School of Philosophy

Requirements for Admission

Applicants for admission to the School of Philosophy should obtain an application form from the Office of Admissions of the university or from the dean of the school. This must be properly completed and returned to the Office of Admissions at least one month in advance of registration day as indicated in the university calendar.

Candidates for admission to the graduate programs of the School of Philosophy must have received a bachelor's degree from a recognized college. Students will not be admitted unless they have received a cumulative average which can be evaluated as a B.

The following materials should be submitted directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions, The Catholic University of America, 102 McMahon Hall, Washington, D.C. 20064:

• Completed application form (this includes a writing sample pertinent to a degree in Philosophy)
• Statement of intent
• Three letters of recommendation
• Official transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended by the applicant
• Results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
• $55 application fee (checks should be made payable to The Catholic University of America)
• TOEFL (if English is not the primary language used by the applicant)

Students who have not received the bachelor's degree but submit evidence of satisfactory training equivalent to that required for the bachelor's degree may be admitted, as in the case of foreign training in schools where, as certified by official documents, no degrees are regularly granted. Each case must be presented to the Committee on Admissions, which is responsible for determining the merits thereof.

An interview with the prospective student will be held whenever possible, and the right is reserved to demand entrance examinations in any individual case.

Each student must be registered for each semester in residence. No student will be permitted to register later than the last day of the registration period without special permission of the dean. Each student entering the university for the first time must be enrolled and registered on or before the first day of class.

Transfer of Credits

Credits earned in undergraduate courses in philosophy at other institutions will be accepted for undergraduate degrees, provided the courses are of quality and content equal to those offered in the School of Philosophy and provided the student has earned high grades in those courses.

Graduate work done in other institutions will not be accepted towards fulfilling the requirements for the master's degree or the licentiate. Graduate work done in other institutions of approved standing, and not used to fulfill the requirements for the doctoral degree elsewhere, may be offered in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree in the School of Philosophy provided this work is approved by the dean.

At least four semesters of full time graduate work toward the doctoral degree must be done in residence at The Catholic University of America. One of these years must be the last year.

A candidate for the doctoral degree who applies for credit for graduate work done at other institutions may be granted such credit as, in the judgment of the dean, is deemed suitable. Judgment will be passed only after the student has studied at The Catholic University of America for a time sufficient to give adequate opportunity to evaluate the student's grasp of the subject taken elsewhere.

Special Students

Special students, both undergraduate and graduate, are admitted to such courses as they may select without the intention of going on for academic degrees. Before admission they must furnish satisfactory evidence of their fitness to follow these courses profitably.