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ADMISSION
REQUIREMENTS
The M.A. enables students to discover whether they should pursue the
Ph.D. and prepares them for admission to high quality doctoral programs
as well as for a wide variety of careers. As the only graduate
philosophy program in a public university in Louisiana, one of its chief
aims is to assist students who have not had the opportunity to complete
an undergraduate philosophy degree. The M.A. in philosophy should help
such students to develop the necessary background as well as to determine whether to
pursue doctoral level studies. The faculty, therefore, welcomes
qualified and motivated students who lack extensive undergraduate work
in philosophy.
Students who have completed at least 18 hours in philosophy, with
courses in history of philosophy, ethics and logic, are ideally prepared
for graduate work in philosophy. Incoming graduate students who lack a
strong background in philosophy will ordinarily be required to focus
first on developing the necessary basis for further studies. This may
include taking some undergraduate level courses.
The department’s Graduate Committee will decide what courses, if any,
each incoming graduate student will be required to take, taking into
account the student’s precise background and stated area(s) of
interest.
Any student who is required to take undergraduate level courses will be
informed of that when they are admitted to the program. In some cases
students will be allowed to attend the undergraduate level course, do
additional work for it (such as more reading and writing on its subject
matter), and get graduate credit for it. This will be accomplished by
having the student register for PHIL 4991: Independent Research.
GRADUATE
ADVISOR
Incoming students are automatically assigned to the Graduate Committee
Chairperson or to another member of the Graduate Committee for advising.
It is the responsibility of the advisor to approve the student’s
schedule, to see that she follows the general guidelines of the
department, and to monitor the student’s general progress. It should
be kept in mind that the graduate faculty as a whole offers the graduate
program, and that each graduate student is free to discuss any academic
matter of concern with any member of the graduate faculty. Serious
problems should be referred to the Graduate Committee Chairperson, a
member of the Graduate Committee, or the Department Chairperson. When a
graduate student chooses a major professor (i.e., the thesis adviser)
from the graduate faculty, the major professor will assume the functions
of the graduate advisor.
DEGREE
REQUIREMENTS
The M.A., normally completed in two academic years, must be completed
within a maximum of three years. Exceptions to this rule will require
approval by the Graduate Committee. The work of each student will be
reviewed at the end of every semester in order to determine his/her
progress and the advisability of continuing graduate studies.
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS
There are two avenues to the M.A. in philosophy: thesis and non-thesis.
Students who enter the M.A. program with adequate or ideal preparation
should bear in mind that writing an M.A. thesis at the end of three
semesters of course work can be just the right exercise of independent
thought and philosophical initiative to complement a period in which his
philosophical thinking has been nurtured by instructors. A first-rate
M.A. thesis can be the deciding factor in determining the success of an
application to a Ph. D. program. Yet a variety of factors (for example,
entering the department with a limited background or needing to complete
a non-philosophy minor), may combine to indicate that the non-thesis
route to the M.A. would be the better course.
The Philosophy Faculty does not require a minor in a related field; but
students who intend the M.A. degree in philosophy to be terminal and to
move to another field (for example, computer science, law, business) or
students who plan to move into some specialized area of philosophy (such
as medieval or ancient philosophy, philosophy of science) are strongly
encouraged to consider the advantage of a minor in the relevant field
outside philosophy.
At some time during the first year of study, students should consult
with the Graduate Committee Chairperson or any member of the Graduate
Committee to receive a copy of “Guidelines for Writing the M.A.
Thesis” or to discuss the possibility of following the non-thesis
option.
THESIS
OPTION
The thesis option requires 30 semester hours of graduate work, 24 of
which must be in course work and 6 of which must be in thesis work. At
least 15 of these 30 hours must be at the 7000-level: three 7000-level
seminars plus the thesis. In each of the first three semesters of
enrollment in the program, students must take that 7000-level course
which the Graduate Committee designates the ‘M.A. Seminar.’
Exceptions to this practice can be made only for sound academic reasons
and must be approved by the Graduate Committee. An external minor for
thesis-option students may be constructed by completing as many as 6 of
the required hours in an area outside philosophy but relevant to the
student’s philosophical work. The external minor must be approved by
the Graduate Committee.
NON-THESIS
OPTION
The non-thesis option requires 36 hours of course work. To complete the
degree in two years, the non-thesis student must take four 7000-level
philosophy seminars plus two additional 7000-level courses. In each of
the first three semesters of enrollment in the program, students must
take that 7000-level course which the Graduate Committee designates the
‘M.A. Seminar.’ Exceptions to this practice can be made only for
sound academic reasons and must be approved by the Graduate Committee.
Non-Thesis students may take as many as 12 hours outside the department
to constitute an external graduate minor. The external minor must be
approved by the Graduate Committee.
A terminal examination in at least three areas of concentration within
philosophy is required for the non-thesis M.A., the areas to be selected
by the student with the approval of the Assistant Chair for Graduate
Studies and the Graduate Committee. A student must receive at least a
grade of “Pass” on all three sections of the examination, each which
may be repeated only once.
The terminal examination is designed to provide an opportunity for a
student at the conclusion of two years of course work to reflect upon
and draw together the various strands that she has followed while in
residence in the program. It is not intended to test the student’s
command of all areas of philosophy. To this end, an examining committee
will be appointed by the Graduate Committee and will normally consist of
faculty members from which the student has taken classes. They will
construct each exam in the light of the particular courses the student
will have taken. The student will, in consultation with the chair of the
examining committee, choose 3 areas from the following list in which to
be examined.
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Philosophy of Science
Ethics
Philosophy Philosophy of Religion
Great Philosopher
Philosophy of Mind
History of Phil. (2 of Ancient/
Medieval/Modern/19th c.)
Logic
20th c. Continental Philosophy
The choice of areas should assure no undue overlap. Each exam will be
two hours long, and all three are to be taken within two days. In the
event that an exam is not passed, the student is allowed one opportunity
to take another exam in the same field.
LANGUAGE
REQUIREMENTS
Normally a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language (French,
German, Latin, Greek) is required of candidates for the M.A. in
philosophy. Thesis topics which require research in a foreign language
will not be approved without demonstrated fluency in that language. In
accordance with the policy of the Graduate School, the Philosophy
Faculty will occasionally accept competence with respect to some
“Special research tool,” such as a computer language, statistics, or
a logical system. Such special research tools must be demonstrably
relevant to the pursuit of some project or possible projects in
philosophy. A student who anticipates requesting to fulfill the
requirement in this way should consult with the Graduate Committee early
in the planning of his graduate program.
The Foreign Language Requirement may be satisfied in one of the three
following ways:
(1) completion of a graduate reading course in the language with a grade
of ‘B’ or
better;
(2) passing an examination administered by the language faculty (this
could be translating
a philosophical text in the language)
(3) passing a national language test.
GRADES
The grade requirements of the Philosophy M.A. are those of the Graduate
School. Each student should carefully read, mark, and inwardly digest
the grade requirements and regulations of the Graduate School as given
in the Graduate School section of the LSU General Catalog.
ASSISTANTSHIPS
Graduate students who are granted assistantships will be notified in
writing as soon as possible after decisions on admissions and financial
awards are made. Appointments are ordinarily made on a yearly basis and
are renewable, though a student should not expect to hold an
assistantship for more than four semesters. Assistantships will be
granted and renewed on the basis of performance in course work and in
carrying out the duties of an assistant. Graduate assistants in the
Department of Philosophy do not have sole instructional responsibility
for classes. Their role is to assist the professor or professors to
which they are assigned. Typically, the graduate assistant will hold
regular office hours for student consultations and have the primary
responsibility for grading examinations and essays. He may also be asked
by the professor to do such other things to assist as present occasional
classes or conduct review sessions.
Faculty are expected to supervise the work of graduate assistants,
especially their grading, and to consider the assistant’s work a part
of graduate training in philosophy. Full-time assistants are expected to
work (on average) no more than twenty hours per week in fulfilling the
responsibilities of the assistantship; should the assigned work-load
require more than an average of twenty hours per week, the assistant
should let the supervising faculty member know that. Or, the assistant
may inform the Graduate Committe Chairperson or any member of the
Graduate Committee.
Each faculty member assisted by a graduate assistant must complete an
evaluation of the assistant’s performance, using the approved
evaluation form, for each graduate assistant who assists her and in each
semester of assistance. The faculty member must hold a meeting with the
graduate assistant in which she presentes the evaluation and discusses
it with the assistant. The student assistant must sign the evaluation as
an indication that the evaluation was made and the meeting conducted.
Should the assistant wish to take formal exception to the supervising
faculty member’s evaluation, he may prepare a written statement
addressed to the Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies or to the
department chair.
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