Upon admission, a graduate major in philosophy will be assigned a departmental faculty advisor who, in conjunction with the director of graduate studies, will help plan the student's program of studies. A total of 30 credit hours, at least 20 credit hours of which must be in philosophy. The student must either demonstrate reading proficiency in classical Greek, French, German, or Latin, or write an acceptable thesis. Up to 6 hours of thesis credit may be applied to the course requirements and may be counted in the 20 credit hours of philosophy. Languages not on this list may, when appropriate, be substituted.
Any substitution requires the approval of the director of graduate studies.
Also, some specializations will require additional foreign languages. Each fall semester, one graduate course is designated as a required course for all incoming graduate students. An aim of this course is to convey a sense of the depth of research and the level of writing needed for success in the graduate program. Satisfactory completion of this course is required. This course can be counted toward the student's nine units of distribution requirements.