Graduate Programs
Fill out our On-Line Application for Graduate Admission
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 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:
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Completed application form
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Statement of intent
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Three letters of recommendation
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Official transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended by the applicant
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Results of the Graduate Record Examination
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$55 application fee (checks should be made payable to The Catholic University of America)
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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 and passed upon by the Committee on Admissions.
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.
The Master of Arts or Licentiate in Philosophy
Candidates must have received a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution. A minimum of eight undergraduate courses in select philosophical disciplines, including one course in symbolic logic, is required before regular standing as an M.A. candidate is achieved. Where a deficiency exists, certain graduate courses may be taken as the candidate completes the undergraduate requirement.
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Candidates must complete in residence two semesters of full-time study (or the equivalent). A minimum of eight three-credit courses is required. Students may not repeat a graduate philosophy course in order to raise their grade.
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Candidates must present a thesis to be approved by the faculty. This thesis must be presented not later than April 20 of the year in which the degree is to be conferred. Detailed instructions about the preparation of the final copy and other procedures may be obtained from the dean's office. Six credits are awarded for the thesis upon the completion of all other requirements for the degree.
- Candidates must pass the following examinations:
- All regular examinations in each course.
- In addition to fulfilling the university's language requirement, a written examination administered by the School of Philosophy in which the candidate demonstrates an ability to read either French or German or Greek or Latin.
- An oral examination, of one hour, before four members of the faculty. Candidates for the M.A. degree must take their oral examination before the end of the second semester after the semester in which they complete their required course work.
- M.A. degree candidates must complete all degree requirements within three years (or six summer sessions) after admission to the program.
- Students are permitted to do doctoral course work before completing the requirements for the M.A., but this does not imply that the school will admit the student to the Ph.D. program.
The Doctor of Philosophy
Students admitted to the doctoral program must first secure the M.A. or Ph.L. degree in accordance with this school's requirements for these degrees. M.A. degrees conferred by other institutions which meet these requirements are recognized.
- Students must spend at least two additional years (four semesters) for the doctorate following special courses approved by the dean and the faculty. A minimum of twenty courses or sixty semester hours of course work is required for the Ph.D. This includes work completed for the M.A. degree (but not credits awarded for the completion of an M.A. thesis). A maximum of two semesters of graduate work in philosophy may be transferred from another institution. Students may not repeat a graduate philosophy course in order to raise their grade.
- Ph.D. candidacy follows upon:
- completion of all course work for the Ph.D.
- passing one part of the three-part Graduate Reading Program Examination.
- Ph.D. Dissertation:
- Within two years of attaining Ph.D. candidacy, the student must have the Ph.D. dissertation proposal approved by the student's faculty board and submitted to the dean for approval by the faculty of the School of Philosophy and the university.
- The candidate must present a dissertation which gives evidence of power of research, of ability to do independent scientific work, of mastery of the candidate's part of the chosen field, and is of sufficient merit to warrant publication.
- When the dissertation is completed and tentatively approved by the director and readers, a public oral examination will be conducted by an oral examination board. The board will consist of a chair and a secretary who will be appointed from university faculty outside the School of Philosophy, plus the director and the two readers of the dissertation.
- The completed Ph.D. dissertation must be defended no later than five years after approval of the proposal by the faculty of the School of Philosophy.
- The defense of the Ph.D. dissertation cannot take place until all other requirements for the Ph.D. have been fulfilled.
- Final approval of the dissertation is realized after the defense, when all conditions on the part of the board have been met and any objections satisfied.
- Candidates must pass the following examinations:
- Regular examinations in all courses.
- Written examinations on two of the three parts of the Graduate Reading Program.
- In addition to the university's language requirement, written examinations administered by the School of Philosophy in which they demonstrate their ability to read both French and German. Both languages are prerequisite for the Ph.D. degree. These examinations must be passed one year before the degree is granted.
- A public oral examination on the Ph.D. dissertation.
- The Ph.D. degree is granted when all the above requirements have been fulfilled by the candidate and approved by the faculty of the School of Philosophy and the Academic Senate of the university.
Procedures:
Graduate Reading Program
The Graduate Reading Program of primary sources is required of all Ph.D. degree candidates. The program is divided into three parts with reading lists corresponding to a threefold chronological division of the history of philosophy. List I ranges over texts from the pre-Socratics to Averroes, List II over texts from Aquinas to Kant, and List III over texts from Hegel to Wittgenstein.
The purpose of these examinations is to evaluate a student’s capacity to understand classical texts in philosophy. The examinations are open-book: the student brings approved editions of the relevant texts (see the lists, below) to the examination. In answering a question students should not simply copy passages from the text; short citations are appropriate but the answers should be formulated in one’s own words. View the list.
To be admitted as a candidate for the Ph.D. degree, a student must pass an examination on one of the reading lists (I, II, or III).
To qualify for the Ph.D. degree, a student must pass an examination on a second list, thus passing examinations on any two of the three reading lists.
Both examinations must be passed before students are entitled to defend their doctoral dissertation. Students may take the two examinations in any order.
Graduate Reading Program Examinations
Examinations on each part of the Graduate Reading Program are written examinations given on two consecutive days, each day's session consisting of a continuous four-hour period.
At each session the student will write essays on four questions chosen from the six presented by the examiner. Each of the eight essays will be corrected by two faculty members, who will grade them on a scale of A, B, or F. The final mark for each essay will be the average of the marks of the two correctors. If, however, one corrector passes the essay while the other fails it, a third faculty member will grade the essay, and the final grade will be the average of all three marks. The average of the final eight marks constitutes the grade for that part of the Graduate Reading Program Examination. Essay topics will be contributed, and the examination graded, by the reading program committee, consisting of five members appointed by the dean.
Graduate Reading Program Examinations will be offered twice a year, in October and March, and only at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. All three parts of the reading program will be available in each of these two examination periods, although no student may attempt more than one part in a given two-day examination period. No student may attempt any part of the three-part examination more than three times.
Copies of past Graduate Reading Program Examinations or sample sets of questions will be distributed in advance of the examination dates and can be obtained in Aquinas Hall, room 200.
Approval of Doctoral Dissertation Topic
The following procedure will be adhered to in securing the approval of a doctoral dissertation topic:
- Upon fulfilling the conditions for the Ph.D. candidacy and after consultation with the dean, the student will ask a faculty member to assume the direction of the dissertation.
- After securing a director, the student will prepare a written proposal and request the director's signature on the appropriate form, obtained in the office of the dean.
- That form will be forwarded to the dean, who, after consultation with the director, will appoint two faculty members to serve under the chairship of the director as members of the dissertation board.
- The candidate will be required to submit to the board a five-to-ten page statement indicating the objective of the research methods for the dissertation. Within two weeks, the board will meet with the candidate to discuss the proposal, and at that time will either accept or reject the topic or request a revision of the proposal. If a revision is required, the board will meet again within a period of four weeks to accept or reject the revised proposal. If the proposal is accepted, the candidate is free to pursue the research under the guidance of the major professor, in consultation with other members of the board if this is desired.
- The candidate then prepares a one-to-two page proposal according to directives given on the Request for Approval form to submit to the dean for approval by the faculty and the university.
Language Requirements
The language examinations for all candidates for advanced degrees in the School of Philosophy are given according to procedures determined by the Academic Senate of the university. The Graduate School Foreign Language Test is administered by the university Counseling Center.
For the master's degree or the licentiate, a reading knowledge of French or German or Latin or Greek is required. For the doctoral degree, a reading knowledge of both French and German is required. All language requirements must be fulfilled one year prior to the time of the presentation of the candidate's degree.
These language requirements are in addition to those administered by the School of Philosophy.
Language Examinations Administered by the School
The language examinations administered by the school, one in French, one in German, one in Latin, and one in Greek, are given in the fall, the spring, and the summer. They are administered in two parts; in the case of French and German, one part is based on a passage from a primary source, and one part on a passage from a secondary source. The examination is administered in two three-hour sessions in which the student is required to translate the passages presented. The student may use only one dictionary throughout the examination.
Candidates for the M.A. or the Ph.L. degree must pass one part of one such examination either in French, German, Latin, or Greek. Candidates for the Ph.D. must pass both parts of the examinations in both French and German. All candidates must take both parts of the examination. No language will be recognized as a substitute for French and German.
Students intending to fulfill the School language requirement in French or German must first fulfill the University language requirement.
A foreign language examination committee, appointed by the dean, will be responsible for the preparation and the grading of the examination. For further particulars see the Foreign Language Examination Guidelines.
Copies of past Language Examinations will be available in advance of the examination dates and can be obtained in Aquinas Hall, room 200.
Continuous Enrollment of Graduate Students
Every graduate student is required to maintain continuous enrollment from the date of first registration until a degree program is completed, unless granted a leave of absence. The following is a summary of the enrollment regulations that apply to graduate students.
Enrollment Options
Course requirements not completed: Student must register for at least three credits of graduate course work (or approved undergraduate remedial work), unless granted a leave of absence.
- Course requirements completed but two parts of the Graduate Reading Program Examination not passed: Student must register for additional course work or in absentia status, unless granted a leave of absence.
- Two parts of the Graduate Reading Program Examination passed but the Ph.D. dissertation not completed: Student must register for Dissertation Guidance (three semester hours) each semester until the Ph.D. dissertation defense has taken place, unless a leave of absence or in absentia status has been granted.
Eligibility Criteria for Leave of Absence or In Absentia
Approval for leave of absence requires documentation of sustained ill health, required military service, or other circumstances resulting in involuntary interruption of graduate studies. The cumulative total period may not normally exceed one year.
- In petitioning for in absentia status, the student documents that he or she is required to be away from campus while preparing the Ph.D. dissertation. One semester hour of tuition is charged. In absentia status is available only to students who have completed all course requirements. This option is not available for the semester in which the Ph.D. dissertation topic is submitted and approved, nor for the semester in which the oral defense is scheduled.
- In absentia status is available for M.A. candidates except for the semester in which the thesis is approved and in which the M.A. oral examination is taken.
- Eligibility is usually limited to a total of two semesters.
Continuous Enrollment
A student who fails to maintain continuous enrollment under one of the options available is presumed to have withdrawn from the university and must therefore petition for readmission.
Deadlines
An approved leave of absence period is not counted in determining deadlines.
Basselin Foundation
Advisory Committee:
The President of the University
The Provost of the University
Provincial, Society of St. Sulpice
Administrative Officers:
Reverend Melvin C. Blanchette, S.S., Rector, Theological College
Reverend David Thayer, S.S., Vice Rector, Theological College
In fulfillment of the will of Theodore Basselin, The Catholic University of America established a foundation in his name to provide fellowships in a special course of studies for diocesan seminarians preparing for the Catholic priesthood. Candidates for the fellowships must have completed two years of the liberal arts curriculum in a college/university or a college/university program under diocesan sponsorship; they must also have given evidence of superior performance in their studies. The Basselin Foundation fellowships carry such students through three years of intensive work in philosophy: two years on the undergraduate level in the concentration program of the School of Philosophy, and one year of postgraduate work leading to the master's degree. Students admitted under the Basselin fellowships must qualify for this program and maintain an acceptable average to retain their fellowships.
In the curriculum, first importance is given to those branches of philosophy most necessary as a preparation for the study of theology; stress is laid upon the courses in scholastic philosophy. The Basselin fellowship, as is stipulated in its charter, also requires its recipient to give special attention to public speaking in view of later pastoral responsibilities.
During the three-year fellowship, full tuition, room, and board are provided to the students accepted into the program. In addition to these academic and financial benefits, the students continue their preparation for the priesthood through participation in the life and programs of Theological College of The Catholic University of America. Although the Basselin students are part of the larger community, they receive attention in areas specific to their stage in priestly preparation.
In addition to the regular requirements for degrees cited above, Basselin students are required to take three courses in the area of public speaking. The first of these, DR 205, is usually taken in the junior year. The second and third courses are available through the School of Philosophy. The courses are:
DR 205 Introduction to Speech Communication (3) - Theory and exercises in speech communication, emphasizing perception, language (verbal and nonverbal), and interaction. Students apply principles in a variety of transactions. Required of concentrators.
PHIL 374 Ritual, Language, and Action (3) - A survey course of basic speech techniques and drama skills applied to the language and action of the liturgy. Students learn through lecture, classroom discussion, and ongoing development of skills and group critique. Leading prayer in the seminary community also serves as a practicum.
PHIL 375 Liturgical Readings (3) - Through classroom discussion and ongoing practicum, students learn the foundations for and the skills of proclaiming the Word of God in the liturgical setting. Theological and practical skills learned in this course are applied in the seminary community and as reader at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Last Revised 28-Apr-09 01:23 PM.
