Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology
Graduate Programs in Philosophy
Overview
The MA in Philosophy offers grounding in the history of philosophy. In addition to shared research strengths in the history of philosophy, faculty expertise spans Continental and Analytic traditions and includes areas such as Hermeneutics, Phenomenology, Deconstruction, Aesthetics, Philosophy of Psychiatry, Philosophy of Science and Medicine, Ethics and Moral Psychology, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Race, Philosophy of Gender and Feminism, Chinese Philosophy, and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Philosophy. The program also provides professionalization training, either preparing applications to PhD programs or other non-academic opportunities.
Master of Arts in Philosophy
33 semester credit hours minimum
Admission Requirements
In addition to the University's general admission requirements, applicants are required to submit the following materials as part of their application file for holistic admission consideration:
- Two letters of recommendation.
- A statement of purpose/essay.
- A curriculum vitae (CV) or resume.
- Optional - An academic writing sample of any length. (Applicants who would like to submit this item should include the writing sample in the same file/document as the required statement of purpose/essay and upload the combined document through their application checklist.)
Deadline: Please take note of regular application deadlines. All complete application files received by the deadline will be reviewed for admissions. Students are accepted for the fall and spring semesters.
- Fall Deadline - May 1
- Spring Deadline - October 1
Applications submitted or completed after the deadline may be reviewed for admission only if spaces remain within the upcoming cohort and will be reviewed in order by the date the application file became complete.
Faculty
Professor: Charles R. Bambach, Jonathan Tsou
Associate Professor: Katherine Davies
Assistant Professors: Humberto González Núnez, Songyao Ren
Associate Professor Emeritus: Peter Park
Coursework: 33 semester credit hours
Thirty-three semester credit hours taken as organized graduate-level courses in Philosophy (PHIL).
Required Course: 3 semester credit hours
PHIL 6300 Professionalization Seminar
Elective Option: 3 semester credit hours
Any graduate course in the Bass school counts toward this option. Students may submit a petition to the program head for up to one graduate course outside of the Bass school to be counted toward the degree requirements.
Historical Distribution Requirement:
Coursework must cover two of three of the following periods in the history of philosophy:
- Ancient Philosophy
- Modern Philosophy
- 19th and 20th Century Philosophy
Professionalization Seminar:
This seminar is required of all MA students and is designed to support students in their professional goals to complete a PhD program or pursue alt-academic career paths. This project-based seminar introduces students to the three major tenets of professional life in academic philosophy: research, teaching, and service. In addition to exploring various career pathways within and beyond the academy, this course offers students the opportunity to plan and refine their career goals with peer feedback and instructor guidance.
Language Requirement:
The PHIL MA degree requires demonstrated proficiency in an approved foreign language. The requirement can be satisfied upon enrollment in the MA program by demonstrating evidence of one or more of the following:
- Completion of a graduate course taught in a foreign language or with more than 25% of its required readings in a foreign language.
- An undergraduate major, graduate degree, or certificate in a foreign language.
- Successful completion of graded coursework at a foreign university at which the primary language of instruction is not English.
- A degree in any discipline from a foreign university at which the primary language of instruction is not English.
- The requirement can be satisfied during graduate study at UT Dallas in one of the following ways:
- Completion of a second-semester, intermediate-level foreign language course or higher at UT Dallas or elsewhere with a grade of B or better.
- Successful completion of LIT 6326 Translation Workshop with a grade of B or better.
- Passing a written translation exam in an approved foreign language at UT Dallas.
Students for whom foreign language research capabilities are not relevant for their professional goals may petition the director of philosophy for an exemption. An exemption should be requested prior to the completion of 18 SCHs or the first full-time year of graduate study.