Masters Degree

Degrees Offered

The Program

The graduate program in philosophy offers students the opportunity to prepare for Ph.D. study at another institution, or to study philosophy beyond the baccalaureate level for its own sake. The program is reasonably broad, encompassing both the analytic and continental traditions, both rigorous work in the history of philosophy and work centered on contemporary issues. Classes are small; much instruction takes tutorial form.

Admissions Requirements

All applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. institution or equivalent degree. The degree should be in the field of philosophy; provisional admission, however, may be granted to promising applicants lacking a full undergraduate background in philosophy.

Instructions for applying to the Graduate School are in the "Admissions" section. The application deadline for the program is two months before the semester for which enrollment is sought. Preference, on a competitive basis, will be given to qualified students who have completed applications by February 1.

In addition to the application materials required by the Graduate School, the Department of Philosophy requires the following materials:

A letter describing the applicant's reasons for pursuing graduate study in philosophy.
A sample of the applicant's writing that provides evidence of a capacity for careful analytic thought.

Application Deadlines

Two months before the semester for which enrollment is sought. (Other deadlines may apply for financial aid; please see the Financial Assistance section immediately below.)

Financial Assistance

The Department awards a limited number of teaching assistantships to qualified students. These carry a stipend of about $9,000 and a partial waiver of fees. Applications for assistantships are due by February 1. Fall entry applicants qualifying for financial aid (evidenced by FAFSA submission), and applying to the M.A. program by Feb. 1st, will be eligible for the Andresen Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. Applicants must indicate their desire to be considered for this scholarship in their letter of intent or by emailing the department before Feb. 1st. Philosophy graduate students are also eligible for the Bertha Morton Fellowship and other University-wide financial aid programs, including those supported by the Federal government. Further information is available from the "Fees and Financial Aid" section of the Graduate School web site and from the UM Financial Aid Office .

Requirements for the M.A. Degree, Traditional Emphasis

All candidates must complete 2 credits in PHIL 510 (Colloquium), and 15 graduate credits in philosophy courses distributed among the following three areas: I. Logic and Philosophy of Science, Mind, or Language; II. Value Theory; III. History of Philosophy. At least one course must be taken in each of the three areas. PHIL 501, 502, and 503 fall respectively under areas I, II, and III. PHIL 504 falls under area II. Identification of areas satisfied by a given semester's PHIL 505 and by any specific undergraduate course taken for graduate credit may be obtained from the department. By Graduate School policy, at least half of the credits submitted for the degree (other than credits in PHIL 591, 593, 597 and 599) must be taken at the 500 level.

Requirements for the Thesis Option

A thesis and a minimum of 30 graduate credits must be presented for the degree, including the 17 credit core described above in the general requirements, an additional 9 credits in courses other than PHIL 599 (Thesis), and 4 credits in PHIL 599. The thesis will be prepared in consultation with the student's advisory committee and may take either of two forms: (a) a traditional monograph, or (b) a portfolio of three papers on a single broad focus. A maximum of 3 credits in courses outside philosophy may be counted toward the degree upon approval of the department.

Requirements for the Nonthesis Option

A minimum of 38 graduate credits must be presented for the degree, including the 17 credit core described above in the general requirements. A maximum of 6 credits in courses outside philosophy may be counted toward the degree upon approval of the department. Additionally, a candidate must pass an examination in a principal area of philosophy and prepare and defend a research paper. The research paper will be prepared in consultation with the student's advisory committee. Selection of the area for examination will be made by the advisory committee in consultation with the student.

Requirements for the M.A. Degree, Environmental Emphasis

Students may earn an M.A. in Philosophy with an emphasis in Environmental Philosophy as preparation for doctoral work in philosophy or for work in such related fields as environmental law, policy, or community activism. The program is designed for students with undergraduate degrees in philosophy. A student with the appropriate professional background wishing to take this degree while remaining in his or her career may be able to waive up to six of the 36 required credits. Three of these will be the internship and the other three will depend upon the student’s background. In order to be eligible for this waiver, such a student must satisfy the entire admissions committee that he or she has adequate preparation in philosophy before being admitted to the program. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY EMPHASIS.

Faculty

The program offered to graduate students in the Department is shaped by the professional interests of the faculty. The diversity of the faculty is sufficient to accommodate graduate work in most of the standard fields of the discipline. UM's philosophy faculty displays an extraordinary commitment to bring philosophical insight to bear upon the vital issues of the day. Thus, much of the faculty's research takes place at the borders of traditional professional concerns; it treats reflectively or theoretically issues in art, science, technology, the law, medicine, the environment, the women's movement and elsewhere.

Albert Borgmann, Ph.D., University of Munich, 1963
Philosophy of Society and Culture

Bridget Clarke, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2003
Ethics, History of Ethics, Moral Psychology

Armond Duwell, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2004
Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Physics, Metaphysics, Epistemology

Stephen Grimm, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, 2005
Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, Ethics, Applied Ethics,
History of Philosophy (esp. Early Modern and Kant), Philosophy of Mind, Logic

Thomas Huff, Ph.D., Rice University, 1968
Philosophy of Law, Political Philosophy, Ethics
(Professor Emeritus)

Paul Muench, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2006
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Ancient Greek Philosophy (especially Plato's Socrates),
Wittgenstein, Philosophy of Literature and Film

Christopher Preston, Ph.D., University of Oregon, 1999
Environmental Philosophy, Feminist Epistemology, Ethics, Interdisciplinary Science and Ethics

David Sherman, Ph.D., University of Texas, 2000
Department Chair
German Idealism, Critical Theory, Phenomenology, Existentialism, Postmodernism, Social and Political Theory

Deborah Slicer, Ph.D., Philosophy, 1989, M.F.A., Creative Writing, University of Virginia, 2000
Environmental Philosophy, Philosophy of Literature, Ethics.

Richard E. Walton, M.A., Claremont Graduate School, 1972
Plato, Aristotle, Medical Ethics, Philosophical Aspects of Computing

For additional information please contact the
Department of Philosophy
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-5780

Phone: (406) 243-2171
FAX: (406) 243-5313
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