Philosophy

The Graduate Program in Philosophy offers students informality and close interaction with a faculty whose work has been published by the leading presses and journals. We are basically an analytic department, but we certainly do not have a formal orientation. A result of the close interaction between faculty and students has been that many of our recent PhDs have had papers accepted by highly respected journals while they were graduate students in our program. This, along with the breadth of teaching experience available and required of qualified students, and the department’s commitment of effort to the placement of its PhD’s has resulted in a good placement record in recent years.

The graduate program in Philosophy is a PhD program. However, the MA is a part of the PhD program and is awarded upon Advancement to Candidacy for the PhD. In addition to the graduate division requirements, the master’s degree candidate will take courses so that the total course work will satisfy the Course and Seminar Requirement of the PhD program.

Graduate Division thesis and examination requirements under Plan 1 and Plan 2 may be satisfied as follows.

Plan 1

A Qualifying Paper, as specified in the PhD Program requirements, that is passed at the PhD or MA level. (Usual choice of this department.)

Plan 2

A comprehensive examination in a major area of philosophy, administered by a committee selected by the Graduate Advisor.

Courses

• PHIL 296A. Seminar in Ethics
  • Graduate seminar in ethics. Specific subject matter is selected by the instructor and descriptions are available in the department office before each quarter.
• PHIL 297A. Seminar in the History of Philosophy
  • Graduate seminar in the history of philosophy. Specific subject matter is selected by the instructor and descriptions are available in the department office before each quarter.
• PHIL 222G. Theories of Justice
  • A study at the graduate level of an examination, in detail, of one or more influential philosophical theories of justice.
• PHIL 235G. Contemporary Philosophy
  • A study at the graduate level of selected topics in contemporary philosophy.
• PHIL 239G. Meta-ethics
  • An examination of problems concerning the meaning and justification of moral judgments.
• PHIL 251G. Pre-Socratics
  • A study at the graduate level of selected writings of the pre-Socratic era.
• PHIL 252G. Plato
  • A study at the graduate level of selected writings of Plato.
• PHIL 256G. Hellenistic Philosophy
  • A study at the graduate level of selected writings of the Hellenistic philosophers.
• PHIL 283G. Beginning Symbolic Logic
  • An introduction to symbolic logic at the graduate level.

Requirements

• Online application: https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/eapp
• Statement of Purpose, Personal Achievements/Contributions, and Resume or CV (submitted in the online application)
• Three Letters of Recommendation (submitted online)
• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended (submitted online)
• GRE General test scores
• TOEFL scores 550 Paper-Based Test (PBT), 80 Internet-Based Test (IBT) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Overall Band score of 7 or higher (only required if English is not the applicant's native language)
• Writing Sample (not to exceed 30 pages--submitted in the online application)
• Final/Official transcripts will be required for all applicants who are admitted and have indicated their intent to enroll at UC Santa Barbara by submitting a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR). UC Santa Barbara reserves the right to require official transcripts at any time during the admissions process, and rescind any offer of admission made if discrepancies between uploaded and official transcript(s) are found.

Scholarships

Fellowships

Fellowships are awarded for up to $18,000 plus fees, insurance, and tuition for the first year of study; two to six awarded per year.

Teaching Assistantships

These pay approximately $5,200 per quarter for a full assignment, and additionally cover tuition, insurance and most fees. Appointments are made for one, two, or three quarters per year. TAs assist in lower division classes such as Introduction to Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Introduction to Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, and sometimes in upper division classes, by holding discussion sections and grading papers and exams. Teaching Assistantships may also be available in other departments and programs of the University. They are normally given to students who have demonstrated promise in course work here. Our primary financial aid to first year students are the fellowships mentioned above.

Readerships

There is no specific number of readerships, as this depends on enrollments and the decision of the instructor whether or not to use a reader. Readerships pay about $14.00 per hour.