Director
of Graduate Studies: Professor
Ermanno Bencivenga
Consistently ranked
by the Philosophical Gourmet among the top twenty programs
in the U.S., the Ph.D. program in Philosophy is jointly
administered by the Department of Philosophy in the School
of Humanities and the Department
of Logic and Philosophy of Science in the School of
Social Sciences. The program accordingly has two distinct
tracks--the Philosophy track and the LPS track--which share
a common core of requirements in history of philosophy,
logic, ethics, and metaphysics and epistemology. Because
each department makes its own admissions decisions, students
should apply to the track whose curriculum most closely
corresponds to their own interests. The Philosophy track
is described here.
UCI’s Philosophy
Department is committed to providing students a well-rounded
graduate education, including central areas of contemporary
philosophy and a solid foundation in the history of philosophy.
While many of our students choose to specialize in the history
of Philosophy or the Continental tradition, areas in which
the Department enjoys international recognition, students
with other areas of specialization are welcome and well
represented. Those with interests in mathematics, the natural
sciences, or the social sciences are encouraged to take
courses in Logic and Philosophy of Science and to include
LPS faculty members on their dissertation committees. Our
cooperative two-track program provides students the benefits
of faculty expertise in a host of areas.
Every year the Philosophy
Department invites distinguished philosophers from other
universities to present their work to our faculty and graduate
students. Participation in this colloquium series, though
not mandatory, contributes significantly to graduate education.
Colloquia sponsored by Logic and Philosophy of Science might
also be of interest to Philosophy track students.
As at other leading
research universities, the seminar is the primary forum
for graduate-level instruction in philosophy. Graduate education
at UCI nonetheless has several distinctive features. Because
admission to our Ph.D. program is based on merit, there
is no bias against applicants with an interrupted education
or with an M.A. from another university. Instead of shifting
suddenly from coursework to dissertation work, UCI students
make the transition gradually. In the second year of the
program, they work closely with a faculty member of their
choice, exploring an area of specialization and developing
the skills they will need for dissertation research. Our
Tools of Research requirement enables students to choose
between studying a second language and graduate coursework
in a department other than Philosophy, depending upon their
choice of dissertation topic. Last but not least, congenial
relations between graduate students and faculty lead to
an unusual number of student-faculty reading groups. The
Cartesian Circle, one long-standing reading group, meets
regularly to discuss topics in early modern philosophy.
Other reading groups are formed each year–sometimes
by the initiative of students, sometimes by the initiative
of faculty–to discuss special topics of shared interest.
Course credit may be granted for participation in a reading
group if the student submits appropriate written work.
Each new graduate
student is assigned a faculty member responsible for overseeing
the student's progress through the major requirements of
the program. The student consults with this adviser each
quarter about any administrative or academic difficulties.
Each student's overall record is reviewed by the Philosophy
Department annually, customarily during the first two weeks
of April. After satisfying the history, logic, field, tools
of research, and portfolio requirements, the student chooses
a candidacy committee to supervise the qualifying examination,
the development of a dissertation project, and the writing
of the dissertation itself. The chair of this committee
is the student’s principal dissertation adviser.
