defense to occur in the spring semester. Students should remember that the GSAS will not guarantee May graduation for students defending their dissertations after April 15. After the defense and after all corrections are made, the dissertation must be submitted to the GSAS in electronic format. Any student wishing a hard copy stored in the departmental library must arrange for the submission of an appropriately bound and formatted hard copy.

Defense of the Dissertation

When a student and her or his mentor and readers believe that the dissertation is ready to defend, the student should set a date for the defense and notify the Director of Graduate Studies and departmental secretary. A defense occurs only when the mentor and the readers agree that the completed version that they have read is ready to be defended.

The student's defense committee consists of five members. Ordinarily, they are the dissertation mentor (a member of the department), two readers (both members of the department), and two other members (who might or might not be members of the department, but must normally have an official affiliation with an accredited university). If the two other members belong to the department, they serve as examiners. If one or both are external to the department or Fordham, they can also serve as readers.

If a student has co-mentors, the members of the defense committee are: the two co-mentors (both members of the department), two readers (both members of the department), and another member (an examiner if from the department, or an examiner or a reader if from outside the department).

In the case of co-tutelle arrangements, the membership of the defense committee is determined in accordance with the contract between the two institutions that are parties to the co-tutelle agreement.

The mentors and the readers will read the entire dissertation. The examiners will read a summary of about 20-25 pages. This can be taken directly from the Introduction and Conclusion of the dissertation or it can be a separate essay.

The mentor and the student, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, agree together on whom to invite to fill the other four slots. Normally, but not necessarily, those who served on the proposal committee will be on the defense committee as well. Once again, it is the student’s task to secure the agreement of any new members of the committee and to arrange for the time and place of the defense.

The defense is scheduled for two hours, during which all five members of the committee will question the author in turn. Typically the mentor and readers will question the student for thirty minutes each, and the examiners will question the student for fifteen minutes each. It is not necessary that the author secure the agreement and consent of the committee members (even the mentor) to his or her main conclusions, but it is expected that these will be defended cogently and knowledgeably. Since the author is on the verge of passing from student to professional colleague of the examiners, they can expect to be pressed hard on central points in the manner that the examiners would press each other when presenting papers.

The defense is open to the public, and students are invited to attend the defenses of other students prior to their own so as to get a sense of what it is like. At the conclusion of the defense, the committee members will ask everyone else, including the author, to leave the room while they make their official decision whether or not the defense has been satisfactory.

Registration

Students register for PHIL 0950 Proposal Development (one credit) each semester during the process of preparing their proposal. In the semester during which the proposal is accepted by the department, the dean’s office will change the student’s registration to PHIL 0960 Proposal Acceptance (three credits).

In the semester after the proposal is accepted, students are registered for PHIL 0970 Dissertation Mentoring and PHIL 9999 Dissertation Direction. Thereafter, they register for PHIL 9999 Dissertation Direction.

Financial Aid

Graduate Assistantships and Teaching Fellowships

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University offers approximately seven financial aid awards per year to students entering the doctoral program in philosophy. Each award is guaranteed for six years (five years for students entering with an M.A.) provided that students make satisfactory progress toward the degree. Students serve as graduate assistants for the first two years, assisting a faculty member in his or her teaching and research, instructing undergraduates in the University Writing Center, or working in an academic administrative office. A graduate assistant is expected to perform these duties for approximately eighteen hours per week.

Stipends are increased when an assistantship changes to a teaching fellowship. Fellowships and assistantships include tuition remission and a stipend for up to twelve credits per semester and for six credits in the summer.

Distinguished Fellowships

GSAS provides distinguished fellowships on a competitive basis, and currently offers the following fellowships, usually applied for in the following order:

The Research Fellowship is for students beginning work on their dissertation research projects – either pre- or post-proposal. The grant is awarded on a competitive basis and will reward students who have presented papers at conferences, published articles or book reviews, and submitted proposals for external fellowships.

The Senior Teaching Fellowship is designed for students who have already completed a teaching fellowship within their department and have demonstrated effective teaching skills.

The Alumni Dissertation Fellowship allows students to devote full-time work to the dissertation and is meant to enable them to complete it during the fellowship year.

The Tomasic Fellowship allows students to devote full-time work to the dissertation and is intended for students specializing in Medieval Philosophy.

Each year, the DGS will inform students of the deadline and procedures for applying for the distinguished fellowships.

Research Support Grants

The GSAS Summer Research Fellowship provides support to students who wish to devote the summer to work on articles for publication, conference papers, and proposals to apply for prestigious fellowships. Any doctoral or masters student may apply.

The Graduate Student Association administers small grants to assist students with travel to conferences and research sites. Please consult the GSA office concerning this program, which is not administered through the department.