The Philosophy Department's Master of Arts in Philosophy is consistently ranked among the top philosophy programs in the United States, with most of its graduates accepted into top PhD programs. As a student in the MA in Philosophy Program, you will receive close mentorship from renowned faculty as well as hands on research opportunities. The program is designed for students who seek to deepen their understanding of philosophy and prepare for doctoral study.

Program Outcomes

As a student in the MA in Philosophy Program, you will learn from world renowned faculty and take courses in logic, normative philosophy, the history of philosophy, metaphysics, and epistemology. Recent graduates have enrolled in PhD programs in philosophy at Oxford, Harvard, Stanford, and Duke. Others have gone on to attend competitive law and JD/PhD programs. Read the full list of graduate placements here.

Application Requirements

Application fee
Resume/CV
Personal statement
Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test, if applicable
Transcripts
Three letters of recommendation
Writing sample: While each application is evaluated holistically, an important part of a successful application is the writing sample. The ideal writing sample should best manifest your philosophical capacities, though it doesn't have to be a philosophy paper. The ideal length is approximately 15 double-spaced pages.

Tuition and Financial Aid

See Tuition and Financial Aid information for this GSAS Program.

Please note that students receive $3,000 after completing the first-semester pedagogy seminar (which does not require work outside class).

After their first semester in the program, students can apply for a Teaching Assistantship. The department ordinarily can accommodate all MA candidates in good standing who wish to TA. Typically, they do not assign teaching assistantships to first-semester MA students.

Faculty

Christiana Olfert

Associate Professor

Ancient Philosophy, Early Modern Philosophy, Ethics

Jody Azzouni

Professor

Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Science

Academic Leave

Avner Baz

Professor and Department Chair of Philosophy

Ethics, Aesthetics, Epistemology, Kant, Wittgenstein, Ordinary Language Philosophy

Nancy Bauer

Professor

Feminism, Existentialism and Phenomenology, Philosophical Method, Philosophy and Film

Academic Leave

David Denby

Distinguished Senior Lecturer

Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Ethics

Brian Epstein

Associate Professor

Metaphysics, Philosophy of Social Science, Philosophy of Language

Patrick Forber

Associate Professor

Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Probability

Erin Kelly

Fletcher Professor of Philosophy

Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Law

Peter Levine

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs

Political Theory, American Politics, Civic Studies

Lionel McPherson

Associate Professor

Ethics, Political and Social philosophy

Dilip Ninan

Associate Professor

Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind

Susan Russinoff

Distinguished Senior Lecturer

Philosophy of Language, Logic, Philosophy of Logic, History of Logic, Critical Thinking Pedagogy

Sigrun Svavarsdottir

Associate Professor

Moral philosophy, practical rationality, moral psychology, action theory

Stephen White

Professor

Philosophy of Mind, Epistemology, Meta-ethics, Aesthetics

Areas of Research and Scholarship

The MA in Philosophy program offers courses in ethics, political and social philosophy (including feminism and philosophy of race), metaphysics, epistemology philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, aesthetics, continental philosophy (including Nietzsche and phenomenology), and the history of philosophy.