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Students must present a portfolio of scholarship and pass an oral examination before progressing to the doctoral level of the program.

Note: It is assumed that the current course distribution requirements in the History of Philosophy – one course in Ancient Philosophy, one course in Medieval Philosophy, one course in Modern Philosophy and one course in post-Hegelian Philosophy – will have been completed before the exam.

No later than one week before the fall semester of the third year, full time students must without exception present the Director of Graduate Studies a portfolio of three papers submitted to satisfy the requirements for seminars taken in their normal course of study in the previous four semesters. The portfolios will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Graduate Committee. One week before the fall break, this subcommittee will present students with a list of questions that will form the basis of an oral examination to be administered in the week after the fall break. 

The oral exam will be graded on the following scale: pass with distinction, pass, failure. This grade will become part – together with the portfolio, the record of course grades, the record of incomplete courses and other evidence of professional preparation including published materials and conference presentations – of a comprehensive evaluation by the Graduate Committee of each student’s qualification to be admitted to the PhD level of the graduate program. The results of this comprehensive evaluation will be communicated to students before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The portfolio should be comprised of three well-written and cogently argued papers that taken together clearly demonstrate a grounding in the history of philosophy. The papers may but need not be reworked by students prior to submitting them as part of their portfolio. The papers should be chosen by students as representative of their preparation to advance to the next level in the graduate program. At least one of these papers must be on a subject in the history of philosophy from the Ancient to the Modern period, up to and including Hegel. At least one of these papers must be on a subject in the history of philosophy from the period following Hegel to the present. All three papers must be presented with a word count and must be 6,000-7,000 words long, including footnotes.

The subcommittee will be formed by the graduate director from a regular rotation of faculty serving on the Graduate Committee. The subcommittee will be free to divide the work involved in developing questions from the portfolios as it sees fit.

The list of questions presented to students will be drawn from the papers students submit in their portfolio. Students will be presented with no more than six questions. Which of these questions are asked in the course of the oral examination will be decided exclusively by the examining subcommittee.

The oral examination will be used as a springboard to allow students to demonstrate their philosophical acumen and will test a student’s knowledge of the history, tradition and transmission of the conceptual variation in the areas represented by the papers in the student’s portfolio. It will last no longer than 90 minutes.

Once your dissertation has been approved by your advisor and/or faculty committee, several steps must be take in order to complete your degree requirements. Please review the from the Office of Graduate Studies.

The  goal of the Teacher Training Program is to expose the students to a wide variety of teaching and learning approaches that will help them develop as teachers, and make them even more marketable when they go on the job market.

First Year

Fall Semester: Students will spend the first semester in the Writing Center working and with students needing help with their writing assignments and papers.

Spring Semester: Students will participate in a series of rotations so that graduate students will get experience working with different student populations and needs. For example, students might spend three or four weeks working in Learning Support Services (with students with learning disabilities), three weeks in Academic Support for Athletes, three weeks working with reference librarians, and return to the writing center for another three or four weeks to help out during the peak demand periods.

Second and Third Years

Students will alternate between the assistantship duties listed below during the course of their second and third years, fulfilling one of these assistantship responsibilities in each of the four semesters:

• Assisting an Instructor in ACS in conjunction with one of the first year learning communities, giving exposure to teaching in an interdisciplinary writing intensive program.
• Assisting in an Ethics course offered through the Ethics Program and developing the beginning of a teaching competency in Ethics.
• Assisting in Knowledge Reality Self course in the Philosophy Department.
• Assisting in and Advanced Course in the Philosophy Department.

Fourth Year

Students will form a dissertation committee, prepare a preliminary exam proposal and pass all language competency requirements. Typically, students are expected to pass the preliminary exam during their fourth year and then make a public defense of their proposal so that they have completed all requirements for ABD status in the program. In addition, all fourth year students will be required to be present and participate in a four-to-five-day intensive teacher training seminar that will emphasize syllabi preparation, book orders, teaching the core philosophy course in our program, but also the use of cutting edge techniques and technologies designed for effective pedagogy. During this week, students will also be expected to meet with the graduate director regarding their progress in preparing for ABD status by the end of their fourth year. This seminar will be mandatory for all students and require that all students be physically present.

Fifth and Sixth Years

Students typically teach two courses per semester as adjuncts. Because of the teacher training program, they will be qualified to teach our core course Knowledge Reality Self and upper level courses when needed, but also interdisciplinary courses in ACS and Ethics.

Current students should access Philosophy Department specific forms and policies via the  (VU username and password required).

Review the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences .