The Department of Philosophy offers programs leading to the Master of Arts and to the Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The Department also offers a terminal M.A. degree in Philosophy and the Arts, with some classes conveniently located both on Stony Brook's main campus on Long Island and in Manhattan. The Graduate Program has been innovative since its beginning, incorporating interdisciplinary research as well as skills necessary to work with texts in foreign languages into its structure, considering broad knowledge in the history of philosophy requisite to doing original research, and incorporating a teaching skills component long before others have done so. Other new directions in the study of philosophy initiated by the Department at Stony Brook include the establishment of Graduate Certificates attesting to a student's intensive course work and qualifying the student to teach at the interface of a related discipline. Currently the Department offers Graduate Certificates in Art and Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Women's Studies, and Advanced Study in Literature and Philosophy, with others in the planning stages. The reader will find references to many other initiatives and innovations throughout this brochure.

The purpose of the Doctoral Program is to prepare students for independent research and scholarship in the field, and to help them develop the necessary intellectual and pedagogical skills for teaching philosophy. The requirements and review processes are designed so that all seminar and most non-seminar work will be completed by the end of the third year, leaving the fourth year for dissertation research and writing.

The Program includes seminars from these categories: History of Philosophy, Interface Studies, and Contemporary Philosophy; with each student selecting additional seminars in one category to form a concentration. In addition to thirteen seminars (39 credits), there is a Teaching Practicum, logic and language requirements, two research papers, a History of Philosophy Exam, and a Prospectus Seminar. At the end of each year, a progress review aims to ensure completion of all requirements short of ABD status, "all but dissertation," by the end of the third year so that the fourth year is a dissertation year. Here is a summary of reviewed progress for each year:

First Year Second Year Third Year
3 seminars each term
1 non-seminar unit
2 seminars each term
History of Philosophy Exam
Teaching Practicum
1 non-seminar unit
 		1 seminar each term
Remaining non-seminar units
ABD preparation
Prospectus Seminar
The department continues its pedagogical training through courses taught by graduate students which form an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences. Many doctoral students in the department have won Stony Brook's "President's Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student," and it is proud of the outstanding reputation its doctoral students have earned as undergraduate teachers.

Currently, there are over sixty graduate students enrolled in the Doctoral Program, many from other countries including Argentina, Canada, Germany, and Turkey, and from a wide range of liberal arts colleges and universities in the United States. A significant number participate in conferences and publish articles in philosophy journals prior to the completion of their doctoral degrees. Our graduate students have inaugurated their own journals and conferences, most recently an annual graduate student conference whose purpose is to address questions from a broad range of philosophical perspectives and to bridge the apparent divide between Anglo-American and Continental philosophy. Opportunities to study abroad, within the Doctoral Program, are described in this brochure.

Considering applying? Read the following:
Admission Requirements Available Courses Dissertations Placement Graduate Students Life at Stony Brook Contact