Program Overview

Master of Arts in Philosophy

The department of philosophy at the University of Denver offers an MA in philosophy, but only when done through the university's flexible dual-degree program in conjunction with an MA in another approved discipline. The philosophy faculty places a strong emphasis on research and personal interaction with students. Our program is designed to meet the needs of two kinds of students — those wishing to prepare for doctoral work in philosophy and those seeking an individualized course of study with a more interdisciplinary focus. Areas of concentration include the history of Western thought, interpretive and critical theory, practical philosophy, meta-philosophy, and studies in creative and critical reasoning about human nature and values.

Proposal Process for Flexible Dual-Degree Program in Philosophy

After formal admission into both programs, the dean, chair, or director of each degree program and both program advisors, must carefully compare the requirements for each program and approve the proposal. The student must then submit a copy of the original requirements for each degree, and the flexible dual-degree proposal to the Office of Graduate Education. The philosophy department will provide a coursework template for the student to include with his or her proposal.

Degree and GPA Requirements

• Bachelor's degree: All graduate applicants must hold an earned baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university or the recognized equivalent from an international institution.
• Grade point average: The minimum undergraduate GPA for admission consideration for graduate study at the University of Denver is a cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits (approximately two years of work) for the baccalaureate degree. An earned master's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution supersedes the minimum standards for the baccalaureate.
• Program GPA requirement: The minimum undergraduate GPA for admission consideration for this program is a cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.

Prerequisites

• Students must already have been admitted and deposited for the master's degree program in another approved DU master's program before applying to the MA in Philosophy. An undergraduate degree in philosophy is desirable, but talented students from other areas will be considered for admission.

Standardized Test Scores

• The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required. Scores must be received directly from the appropriate testing agency by the deadline. The institution code for the University of Denver is 4842.

Other Requirements

• Students are not eligible to apply for the MA in Philosophy until they have been admitted and deposited for their first MA program at DU. To propose a flexible dual-degree, the student must seek the counsel of an adviser in the philosophy department.

English Language Proficiency Test Score Requirements

• Minimum TOEFL Score (Internet-based test): 80
• Minimum IELTS Score: 6.5
• Minimum CAE Score: 176
• English Conditional Admission: No, this program does not offer English Conditional Admission.

Degree Requirements

Coursework Requirements

45 quarter hours in philosophy (students may propose to have this amount reduced by a maximum of 10 quarter hours under appropriate circumstances as specified by the flexible dual-degree guidelines). Because philosophy is part of a flexible dual degree program, these hours are required in addition to the required hours in another approved discipline. Courses graded below a C– cannot be counted for a flexible dual degree.

Non-Coursework Requirements

• A comprehensive exam
• A portfolio paper approved by a committee of department faculty
• An oral defense covering both the comprehensive exam and the portfolio paper

Courses

The following courses are available:

• PHIL 3000 Plato's Metaphysics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3003 Plato's Theory of Knowledge (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3005 Cosmopolitics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3010 Great Thinkers: Aristotle (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3011 Great Thinkers: Virginia Woolf (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3023 Great Thinkers: Maimonides: Politics, Prophecy and Providence (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3024 Maimonides: Greek, Islamic, and Christian Encounters (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3026 Levinas and the Political (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3050 Great Thinkers: Hume (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3061 Kant's Ethics/Aesthetics/Politics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3062 Kant's Epistemology and Logic (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3063 Kant on Religion (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3070 Great Thinkers: Hegel (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3075 Marxism (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3090 Great Thinkers: Heidegger (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3092 Great Thinkers: The Later Heidegger (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3101 Great Thinkers: Kierkegaard (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3120 Metaphysics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3130 Knowledge Problems (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3146 Great Thinkers: Levinas (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3152 Philosophy Meets Mysticism: A Greek, Jewish and Islamic Neoplatonic Journey (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3175 Morality and the Law (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3178 Metaethics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3179 Virtue Ethics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3185 Philosophy of Action and Agency (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3201 Wittgenstein, Quine, & Kripke on Necessity and a Priori Knowledge (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3210 Philosophy of Movement (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3211 Contemporary Pol Philosophy (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3215 Modern Jewish Philosophy (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3333 Logic, Language, and Metaphysics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3445 Cultural Theory and Critique (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3448 Theory of the Subject: From Hegel to Zizek (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3450 Phenomenology and Theology (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3460 Nietzsche & the Death of God (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3465 Derrida and Postmodernism (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3466 Contemporary Continental Philosophy (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3610 Advanced Topics in Philosophy, Psychology, and Cognitive Science (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3611 Advanced Topics in the Philosophy of Science (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3612 AI and Robotics (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3618 Philosophy of Biology (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3620 Philosophical Perspectives on Economics and Social Sciences (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3699 Proseminar in Philosophy (4 Credits)
• PHIL 3700 Topics in Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
• PHIL 3701 Topics in Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
• PHIL 3702 Topics in Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
• PHIL 3703 Topics in Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
• PHIL 3704 Topics in Philosophy (1-4 Credits)
• PHIL 3991 Independent Study (1-8 Credits)
• PHIL 4991 Independent Study (1-10 Credits)
• PHIL 4995 Independent Research (1-10 Credits)
• PHIL 5300 Philosophy Colloquium (4 Credits)
• PHIL 5400 Cultural Theory Colloquium (1-5 Credits)

Faculty

• Marco J. Nathan, Associate Professor and Department Chair, PhD, Columbia University
• William D. Anderson, Associate Professor, Emeritus, PhD, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
• Roscoe Hill, Associate Professor, Emeritus, PhD, University of Chicago
• Thomas Andrew Nail, Professor, PhD, University of Oregon
• Naomi Reshotko, Professor, PhD, University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Frank Seeburger, Professor, Emeritus, PhD, University of Colorado - Boulder
• Jere P. Surber, Professor, Emeritus, PhD, Pennsylvania State University/Rheinische-Universitat-Bonn
• Lisa Titus, Assistant Professor, PhD, Rutgers University – New Brunswick
• Candace Upton, Associate Professor, PhD, University of Nebraska - Lincoln