Program Overview

Department of Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University offers a graduate degree in philosophy, providing extensive study in all major fields and historical periods of philosophy. The department has strengths in ethics, social and political philosophy, epistemology, feminist philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion. It also focuses on the history of philosophy, especially Kant, nineteenth-century, early modern, and ancient philosophy.

The Ph.D. in Philosophy

A graduate degree in philosophy at Vanderbilt offers extensive study in all major fields and historical periods of philosophy. The department's faculty reflects a variety of approaches and methodologies, including analytic, continental, historical, and pragmatic.

Program Requirements

Students must complete at least 47 hours of formal coursework, in addition to satisfying other requirements as noted in the degree requirements.

Funding

Those who are offered admission to the Ph.D. program receive funding in the form of an annual stipend, full tuition waiver, and health insurance for six years. The department and Graduate School also provide generous additional sources of funding, including:

• Topping-up awards
• A moving stipend
• Travel and conference funds
• Summer research funds
• Language study funds
• Funds for interdisciplinary research
• An ABD stipend
• Other awards and fellowships for exceptional research and teaching

Application

Application to the Vanderbilt Ph.D. program in philosophy consists of five components:

1. Completion of the online application to the Vanderbilt Graduate School
2. Submission of unofficial transcripts
3. Submission of at least three, but at most five, letters of recommendation
4. Submission of a personal statement, discussing philosophy background, research interests, and departmental fit
5. Submission of a philosophically substantive writing sample of manageable length (ordinarily no more than 7,000 words), demonstrating research potential

Application Deadline

The application deadline for fall admission of any given year is January 3 of that same year.