PHILO-MA - Philosophy (MA)
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Program Overview
Three programs lead to the MA in Philosophy. One is a general program providing a grounding in all branches of the subject. The others provide special training in one branch.
Admissions Information
All prospective master’s students, including those currently enrolled in other Stanford programs, must apply for admission. No fellowships are available. Entering students must meet with the director of the master’s program and have their advisor's approval, in writing, of program proposals. The master’s program should not be considered a stepping stone to the doctoral program; these two programs are separate and distinct. Coterminal applications are only accepted for a spring quarter start in winter quarter. The coterm deadline is the end of the second week of winter quarter.
Information on how to apply for graduate study at Stanford is available on the university’s Graduate Admissions website. Application information specific to Philosophy can be found on https://philosophy.stanford.edu/.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Earning an MA in Philosophy while earning a BA or BS is possible. This can usually be done by the end of the fifth undergraduate year, although a student without a Philosophy degree may require an additional year. This program’s admission and completion standards are the same as for MA applicants with bachelor’s degrees when matriculating. However, applicants for the coterminal program are not required to take the Graduate Record Exam.
University Coterminal Requirements
Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin. Coterminal Master's Degrees describes university requirements for the coterminal master’s degree. Graduate Degrees describes University requirements for the master’s degree.
After accepting admission to this coterminal master’s degree program, students may request a transfer of courses from the undergraduate to the graduate career to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree. Transferring courses to the graduate career requires review and approval of both the undergraduate and graduate programs on a case-by-case basis.
In this master’s program, courses taken during or after the first quarter of the sophomore year are eligible for consideration for transfer to the graduate career; the timing of the first graduate quarter is not a factor. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements.
Course transfers are not possible after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred.
The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open. The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.
Each program requires a minimum of 45 units in philosophy. Students in a special program may be allowed or required to replace up to nine units of philosophy with nine units in the field of specialization. Although the requirements for the MA are designed so that a student with the equivalent of a strong undergraduate philosophy major at Stanford might complete them in one year, most students need longer. Students should also remember that although 45 units is the minimum required by the university, more units are often necessary to complete department requirements. Up to 6 units of directed reading in philosophy may be allowed. There is no thesis requirement, but an optional master’s thesis or project, upon faculty approval, may count as the equivalent of up to eight units. A special program may require knowledge of a foreign language. At least 45 units in courses numbered 100 or above must be completed with a B- or better grade at Stanford. Students are reminded of the university requirements for advanced degrees, particularly that the MA, students must complete three full quarters as measured by tuition payment.
The General Program requires a minimum of 45 units in Philosophy courses numbered above 99. These courses must be taken for a letter grade, and the student must receive at least a B- in the course. Courses taken to satisfy the undergraduate core or affiliated courses may not be counted in the 45 units. The requirement has four parts.
When they enter or complete early in their program, students must have the following undergraduate courses (students entering from other institutions should establish equivalent requirements with a master’s advisor upon arrival or earlier):
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Complete one intermediate philosophy of science course.
Complete one course in moral and political philosophy from the PHIL 170-175 range.
Complete two History of Philosophy courses, numbered 100 or above.
Students must take at least one course numbered over 105 from three of the following five areas (courses used to satisfy the undergraduate core cannot also be counted toward satisfaction of the graduate core). Crosslisted and other courses taught outside the Department of Philosophy do not count toward fulfilling core requirements.
Logic and semantics
Philosophy of science and history of science
Ethics, value theory, and moral and political philosophy
Metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language
History of philosophy
Each master’s candidate must take at least two courses numbered above 200; these cannot be graduate sections of undergraduate courses.
Students must take at least three courses numbered over 105 in one of the five areas listed in the Graduate Core section.
Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the MA.
Each program requires a minimum of 45 units in philosophy. Students in a special program may be allowed or required to replace up to nine units of philosophy with nine units in the field of specialization. Although the requirements for the MA are designed so that a student with the equivalent of a strong undergraduate philosophy major at Stanford might complete them in one year, most students need longer. Students should also remember that although 45 units is the minimum required by the university, more units are often necessary to complete department requirements. Up to 6 units of directed reading in philosophy may be allowed. There is no thesis requirement, but an optional master’s thesis or project, upon faculty approval, may count as the equivalent of up to eight units. A special program may require knowledge of a foreign language. At least 45 units in courses numbered 100 or above must be completed with a B- or better grade at Stanford. Students are reminded of the university requirements for advanced degrees, particularly that for the MA, students must complete three full quarters as measured by tuition payment.
Students should have the equivalent of the Stanford undergraduate major in Symbolic Systems. Students with a strong major in one of the basic SSP disciplines (philosophy, psychology, linguistics, computer science) may be admitted but must do a substantial part of the undergraduate SSP core in each of the other basic SSP fields. This must include the following philosophy courses:
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This work does not count towards the 45-unit requirement.
Four courses in philosophy at the graduate level (numbered 200 or above), including courses from three of the following five areas:
Philosophy of language
Logic
Philosophy of mind
Metaphysics and epistemology
Philosophy of science
At most two of the four courses may be graduate sections of undergraduate courses numbered 100 or higher.
Three courses numbered 100 or higher from outside Philosophy chosen in consultation with an advisor. These courses should be from two of the following four areas:
Psychology
Linguistics
Computer Science
Education
The remaining courses are chosen in consultation with and approved by an advisor.
Each program requires a minimum of 45 units in philosophy. Students in a special program may be allowed or required to replace up to nine units of philosophy with nine units in the field of specialization. Although the requirements for the MA are designed so that a student with the equivalent of a strong undergraduate philosophy major at Stanford might complete them in one year, most students need longer. Students should also remember that although 45 units is the minimum required by the university, more units are often necessary to complete department requirements. Up to 6 units of directed reading in philosophy may be allowed. There is no thesis requirement, but an optional master’s thesis or project, upon faculty approval, may count as the equivalent of up to eight units. A special program may require knowledge of a foreign language. At least 45 units in courses numbered 100 or above must be completed with a B- or better grade at Stanford. Students are reminded of the university requirements for advanced degrees, particularly that for the MA, students must complete three full quarters as measured by tuition payment.
Admission is limited to students with substantial preparation in philosophy or linguistics. Those whose primary preparation has been in linguistics may be required to satisfy all or part of the undergraduate core requirements described in the “General Program” subsection above. Those whose preparation is primarily in philosophy may be required to take additional courses in linguistics.
Complete two approved courses in the philosophy of language numbered 180 or higher.
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Complete at least two approved courses numbered PHIL 151-Metalogic or higher.
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Complete one approved graduate-level course in mathematical linguistics or automata theory.