Program Overview

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Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BA/MA in Philosophy

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) offers combined degree programs through select departments, including the Philosophy Department. A combined B.A./M.A. degree program is a five-year program conducted jointly by the School of Arts & Sciences and GSAS. The program permits students to complete the 120 credit-hour undergraduate degree and 36 credit-hour master’s degree in five years. The combined degree program is demanding and is intended for academically exceptional Tufts undergraduates.

Admission Process and Criteria

Admission to the graduate degree portion of the program is separate from the undergraduate degree portion. There are several criteria for admission to the program:

• Students must apply and be admitted to the graduate program by the end of the spring semester of their junior year.
• Competitive applicants will have an overall minimum 3.5 GPA.
• Applicants are required to submit 2 letters of recommendation and are exempted from the GRE requirement.

Students seeking admission to the graduate program should consult with their undergraduate major advisors, the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, and their prospective graduate advisor before applying to the graduate school. Contact with the department’s graduate director, prior to application, is also highly advised.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Combined-degree students are responsible for payment of the undergraduate tuition and the graduate tuition. The graduate degree scholarship committee will take the undergraduate degree scholarship package into consideration when making decisions. Tuition for the graduate program covers the graduate curriculum, starting with up to two Tufts graduate summer courses, if required for the degree, taken after the student’s senior year.

Degrees Conferred

Graduates of the combined degree program receive a B.A. from Tufts and an M.A. from Tufts. Degrees are conferred upon completion of the requirement for each portion of the program: the B.A. degree will be conferred once the B.A. requirements are met and the M.A. degree will be conferred once the M.A. requirements are met.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete the requirements for their undergraduate major and the standard requirements for the Philosophy M.A. degree. Following GSAS policy, only two courses (six credits) may count towards both the B.A. and M.A. degrees. A maximum of two further courses (six credits) that a student takes during their B.A. degree may be reserved for graduate credit; these courses will not count towards the bachelor’s degree.

Coursework consists of twelve (12) upper-level philosophy courses (courses numbered 100 or above), totaling thirty-six credits. The twelve (12) courses must include:

• Phil 103: Logic
• Phil 297: Graduate Writing Seminar

Coursework must satisfy a breadth requirement. Two courses are required in each of these three (3) areas:

1. Normative philosophy
2. History of philosophy
3. Metaphysics and epistemology

Coursework must also satisfy a core courses requirement. One designated core course is required from each of the three distribution areas above. Core courses that will be offered on a regular basis (either annually or bi-annually) include the following:

1. Within normative philosophy: Ethical Theory, Political Philosophy
2. Within history of philosophy: Ancient Philosophy, History of Modern Philosophy
3. Within metaphysics and epistemology: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Phenomenology and Existentialism

In lieu of taking 12 philosophy courses, students are permitted to take 11 philosophy courses and one course in another department (e.g. Mathematics, Psychology, Political Science, Classics). The substituted course must be approved by the Philosophy Department prior to registration.

Students may also count one independent study in philosophy towards the 12-course requirement.

Proposed Program of Study

We recommend that combined degree students take PHIL 103 (Logic) in their senior year. Students are also advised to arrange their junior and senior years so that they can count two 100/200-level philosophy courses towards both the B.A. and M.A. degrees, and reserve two additional 100/200-level philosophy courses for graduate credit. Thus, in the ideal case, at the end of their senior year, a combined degree student will have completed four courses (twelve credits) of the twelve-course (thirty-six credit) requirement for the M.A. degree. In the fifth year, students must take the Graduate Writing Seminar (3 credits) in the fall, and may take the Pedagogy Seminar (0 credits) in the fall if they wish to TA in the spring. Students who have completed four courses (twelve credits) by the end of their senior year will then need to take eight courses (twenty-four credits) in their fifth year (including the required Graduate Writing Seminar).