DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

Requirements

1. Course work: On entering the program, students choose one of two areas of specialization: Knowledge and Representation (focusing on cognitive, linguistic, and cultural systems of representation) and Values and Society (focusing on moral and political values in relation to the social context). They take 60 credits of philosophy (achieving a grade of at least A or B in each), including 16 credits of core courses, 12 credits of history-of-philosophy courses, and 20 credits in the area of specialization. The remaining 12 credits may be chosen from any graduate philosophy courses above 500, as long as all departmental regulations are satisfied. Students may substitute up to 8 credits in another department for 8 of the 20 credits in the area of specialization, provided this is warranted by their program and the Graduate Studies Committee approves.
1. Core courses: All students in either area of specialization will take three core courses (12 credits), one from each of the following groups:
1. Phi 522 (Theory of Knowledge) or Phi 520 (Philosophy of Science)
2. Phi 512 (Metaphysics) or Phi 515 (Philosophy of Language) or Phi 516 (Philosophy of Mind)
3. Phi 523 (Ancient Ethical Theory) or Phi 524 (17th-19th Century Ethical Theory) or Phi 525 (Contemporary Ethical Theory)
2. History-of-philosophy courses: All students in either area of specialization take three courses (12 credits) in history of philosophy. Students must choose at least one course from each of groups (a) and (b); the third course may come from either (a) or (b) or from group (c):
1. Phi 550 (Plato), Phi 552 (Aristotle), Phi 553 (Medieval Philosophy)
2. Phi 544 (British Empiricism), Phi 546 (The Continental Rationalists), Phi 554 (Kant and Continental Idealism)
3. Phi 523 (Ancient Ethical Theory), Phi 524 (17th-19th Century Ethical Theory), Phi 542 (Phenomenology), Phi 555 (19th Century Continental Philosophy), Phi 556 (Pragmatism), Phi 572 (History of Political Philosophy), Phi 624 (Topics in the History of Philosophy), Phi 627 (History of Logic)
Any course from groups (a) to (c) taken as a core course may not also be counted as a history course.
3. Additional core course: All students take one more course (4 credits) to be selected from core-course areas (a), (b), or (c), or from history-of- philosophy areas (a) or (b).
4. Courses in the area of specialization: All students must take at least 5 courses (20 credits) in their area of specialization.


Knowledge and Representation courses:

Phi 512 Metaphysics
Phi 515 Philosophy of Language
Phi 516 Philosophy of Mind
Phi 518 Analytic Philosophy
Phi 520 Philosophy of Science
Phi 522 Theory of Knowledge
Phi 531 Logic and Philosophy
Phi 532 Completeness and Decidability
Phi 538 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Phi 558 Theory of Art
Phi 610 Topics in Philosophy of Science
Phi 612 Topics in Metaphysics
Phi 614 Topics in Epistemology
Phi 618 Topics in Logic
Phi 623 Topics in Aesthetics
Phi 638 Topics in Theories of Criticism
Phi 652 Topics in Philosophical Psychology
Phi 662 Topics in Cognitive Science

Values and Society courses:

Phi 505 Ethics and Public Policy
Phi 506 Philosophical and Ethical Issues in Public Health
Phi 525 Contemporary Ethical Theory
Phi 528 Theory and Function of Religion
Phi 530 Philosophy and Public Affairs
Phi 535 Philosophy of Race
Phi 560 Philosophy and the Humanities
Phi 568 Philosophy and Literature
Phi 574 Contemporary Political Philosophy
Phi 616 Topics in the Philosophy of Religion
Phi 621 Topics in Ethics
Phi 632 Topics in Applied Ethics
Phi 634 Topics in Philosophy of Law
Phi 674 Topics in Political Philosophy

With the permission of the instructor and Graduate Studies Committee, Topics courses used to satisfy the area-of-specialization requirement may be repeated for credit. With permission of the Graduate Studies Committee, Phi 697 (Independent Study) and Phi 750 and 751 (Advanced Seminars in Philosophy) may be counted as satisfying the area-of- specialization requirement, and up to 8 credits in a cognate field may be substituted for 8 credits in the area of specialization when the student's program warrants.  No course may be counted as fulfilling both the area-of- specialization and the core-course requirement or both the area-of- specialization and the history-of-philosophy requirement.
 

2. Demonstration of competence in logic through successful course work or examination.
3. Research-tool/language requirement: All students must either (a) demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language, the language to be approved as appropriate to their work by the Graduate Studies Committee, or (b) demonstrate competence in some other nonphilosophy area of expertise judged appropriate to their work by the Graduate Studies Committee (normally this will involve four credits of graduate course work in a cognate field).
4. Examinations: (a) By the end of the fifth semester in the program, satisfactory completion of General Examinations in (1) metaphysics and epistemology, (2) value theory, and (3) history of philosophy. (b) By the completion of their course work (60 credits), students must take the Topical Examination on the Dissertation Prospectus and the relevant literature and issues.
5. Full Time Study in Residence:  Students are not required to meet this requirement.
6. Dissertation: The student must submit an acceptable dissertation, representing a significant, original contribution to his or her area of specialization. A defense of the dissertation is required, and the final dissertation must be approved by a majority of the student's Dissertation Committee.

Advances in biomedical sciences and medical technology raise urgent questions that must be addressed at the philosophical and public policy level. The dual doctoral and master�s degree in philosophy and bioethics provides an education designed to serve precisely this need and opens up career opportunities in hospitals, medical schools, government agencies and elsewhere that are normally unavailable to those who have a philosophy degree without training in clinical ethics and public policy.

The dual degree program requires 82 credit hours: 52 credits in the Ph.D. Philosophy and 30 credits in the M.S. in Bioethics programs. Students need to complete all the requirements of the Philosophy Ph.D. as mentioned above and specialize in the Values and Society track. Three courses (MED 202: Clinical Ethics; MED 301: Clinical Practicum; and MED 302: On-Line Clinical Practicum) offered by the Albany Medical College/Graduate College of Union University for the M.S. in Bioethics will be recognized as credits in an area of specialization outside of Philosophy and will be counted as eight credits towards the Philosophy Ph.D. Ten credits taken while pursuing the Philosophy Ph.D. will be counted toward the Bioethics M.S. Normally a total of 100 credit hours would be required to complete both degrees if taken individually. Therefore, a distinct advantage of the dual degree program is the sharing of these eighteen credits in fulfillment of both degrees.

To become enrolled in the dual degree program students must apply to each program separately through its own institution�s admissions process and must be accepted by each program in accordance with its admissions standards. Students will attend the University at Albany campus for philosophy work. Bioethics courses will be taken either online or in person on the Albany Medical College campus.

Program Leading to the Master of Arts Degree*

Program Requirements:

1. All students do 30 credits of course work above 500 (achieving a grade of at least A or B in each course) and fulfill the M.A. distribution requirement and the M.A. logic requirements, as specified below. (A student may substitute up to 8 credits of course work in another department for 8 of the 30 credits in philosophy, provided it is warranted by the student's program and the Graduate Studies Committee approves. The M.A. distribution and logic requirements will be fulfilled automatically by Ph.D. students who satisfy the Ph.D. core-course and history-of-philosophy course requirements, the Ph.D. logic requirement, and the Ph.D. research-tool/language requirement.)
2. Each student then either (a) writes an M.A. thesis in philosophy (Phi 699) for 6 credits or (b) (i) does 14 more credits of course work in philosophy in courses numbered above 500 (achieving a grade of at least A or B in each course), for a total of 44 units of course work, and (ii) passes the three Ph.D. General Examinations with an overall grade of at least M.A.-level pass. (The usual terminal M.A. student will pursue (a), and the usual Ph.D. student who wishes to earn an M.A. will pursue (b); but it is open to any student seeking an M.A. to pursue either (a) or (b).)
3. Distribution requirement: Students must take at least one course from each of three areas: Metaphysics and Epistemology, Value Theory, and History of Philosophy.


Metaphysics and Epistemology M.A. courses:

Phi 512 Metaphysics
Phi 515 Philosophy of Language
Phi 516 Philosophy of Mind
Phi 518 Analytic Philosophy
Phi 520 Philosophy of Science
Phi 522 Theory of Knowledge
Phi 531 Logic and Philosophy
Phi 532 Completeness and Decidability
Phi 538 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Phi 610 Topics in Philosophy of Science
Phi 612 Topic in Metaphysics
Phi 614 Topics in Epistemology
Phi 618 Topics in Logic
Phi 623 Topics in Aesthetics
Phi 638 Topics in Theories of Criticism
Phi 652 Topics in Philosophical Psychology
Phi 662 Topics in Cognitive Science

Value-Theory M.A. courses:

Phi 505 Ethics and Public Policy
Phi 506 Philosophical and Ethical Issues in Public Health
Phi 523 Ancient Ethical Theory
Phi 524 17th-19th Century Ethical Theory
Phi 525 Contemporary Ethical Theory
Phi 528 Theory and Function of Religion
Phi 530 Philosophy and Public Affairs
Phi 535 Philosophy of Race
Phi 558 Theory of Art
Phi 560 Philosophy and the Humanities
Phi 568 Philosophy and Literature
Phi 574 Contemporary Political Philosophy
Phi 616 Topics in the Philosophy of Religion
Phi 621 Topics in Ethics
Phi 632 Topics in Applied Ethics
Phi 634 Topics in Philosophy of Law
Phi 674 Topics in Political Philosophy

History-of-Philosophy M.A. courses:

Phi 544 British Empiricism
Phi 546 The Continental Rationalists
Phi 550 Plato
Phi 552 Aristotle
Phi 553 Medieval Philosophy
Phi 554 Kant and Continental Idealism
 

4. Demonstration of competence in logic through successful course work or examination.

Qualified undergraduates may apply for admission to the M.A. program and, if approved, simultaneously work toward completion of the requirements for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. See Combined Baccalaureate- Masters's Degree Programs for details.

Additional Information about the Ph.D. and M.A. Programs

For further details of the Ph.D. and M.A. programs and their requirements, students are instructed to consult the department's Graduate Handbook.

Admissions

Each applicant to the Ph.D. or the M.A. program must submit official GRE scores on the aptitude test (analytical and verbal) and samples of philosophical work written by the applicant and verified by his or her professor. Applications to the Ph.D. program from students who have done graduate work elsewhere are welcome. At the discretion of the Graduate Studies Committee, up to 30 credits of earlier graduate course work may be counted as fulfilling the requirements of the Albany Ph.D. program. Official transcripts and descriptions of the courses to be transferred should be submitted with the application for admission.

*This program is not open to students completing preparation qualifying for secondary-school teaching certificate.