Help me get a PhD in Philosophy!

Factual Questions
1

So I’m finishing up my Master’s degree in theology, but I’m not satisfied. I came into the program hoping to be ordained, but the questions I thought would be answers here haven’t. I’ve gradually realized that my questions aren’t theological questions at all, they’re philosophical questions that I just happen to be applying to theology. So the next logical step would seem to be a graduate degree in Philosophy, which means a PhD. I’ve spoken with my professors here, but no one has any direct ties to a Philosophy department anywhere. I’ve emailed my old undergrad Philosophy prof, but I haven’t heard back yet.

My interests are primarily Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, and Epistemology. Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mind are secondary interests. I’d like to get into a top rated program, but I don’t know which schools focus in my interests. (Notre Dame looks like a good possibility for Phil of Rel.) I don’t know what my odds are, either. I have a very good GPA in my theology degree, less so from undergrad. My BA is in Religion as well, but I took a fair number of philosophy classes, and did very well in them whenever I was doing well in anything. (I had some bad patches in there.) I’m confident I’ll do very well on the GRE (oddly enough, I didn’t need it for my current program) and on a writing sample.

I recognize that my chances of eventually getting a tenured position in Philosophy are low, but I have no doubts as to my ability–my odds are as good as anyone else’s. Am I right that working in the conjunction between Phil of Rel and Phil of Sci puts me in a good position? It seems to be a fairly hot area, and hopefully I’ll be able to bring the possabilty of some course funding from the Templeton Foundation to the table, since they like to fund that sort of thing. I’m also willing to work overseas (assuming I don’t have a wife who objects at that point). Does that increase my opportunities at all? I do have a fallback plan–non-profit administration, but I would like to teach.

I’m doing everything I can think of at this point in time (which is still early), but I thought, “What the heck–why not ask the Teeming Millions?” Any thoughts? Advice? Any full proffs at good institutions want to take me on and walk me through admissions? (Hey, it never hurts to ask!)

2

I’d highly recommend looking at the University of Toronto. It’s a great school in a fun city, it has a good international reputation, and they offer some programs that you might be really interested in.

For example, at the Centre for the Study of Religion, they have a lot of people who are specifically interested in the *philosophy * of religion.
Here are some links to information on the graduate program there: http://www.religion.utoronto.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_7_1647_1.html
http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/SGSCalendar/2003-2004/rlg.asp

You also might be interested in UofT’s program in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology:
http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/SGSCalendar/2003-2004/hps.asp

UofT also has a Philosophy Department, but the department’s specialties don’t seem to coincide with your main areas of interest quite as well; they are:
Analytic Metaphysics and Epistemology
Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (including non-Western)
Logic, Language and Science
Philosophy, 19th-20th Century Anglo-American
Philosophy, 19th-20th Century Continental
Philosophy, Early Modern (17th & 18th C European & non-Western)
Value Theory (Ethics, Social-Political, Law, Religion, Aesthetics, Applied Ethics, Feminist Philosophy)
And here is a link to some basic information on the philosophy department:
http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/SGSCalendar/2003-2004/phl.asp

And the best part about it? UofT is fairly selective, but every PhD student who they admit is **FULLY ** funded. That means that you are absolutely guaranteed a full tuition and fees waiver (including extra international fees) PLUS **$12,000 ** per year as a living stipend. For five years!

3

It sounds like you are looking for the meaning to life etc. I would think a philosophy department is the last place to look, judging from all the academics I know. Travel, read widely, have fun, take drugs. You wont find the answer, but you will at least enjoy the journey

4

You know its funny that I was just pondering on a question just yesterday morning that falls right along this topic.This question was:
*What is the essence of life? *
That is a question that I don’t think can ever be answered :frowning:

5

Man, forget philosophy. Just go to dental school and get a job.

Just offering the parental-type nagging you seem to lack in your life.
:smiley:

6

Just wanted to say thanks a lot to the.hyacynth.girl. Those look like good programs. The Centre for the Study of Religion looks like its more focused on the study of Religion as its own discipline (focusing on history, comparative religion, sociology, etc.) that on philosophy of religion, though. Still, I might consider a Religion program, if I could take a philosophical approach to it.

To everyone else, :rolleyes:

Frankly, I couldn’t care less about discovering the meaning of life at this point. I’m much more interested in how we would know it if we did discover it!

7

good luck on your quest!

8

I’d think the two answers are interlinked.

9

(I’m actually Douglips wife–he thought I’d be interested in your post, as I hold a BA in Phil and an MA in a related field, and got turned down from nine Ph.D. programs when I applied two years ago.)

Ah, the pursuit of truth, the meaning of life… and a paycheck??? My advice for getting into a Philosophy Ph.D. Program are to go to http://www.philosophicalgourmet.com/breakdown.htm (you seem to already be aware of this site) and crosslist the schools come up on your areas of interest. Meanwhile, spend hours at the library reading RECENT articles published in your area(s) of interest (usually journals) and research the authors of the articles you like best. They are usually professors teaching at a university–so write them a note about how much you enjoyed their article, drop by to say hi (with an appointment), ask for an autograph, their opinion on what schools offer a kickass program on their topic (which will of course lead them to say “come to my school, I teach this topic”). The key is get to know specific professors at the specific universities to which you apply. Another way to do this is to go to APA’s conferences, or any number of lectures at major universities. Many of the applications have a specific area in which to write the names of the professors you have talked to at the school.

Also, in approaching the professors, it helps to go in with an idea of your dissertation topic (although it’s bound to change along the way–but remember, you are just trying to get in). This way if the topic is specific to that professor’s speciality, there’s a good chance a partnership can be formed.

Then the rest is obvious–turn in your application in a timely manner, follow all the directions, GET COACHING ON YOUR PAPER (pay a philosophy professor to edit it and work with you on it), do well on the tests, etc. Oh, and getting letters of recommendation from famous people doesn’t hurt either (authors in the field, etc.)

And one realistic note: if you really want to make it as a professor in philosophy–after you’ve not only gotten in but graduated–keep in mind that most likely you will be going from University to University (all over the country/world… like winter in Minnesota, summers in Phoenix) doing temp teaching positions. Granted, if you graduate well from a top university then you have better odds of finding a better position right off, but if you have a family by then (especially kids in school) it will be a real hardship for them and you to not be rooted anywhere, chasing the next temp job for under $40K. But if you are a single male, that is what the profession is designed for, so you have an upper hand.

Lastly, some “other” universities that may be of interest to you (all in California) are Claremont (http://www.cgu.edu/)–they have David Ray Griffin there, a wonderfully amazing postmodernist–and then my recommendation if you are more interested in getting past the mere acedemics of philosophy and into the real heart of the matter–are JFK University (I received my MA from there–www.jfku.edu) and CIIS (www.ciis.edu). Important stuff going on there.

Good luck on your journey, whereever it may lead!

[Oh, and just in case you were curious, the main reason I failed to get into the Ph.D. programs has a large part to do with the fact that I was pregnant with twins and on bedrest while completing my applications. I’m sure if I had my body (and especially a full functioning brain!) all to myself I would have had more success… but alass I’m off to more important things (both in family and career) now…]

Best of everything
“lulu”

10

I hope you find what you’re looking for.

11

Which school to go to for philosophy depends on this question: Do you still want to have a Christian faith at the end of it?

Most secular philosophy schools would tend to demythologize and deconstruct religion to the point where there is no room left for religious faith.

A Christian university would allow for the retention of personal faith and use philosophy as a tool for exploring the dimensions of faith.

However, you’d need to watch out for what type of school of philosophy you attend even within Christian circles. The fundamentalists would use phiosophy simply to try to prop up fundamentlist principles. Some liberal Protestant schools of philosophy might as well be secular institutions in the way they treat religious experience with complete skepticism.

In the Catholic tradition, you have some schools of philosophy act like the fundamntalist schools, but instead of scriptural fundamentalism, they’d tend towards Aristotelian/Thomistic fundamentalism. But I’d venture that Notre Dame’s or any other well known and respected Catholic university would provide a philosophy school that accounts for religious faith without being afraid to intellectually question and prod it.

Peace.

12

Wow, I’m finally getting some great responses! I’d just about given this thread up for dead. I especially want to thank lulu (Mrs. douglips). That’s exactly the kind of response I was hoping for! She even dropped me a personal email with some more info about www.philosophicalgourmet.com. Apparently, you can use it find grad students’ pages as well as program information. (Something I hadn’t known!) I’m going to spend the summer talking with professors here and trying to learn about different programs. advice about looking at recent journal articles was really helpful!

I met Marjorie Suchocki, who is also at Claremont, recently. She had suggested Griffin as someone I might make contact with. Thanks for reminding me to follow through with that!

As for moriah question, well, that’s a tough one. So far, studying at seminary has pretty much demolished my faith, so I don’t know how much of a chance I’d have in grad school! A big part of my interest right now is in figuring out just what people who (claim to) have faith mean by it, especially what I meant by it! I don’t want to study with professors who don’t take religious faith seriously and treat it with respect, but at the same time, I don’t want to repeat my (otherwise wonderful) experience at seminary of feeling like either the only person here who doesn’t “get it” or the only person who does. I was thinking that a Catholic institution might be good for that, but IANAC, so I wasn’t sure.

As far as career goes, am I right that the market for US trained philosophers might be much better overseas, especially places outside of Europe and North America? Does anyone have any experience in accademia outside N. America and Europe?