GRADUATE PROGRAM HANDBOOK DEPARTMENT OF

GRADUATE PROGRAM HANDBOOK

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

This document presents departmental requirements for graduate students. The Department

reserves the right to change these during the time the student works toward a degree. Other

university requirements are printed in the MU Graduate Catalog at http://catalog.missouri.edu.

The student is responsible for familiarity with these. The Catalog is definitive in case of conflict

with this Handbook.

For general information on the Office of Graduate Studies, see http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/.

Please contact the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) with corrections or suggestions for

improvement of this handbook. In particular, please alert the DGS to any links that no longer

work.

1. FACULTY .................................................................................................................................. 2

2. MA DEGREE ............................................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Admission Requirements ...................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Advising and Supervision ..................................................................................................... 4

2.3 Course Requirements ............................................................................................................ 5

2.4 Research Requirement........................................................................................................... 5

2.5 Satisfactory Academic Progress ............................................................................................ 7

2.6 Forms .................................................................................................................................... 7

3. PhD DEGREE ............................................................................................................................. 8

3.1 Admission Requirements (Qualifying Process) .................................................................... 8

3.2 Advising and Supervision ................................................................................................... 10

3.3 Course Requirements .......................................................................................................... 11

3.3.1 72 Graduate Credit Hour Requirement ........................................................................ 11

3.3.2 41 Regular Graduate Philosophy Credit Hour Requirement ........................................ 12

3.3.3 Residency Requirement................................................................................................ 13

3.3.4 Possible Language Requirement .................................................................................. 14

3.3.5 Protoseminar Requirement ........................................................................................... 14

3.3.6 Teaching Seminar Requirement ................................................................................... 14

3.3.7 Dissertation Seminar Requirement ............................................................................... 14

3.3.8 Distribution Requirement ............................................................................................. 14

3.4 Comprehensive Examination Requirement ......................................................................... 16

3.5 Colloquium Requirement .................................................................................................... 16

3.6 Job Search Preparation Requirements ................................................................................. 16

3.7 Dissertation Requirement .................................................................................................... 17

3.8 Satisfactory Academic Progress .......................................................................................... 19

3.9 Forms .................................................................................................................................. 20

4. TEACHING AND RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIP POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ......... 21

4.1 Eligibility for Continued Funding ....................................................................................... 21

4.2 Remission of Educational Fees (Tuition) and Health Insurance Subsidy ............................ 22

4.3 Basic Requirements for Teaching Assistants ...................................................................... 22

4.4 Teaching Advisor Policy ..................................................................................................... 23

4.5 Regulations on Teaching ..................................................................................................... 23

4.6 Grades ................................................................................................................................. 25

4.7 Academic Dishonesty ......................................................................................................... 26

4.8 Teaching Tools .................................................................................................................... 26

4.9 General Professional Development ..................................................................................... 26

5. PLACEMENT POLICY ........................................................................................................... 27

5.1 Student Eligibility ............................................................................................................... 27

5.2 Dossier service .................................................................................................................... 27

5.3 Placement responsibilities ................................................................................................... 27

6. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION..................................................................................... 28

6.1 Incompletes ......................................................................................................................... 28

6.2 Computers, Printing, and Copying ...................................................................................... 28

6.2.1 Computers .................................................................................................................... 28

6.2.2 Printing ......................................................................................................................... 29

6.2.3 Copying ........................................................................................................................ 29

6.2.4 Audiovisual Support ..................................................................................................... 29

6.3 Scott T. Davey Memorial Prize for Excellence in MA Research ........................................ 29

6.4 Funds for Travel to Conferences ......................................................................................... 30

6.4.1 Conference Possibilities ............................................................................................... 30

6.4.2 Funding Possibilities .................................................................................................... 30

6.5 Publishing Papers ................................................................................................................ 31

6.6 External Graduate Fellowships ........................................................................................... 33

6.7 Campus Services ................................................................................................................. 33

1. FACULTY

See https://philosophy.missouri.edu/people/faculty

438 Strickland Hall

University of Missouri

Columbia MO 65211-4160

Tel: (573) 882-2871

Fax: (573) 884-8949

philosophy@missouri.edu

2. MA DEGREE

2.1 Admission Requirements

Admission to the graduate program is unconditional or conditional. Among the ways that

conditional admission may arise are the following:

(1) Students whose native language is not English may be admitted on condition that they

demonstrate proficiency in English in the first semester of coursework or complete courses in the

University’s English Language Support Program that are recommended by the Department.

(2) Students determined by the DGS to have an inadequate background in philosophy may be

required to take prerequisite courses. The DGS will determine whether any such courses may be

counted towards degree requirements. Undergraduate or higher-level courses in the following

areas are normal prerequisites for courses taken for the MA degree: logic, ethics, metaphysics,

epistemology, ancient western philosophy and modern philosophy.

2.2 Advising and Supervision

The DGS is the advisor for all MA students. After completion of the MA, students will select a

faculty member to supervise their doctoral research. Students may change advisors as their needs

and interests change. The DGS should be informed of all changes.

Students should file M-1, Program of Study

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-

downloads/repository/m1.pdf

by the end of their third semester. (The Office of Graduate Studies says by the end of the second

semester, but this is too early for our purposes.) Changes to their program of study should be

made on the Course Substitution Form, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-

downloads/repository/subform.pdf

Students who will satisfy the research requirement (see below) by writing two papers should

arrange for the faculty member supervising one of the papers to be his/her advisor. For each

paper, the supervisor of the paper in consultation with the student chooses a second reader from

the Philosophy Department. At least three members of the Philosophy Department must serve on

the committee assessing the two papers and no person outside the Department is needed.

Students who will satisfy the research requirement by writing a thesis (see below) should arrange

for a member of the Department graduate faculty to serve as director. This faculty member

becomes the student’s advisor. The advisor in consultation with the student chooses a second

reader from the Philosophy Department and a third outside reader, who must be a member of the

graduate faculty from another MU graduate program. The M-2, Request for Thesis Committee

form, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/m2.pdf, must be filed with the

Office of Graduate Studies. Changes to the committee must be requested on the Change of

Committee Form, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/cocform.pdf

Students and faculty readers should ensure that that there are clear expectations about each

other’s role. Different people have different work styles, but a common arrangement is (1) for

the first reader to read 2-3 drafts, and for the second reader, after approval by first reader, to read

1-2 drafts, (2) for students to produce a draft every 2-4 weeks, and (3) for the reader to provide

written comments and to meet with the student within 1-3 weeks of receiving the draft.

2.3 Course Requirements

The following course requirements—other than the MA research requirement—will automatically

be satisfied if students satisfy the PhD course requirements. Thus, students seeking a PhD should

focus on the PhD course requirements in the section below on the PhD program.

Credit Hour Requirement: To obtain an MA, students must accrue 30 hours of graduate credit

(courses numbered 7000 or higher) satisfying the following conditions:

- at least 15 hours of course work must be at the 9000 level;

- at most 3 hours may be outside Philosophy;

- 6 hours must be in research (PHIL 8090 or 9090);

- at most 6 (8, for students pursuing a second MA degree) graduate credit hours may be transferred

from another university, or from another campus of the UM System, and this requires the

approval of the DGS and advisor. Only courses completed with a grade of B or better may

be transferred.

Distribution Requirement: In addition, students are required to satisfy the following distribution

requirements:

(1) PHIL 8100, Protoseminar in Philosophy;

(2) PHIL 7110, Advanced Logic:

(3) one of the following historical PHIL courses: 9030 Topics in Modern Philosophy, 9050 Plato,

9060 Aristotle, 9110 The Rationalists, 9120 The Empiricists, 9130 Kant; and

(4) one of the following PHIL courses: 9520 Ethical Theory, 9320 Social and Political Philosophy,

9610 Metaphysics, 9710 Philosophy of Mind and Psychology, 9840 Seminar in Philosophy of

Language, 9820 Epistemology, and 9830 Philosophy of Science

Residency Requirement: In each of the fall and spring semesters, funded students must enroll in

at least 9 credit hours in graduate philosophy courses.

Grade Restrictions: Philosophy courses must be completed with a grade of B or better (or S, if

S/U) in order to count towards any of the philosophy requirements for the MA. At least 80% of

all graduate courses taken (including courses in other departments) must be completed with

grades of A or B and an overall B average (3.0 GPA) is required.

2.4 Research Requirement

In addition to the course requirement, there is a research requirement, which can be satisfied in

one of two ways. In both cases, the written work should have a clear, thorough, and well-

structured defense of a thesis, show a familiarity with the relevant literature, and be free of

spelling and grammatical errors.

(1) Two research papers: The student writes two papers of format and topic appropriate for a

refereed paper in a major journal. The papers must be of high quality. They normally are

revisions of work done for seminars, but this is not required. They are normally each 5,000–

6,000 words long.

Each paper is written under the supervision of at least two faculty members (a first and second

reader) in the Department. Three to six hours of credit in PHIL 8090, Research, are awarded for

writing the papers. (PHIL 8090 is for research not leading to a thesis or dissertation.)

The student must pass a final oral examination administered by at least three Department

members, including those who supervised the student’s writing. Normally, the final examination

committee consists of the first and second readers for the two papers, as long as this involves at

least three Department members. (No outside member is needed for this way of satisfying the

research requirement.) Adding other faculty members to the final examination committee

requires approval from the student’s advisor and from the DGS. The examination committee

normally determines grades (S or U) for the PHIL 8090 Research hours taken during the

semester in which the MA qualification exam takes place.

(2) Thesis: Thesis work is commenced in the fourth semester of graduate work. The student

writes an extended paper that presents a substantial philosophical thesis and defends it. The

thesis is typically 6,000–12,000 words long. When the thesis has been judged ready for

examination by the advisor and the readers (one of whom must be from the graduate faculty of

another MU department), they conduct an oral examination. Three to six hours of credit in PHIL

9090, Research, are awarded for successfully defending the thesis in the oral exam, with grades

of S or U.

NOTE: In order to fulfill the MA research requirement, students must sign up for research hours

(either 8090 or 9090) in both the fall and spring semester of their second year. This requirement

will be waived if and only if the student has already met the MA research requirement by the end

of the fall semester of the second year.

Before working on research papers or a thesis, students should obtain Guidelines for Preparing

Theses and Dissertations from the Office of Graduate Studies

(http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/etd-guidelines.pdf).They should

conform in all drafts to the usage described in A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and

Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian (University of Chicago Phoenix book), which has been

adopted as the authoritative statement of style for philosophy theses and dissertations.

Upon completion of the MA research and all other requirements, the M-3, Report of Master’s

Examining Committee, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/m3.pdf,

should be filed with the Office of Graduate Studies.

2.5 Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory academic progress requires that students:

(1) each fall and spring semester: complete at least 9 credit hours in graduate philosophy courses;

(2) by the end of 2

semester: complete 19 Philosophy credits, including the Protoseminar with

B or better and the teaching seminar requirement, if the student is teaching;

(3) complete the MA by the end of the 4

semester since matriculation in theprogram;

(4) maintain a cumulative GPA in philosophy of at least 3.3 during the first two semesters and at

least 3.4 thereafter; and

(5) attend all departmental colloquia;

(6) for students who are not native speakers of English: achieve a score of 3P on the university’s

OPT test by the end of the first semester, a score of 4P by the end of the third semester, and a

score of 4 by the end of the fifth semester.

If the DGS finds that a student is not making satisfactory academic progress, he or she will ask

the student to meet with the faculty advisor to agree on a plan of action to remedy the situation.

(The advisor is the person with whom the student was most recently enrolled for research hours,

or if there is no such person, the DGS.) The student or the advisor may request that a member of

the Graduate Affairs Committee be present at the meeting. If a plan is agreed upon, the advisor

(or the DGS) and the student will sign a document listing the steps to be taken and the

appropriate timetable. If no plan is agreed upon, or if a plan is agreed upon but the student fails

to follow the outlined steps by the agreed dates, the DGS will follow the Office of Graduate

Studies procedures for placing the student on probation. The DGS will consult with the Graduate

Affairs Committee to set the terms of the probation. A student who satisfies the terms of the

probation will be removed from probation and returned to good standing in the department. If the

student does not satisfy the terms of the probation, the DGS will begin the process of dismissal

from the department.

Students have the right to appeal dismissal to the Department and the Graduate Faculty Senate.

The student will make an appeal to the Chair in writing; the Chair will appoint a committee from

members of the faculty who are not members of the Graduate Affairs Committee to hear the

appeal. The committee will make a report to the Chair.

Funded students who fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress will lose their guaranteed

funding. A student who completes the work necessary for satisfactory academic progress may

have guaranteed funding restored. The decision to restore or not restore guaranteed funding will

be made by the Graduate Affairs Committee.

The MA must be completed within eight years after initial enrollment. Time spent in the armed

services does not count. A student who seeks an extension must send the graduate dean a written

petition approved by the advisor and DGS.

2.6 Forms

Students are responsible for insuring that all relevant forms required by the Office of Graduate

Studies are filed in a timely manner. Students should complete these forms in consultation with

their advisor and transmit them through the DGS to the Office of Graduate Studies. The forms

can be obtained on the web at http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/

M-1 Program of Study: This form provides the student, the department, and the Office of

Graduate Studies with a plan for all course work, transfer credit, and research hours that will

comprise a student’s program of study. Submit to the DGS by Dec. 1

of their second year.

(Ignore the statement by the Office of Graduate Studies that this must be done by end of second

semester.) You will not be able to participate in May graduation if you do not file by then. (You

will also need to file a graduation application at the beginning of the semester at the end ofwhich

you want to graduate. This can be done online.) Use the Departmental Program of Study

Worksheet (available on our website) along with this form.

Course Substitution Form: This records any changes made to the program of study.

M-2 Request for Thesis Committee: This form is required only of students who will be writing a

thesis (and not of students writing two research papers). Submit to the DGS by Dec. 1 of the

second year.

Change of Committee Form: This records any changes made to the Thesis Committee.

M-3 Report of Committee: This form reports the final results of 1) master’s thesis defense or 2)

master’s two-paper defense. Submit to DGS as soon as possible after the exam or thesis defense.

Also attach your completed Departmental Program of Study Worksheet (available on our

website) so that DGS can verify that you have completed all course requirements. All students

must submit this form upon completion of the defense of the master’s research.

3. PhD DEGREE

The PhD requirements consist of the following:

- qualifying for the PhD program

- course requirements

- colloquium requirement

- comprehensive exam requirement

- dissertation and job search requirements

The DGS may waive specific requirements for very special cases where the requirement imposes

an extreme burden on the student and provides only a small academic benefit.

3.1 Admission Requirements (Qualifying Process)

For general admission requirements to the graduate program, see the description above under the

MA Degree. In order for a student to be admitted to the doctoral program, the following three

conditions must be satisfied:

(1) The Department must assess the student according to the procedure explained below and

judge the student to be sufficiently likely (relative to other students in the program) to completea

PhD of sufficiently high quality in a timely manner.

(2) He/she must have a GPA of 3.5 or better on work toward the MA at MU—although, under

special circumstances, the Graduate Affairs Committee can waive this requirement. For students

who do not complete their MA at MU, the Graduate Affairs Committee, or the Department as a

whole, will determine whether the spirit of this requirement is met.

(3) The student has one month following the Department assessment (described in condition 1)

to secure the agreement of a doctoral faculty member to supervise three hours of research credit

in the fall to work on a dissertation proposal.

The procedure for the departmental assessment (condition 1 above) is the following:

(1) For a student completing an MA in the Department, the student’s MA committee will make a

recommendation as to whether the student should be admitted to the doctoral program. If no MA

was attempted at MU, a special committee composed of three MU Philosophy faculty members

will make such a recommendation on the basis of an oral examination of either an MA thesis

(from elsewhere) or two 3,000–6,000 word papers.

(2) The DGS will review the committee recommendation.

(a) If the DGS agrees with the recommendation, he/she will communicate the recommendation

to the Department and announce that the recommendation will be implemented if no onerequests

a review within one week. If someone requests a review, the matter will be referred to the

Graduate Affairs Committee. If the committee concurs with the recommendation, the

recommendation will be implemented. If the committee does not concur, then the matter will be

referred to the Department as a whole to decide.

(b) If the DGS does not agree with the recommendation of the MA committee, then he/she will

refer the matter to the Graduate Affairs Committee to assess within one week. The DGS will

then communicate the committee’s recommendation to the Department and announce that it will

be implemented if no one requests a review within one week. If someone requests a review, the

matter will be referred to the Department as a whole to decide.

committee are not permitted to vote on the Graduate Affairs Committee’s assessment of the

candidate’s qualification for the doctoral program. Instead, the DGS will arrange for the

Department Chair to appoint a substitute member to the committee for the purpose of this vote.

(d) If the student does not satisfy the GPA requirement (condition 2 above), this matter will be

reviewed as part of the above process.

Students should note that qualification to the doctoral program is not automatic upon completion

of the MA. Students with a weak record should not expect to qualify.

A note on terminology:

- Doctoral students are all and only students who have been admitted to the doctoral program by

the above qualifying process. Almost all students admitted to the graduate program are MA

students and not doctoral students when they first arrive.

- Doctoral candidates are all and only those students who have satisfied the comprehensive

exam requirement (and are thus ABD and ready to work on their dissertations).

The Office of Graduate Studies requirements for the PhD are in the MU Graduate Catalog,

http://catalog.missouri.edu

3.2 Advising and Supervision

After qualifying for the doctoral program (becoming a doctoral student), the student chooses an

advisor from the Department doctoral faculty. The advisor in consultation with the student

chooses the members of the student’s Doctoral Program Committee. The Office of Graduate

Studies requires that the committee be composed of a minimum of four (five, if the student

started in the program prior to Fall 2005) members of the MU graduate faculty and that it

include at least three members from the student’s doctoral degree program and an outside

member from a different MU program. At least two of the doctoral committee members must be

MU doctoral faculty. Additional committee members with specialized expertise who do notmeet

the criteria for the MU graduate faculty or doctoral faculty may serve on a doctoral committees

as a fifth or sixth member, with special permission of the vice provost/dean of the Office of

Graduate Studies. (Not all faculty are graduate faculty, and not all graduate faculty are doctoral.

To be a member of each category requires approval of the Department and of the Office of

Graduate Studies.) The student’s advisor serves as the chair of the committee. The Doctoral

Program Committee should be appointed before one year has elapsed following the student’s

first registration for courses to be included in the doctoral plan of study. Students should file the

following forms with the Office of Graduate Studies:

(1) D-1 Qualifying Examinations Results and Doctoral Committee Approval Form,

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/d1.pdf

(2) Change of Program/Degree/Advisor (to change degree from MA to PhD).

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/change-degree.pdf

Changes to the committee can be made on the Change of Committee Form,

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/cocform.pdf

The Doctoral Program Committee reviews the plan of study worked out by the student with the

guidance of his/her advisor. This plan lists courses that will prepare the student for doctoral

research and satisfy Departmental and Office of Graduate Studies requirements. The committee

decides what kind, if any, of language requirement will be imposed. It also decides whether to

approve any request for transfer of graduate credit or for substitution of courses to meet

distribution requirements. Once the committee has approved the student’s plan of study, the

student submits D-2, Plan of Study, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-

downloads/repository/d2.pdf to the DGS, who, if he/she approves it, will forward it to the Office

of Graduate Studies. If the Graduate Director does not approve the plan of study or transfer

request, he/she will work out a mutually acceptable plan with the Doctoral Program Committee

and then forward it to the Office of Graduate Studies. Changes to the program of study should be

made on the Course Substitution Form, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-

downloads/repository/subform.pdf

In addition, for students doing interdisciplinary research, the committee will ensure that the

student’s plan of study includes courses in the other discipline(s) that the committee deems

necessary for the successful completion of the course. Where possible, the committee will also

include a faculty member from the relevant non-philosophy discipline(s).

When the student begins working on his/her dissertation proposal, the advisor and student review

and propose changes to the Doctoral Program Committee’s membership. The dissertation

director, who should be someone in the Department whose area of specialization best fits the

proposed topic, should chair the Doctoral Program Committee. Another faculty member in the

Department who is well informed on the topic of the dissertation should be a member of the

committee and designated as the second reader. A faculty member from another MU doctoral

program should be a member of the committee and designated as the third reader. One other

member of the Department should also be a member. Faculty members have the right to decline

appointment if they judge that they or the student are not equipped to carry out their respective

assignments. Changes to the committee must be requested on the Change of Committee Form,

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/cocform.pdf

The Doctoral Program Committee oversees the student’s dissertation research and conducts the

final dissertation examination.

3.3 Course Requirements

Students must satisfy the following course requirements (described below):

- 72 graduate credit hour requirement

- 41 regular graduate philosophy credit hour requirement

- residency requirement (minimum enrollment per semester)

- any language requirement imposed by the Doctoral Program Committee

- protoseminar requirement

- teaching seminar requirement

- dissertation seminar requirement

- placement seminar requirement

- distribution requirement

The Office of Graduate Studies requires an overall GPA of at least 3.0 in all graduate work taken

at MU whether in philosophy or not. Philosophy courses must be completed with a grade of B or

better in order to count towards any of the philosophy requirements for the PhD.

3.3.1 72 Graduate Credit Hour Requirement

Doctoral students must complete 72 credit hours of graduate work (courses numbered 7000 and

higher; including courses taken for an MA in philosophy at MU), subject to the following

restrictions:

(1) Transfer Credits: With the approval of the Graduate Affairs Committee, up to 30 of the 72

graduate credit hours can be transferred from other institutions, but only with grades of B or

better. Note, however, that, for the 41 credit hour requirement below, the courses must be

doctoral level and at least 24 of these must be taken at MU. Thus, at most 17 credits can count

towards the 41 credit hour requirement (as opposed to the general 72 credit hour requirement).

Also, for every nine credits transferred, the period of guaranteed financial support will be

reduced by one semester. (There is no reduction for six transferred credits.)

(2) Doctoral Level Credits: The Office of Graduate Studies requires that at least 15 credit hours

be earned at the 8000 level or above—exclusive of research, problem, or independent study

courses.

(3) Non-Philosophy Credits: At least 60—or 48, if pursuing a minor in Ancient Studies—of the

72 credit hours must be in philosophy.

Important: In order to ensure that they meet the 72 credit hour requirement, students should

normally take at least 18 credits (including PHIL 8090 and 9090) for each of their first three

years. This will normally give them 55 credits (including the 1 credit Teaching Philosophy).

During their fourth year, they should normally sign up for 6 credits of PHIL 9090 each regular

semester. That combined with the 1 credit Dissertation Seminar (taken in the fall of the third

year), will give them 68 credits. During their fifth year, students should sign up for at least 2

credits hours of PHIL 9090 each regular semester and 1 credit hour during the summer. This

gives a total of 73 credits at the end of five years.

3.3.2 41 Regular Graduate Philosophy Credit Hour Requirement

Students complete at least 41 credit hours in regular graduate philosophy courses. This consists

of a 3 credits for the protoseminar requirement, 2 credits for the teaching and dissertation

seminar requirements, 27 credits for the distribution requirement (see below), and 9 credits (3

courses) in elective courses. Regular courses do not include independent readings, research

courses, and the like.

With the exception of the courses satisfying the logic requirement (see below), the graduate

philosophy courses must be numbered PHIL 8000 or higher, and not include independent

reading courses, research courses (PHIL 8090 or 9090). At least 24 of these credits must be

taken at MU (as opposed to being transfer credits). (Thus, at most 17 transfer credits may count

towards this requirement.)

Taking same course twice:

(1) Special reading courses (e.g., PHIL 7850), topics courses (e.g., PHIL 7001, 7005, 9001),

research courses (PHIL 8090 and 9090), and the Seminar in Philosophy (PHIL 9901)

may be officially repeated.

(2) The Office of Graduate Studies does not allow courses to be repeated for credit, unless

the official course description explicitly says that this is allowed. There is, however, a

way to get around this. Students may request permission from the Graduate Affairs

Committee to take informally a regular course a second time when its content is

significantly different from the first time it was taken. In these cases, the student should

ask the professor to ask the Departmental administrative assistant to add a section of 9001

in his/her name on myZou.) The student will then complete the regular course as usual

and the grade will be entered for PHIL 9001.

3.3.3 Residency Requirement

The Office of Graduate Studies requires that those who have completed the comprehensive exam

requirement take at least 2 credit hours in PHIL 9090 Research in the fall and spring semesters

and at least 1 credit hour in PHIL 9090 in the summer semester. In order to meet the 72 graduate-

credit requirement, however, doctoral candidates should normally take (a) 6 credits of PHIL

9090 each regular semester of the fourth year, (b) at least 2 credits of PHIL 9090 each regular

semester of the fifth year, and (c) 1 credit each summer.

Funded students (e.g., TAs, RAs, fellowship students) must enroll in a minimum number of

courses, as specified below:

(1) Students who have not yet completed the comprehensive exam requirement must complete at

least 9 credit hours in graduate philosophy courses in each of the fall and spring semesters.

(Students completing the comprehensive requirement in a given semester, however, need only

take enough credits to complete that requirement, as long as this is at least 3 credits.)

(2) Students who have completed the comprehensive examination requirement must

satisfactorily complete, in each of the fall and spring semesters, either for credit or as a formal

auditor (hearer) at least one regular (non-research) 3 credit-hour philosophy course that iseither

(a) a 8000/9000-level course, or (b) PHIL 7120 Selected Topics in Logic or 7130 Probability and

Induction (c) PHIL 3000, Ancient Western Philosophy or PHIL 3200, Modern Philosophy.

(PHIL 3000 and 3200 are allowed because our history of philosophy offerings are weak and this

permits interested students to improve their ability to teach history of philosophy by using these

courses as models.) Students are encouraged to audit courses (rather than take them for credit) so

that they can spend more time working on their dissertations. A satisfactory audit involves at

least regular participation in classes and satisfactory attention to the readings. It typically does

not require that any major written assignments be completed, but instructors may impose their

own requirements. Because PHIL 3000 and 3200 are undergraduate courses, students who audit

those courses may be required to take on some special assignments, which may be teaching

related. If a student wishes to audit a course not on the above list, he or she should send a request

to both the DGS and the student’s advisor listing reasons for the audit. If both agree the reasons

are sufficient, the DGS will grant the request. Students with special circumstances may request a

waiver of this requirement.

To register to audit for a course, students should sign up normally on myZou, and then use the

following procedure during the first two week of class:

(1) For graduate courses: The Change of Grading Option Form must be handed in to the Office

of Graduate Studies (210 Jesse Hall) or emailed to graduaterecords@missouri.edu. No signature

from the Dean is needed. After two workdays, you can verify your status in MyZou: Main Menu

> Self Service > Student Center, and under the Academics Section click Grades. If there is

any problem, contact the Office of Graduate Studies by e-mail or by phone (573-882-6331, press

3).

(2) For students wishing to audit PHIL 3000, Ancient Western Philosophy or PHIL 3200,

Modern Philosophy (the only two undergraduate courses that may be audited), the change cannot

be done electronically. Instead, students should print and fill out the Late Registration Form,

http://registrar.missouri.edu/forms/late-registration-form.pdf. Fill out your personal information,

ignore the late add and late drop boxes, fill out the grading option box to Hearer, sign, and leave

in the mailbox of the DGS. He/she will sign, send to the Office of Graduate Studies to stamp,

and have the form sent to the Registrar’s Office.

Doctoral candidates will not be able to use the Automatic Enrollment System (continuous

enrollment) for PHIL 9090, since signing up for a course disables the system. Instead, they

should sign up “manually” for 2-6 credits of PHIL 9090 as well as for the course that they wish

to audit.

3.3.4 Possible Language Requirement

If a student intends to write a dissertation on a historical figure or movement, he or she must be

able to read primary sources in their original language. To that end, he or she must develop the

needed language skills as early as possible. The need for language studies will be determined by

the student’s Doctoral Program Committee.

3.3.5 Protoseminar Requirement

The Protoseminar in Philosophy, PHIL 8100, is an introduction to graduate-level work in

philosophy. It is required of all and only students beginning the philosophy graduate program at

MU. It is an intensive workshop—weekly papers, close readings, critiques, discussions, etc.,

focused on skills rather than content. The course focuses mainly on writing, with extensive,

detailed input from instructors on each writing assignment. It is intensive—requiring weekly

written assignments in addition to a term paper of at least 3000 words, revised at least once in

light of comments from the instructors and other seminar participants.

The Protoseminar must be completed with a grade of B or better. Students who receive a grade

of C or lower will be terminated from the program, unless the Graduate Affairs Committee

approves a remedial plan (which it will do only under very special circumstances).

3.3.6 Teaching Seminar Requirement

All students must take the 1 credit 8210, Teaching Philosophy 1 concurrent with or prior to any

teaching assignment—and no later than the Fall semester of their third year.

3.3.7 Dissertation Seminar and Placement Seminar Requirement

All students must take the 1 credit 8300, Dissertation Seminar in the fall of their third year. All

students must take the 0 credit Placement Seminar in the spring of their fourth year.

3.3.8 Distribution Requirement

The distribution requirement has two parts: (A) a 21 credit core requirement, and (B) a 6 credit

supplemental requirement.

A. The Core Distribution Requirements. Seven courses (21 credits) must be taken as follows:

- Logic and Related Areas (2 courses):

7110 Advanced Logic, plus one of:

7120 Selected Topics in Logic

7130 Probability and Induction

7150 Formal Semantics

9510 Decision Theory

9887 Seminar in Logic

- History of Philosophy (2 courses):

9030 Topics in Modern Philosophy

9050 Plato

9060 Aristotle

9110 The Rationalists

9120 The Empiricists

9130 Kant

9240 Russell and Wittgenstein

* If offerings of 9030 and 9110, or 9030 and 9120, have significantly overlapping

topics, the DGS may decide not to accept the offerings as two courses counting

toward fulfillment of the distribution requirements.

- Ethics and Political Philosophy (1 course)

9520 Ethical Theory

9320 Social & Political Philosophy

- Metaphysics, Mind, and Language (1 course)

8510 Metaphysics: A Survey

8520 Philosophy of Mind: A Survey.

8540 Philosophy of Language: A Survey

9610 Metaphysics

9710 Philosophy of Mind and Psychology

9840 Seminar in Philosophy of Language

- Epistemology and Philosophy of Science (1 course)

8530: Epistemology: A Survey

9820 Epistemology

9830 Philosophy of Science

B. The Supplemental Distribution Requirements (6 credits):

Students must take an additional course from each of two of the five distribution areas. For this

purpose, students may take either courses on the area lists for the core distribution requirements

(above) or from the following supplemental lists:

Logic and Related Areas: no additions

History of Philosophy: 9210 Hegel, 9350 History of Eastern Ethics

Ethics and Political Philosophy: no additions

Metaphysics, Mind, and Language: 9720 Foundations of Cognitive Science*

Epistemology and Philosophy of Science: 9720 Foundations of Cognitive Science*, 9850

Philosophy of Biology

* PHIL 9720 can count for only one area and the student is free to decide which.

With the approval of the Graduate Affairs Committee, PHIL 9901 Seminar in Philosophy (topic

open) will count towards one of these areas when the seminar is on a suitable topic. Other

substitutions may be possible, subject to approval by the Graduate Affairs Committee.

3.4 Comprehensive Examination Requirement

The comprehensive examination requirement is completed once students have (1) satisfied all

course requirements other than the 72 graduate credit requirement and the Dissertation and Job

Search Preparation seminar, (2) completed the written dissertation proposal (described below),

and (3) completed the oral examination of the proposal. The advisor secures signatures on form

D-3, Doctoral Comprehensive Examination Results Form,

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/d3.pdf

and submits it as a report of the results of the comprehensive examination to the Office of

Graduate Studies.

Students admitted to the program prior to 2000 may petition (and will normally be granted

permission) to satisfy the comprehensive requirement on the basis of the old four three-hour

exam procedure.

After passing the comprehensive examination requirement, the student is required to be

continuously enrolled until graduation. This is met by enrolling in two hours each semester and

one hour each summer session in PHIL 9090, Research.

A note on terminology (repeated from above for clarity):

- Doctoral students are all and only students who have been admitted to the doctoral program by

the qualifying process. When students start the graduate program, they are typically master’s

students and not doctoral students.

- Doctoral candidates are all and only those students who have satisfied the comprehensive exam

requirement (and are thus ABD and ready to work on their dissertations).

3.5 Colloquium Requirement

Funded students must attend all talks in the departmental colloquium (speaker) series. In addition

to providing philosophical stimulation, the colloquia provide students the opportunity to develop

their understanding of the professional norms involved in giving and commenting on papers. It

also gives them concrete models of good and (alas!) bad ways of giving talks.

The DGS will monitor students’ attendance at colloquia and assess whether it is adequate for the

purposes of this requirement.

3.6 Job Search Preparation Requirements

In the fall semester of the year in which a student first goes on the job market, he/she must (a)

participate in a mock interview and (b) give a mock job talk to the Department.

3.7 Dissertation Requirement

(1) To begin dissertation research, students sign up for 3-6 credits of PHIL 9090 and write and

defend a dissertation proposal. The proposal should briefly (in 6,000–8,000 words) explain (a)

the history of the philosophical issue that he or she intends to address; (b) the available current

positions on that issue; (c) the general significance of this issue to the field of philosophy; and

(d) some general sense of the student’s thesis relative to the issue. The student’s Doctoral

Program Committee then decides whether to accept the proposal as a feasible project. The

committee may ask for changes.

A written dissertation proposal may be formally submitted for review by the student’s Doctoral

Program Committee only after the first reader (i.e., director) and second reader judge the

document ready for oral examination and affirm their willingness to serve in their respective

roles for the dissertation. If one of them declines to so serve, either the proposal must be revised

to his/her satisfaction or a replacement must be found who approves the proposal and affirms

his/her willingness to serve in the role at issue (first or second reader).

Once the written proposal has been approved by first and second readers willing to continue in

their roles, there will be an oral examination of the proposal by the Doctoral Program

Committee. The Committee will evaluate the proposal on a pass/fail basis. If a majority of the

Doctoral Program Committee finds the student’s oral defense of his or her proposal to be

unacceptable, the student must resubmit a written proposal (which may be the same as the

previous submission, but normally is an improved version thereof) and retake the oral

examination. If a majority of the Doctoral committee again finds his or her proposal

unacceptable, then the student is terminated from the doctoral program.

(2) Students should obtain Guidelines for Preparing Theses and Dissertations from the Office of

Graduate Studies, http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/etd-

guidelines.pdf. They should conform to the usage described in A Manual for Writers of Term

Papers, Theses and Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian (University of Chicago Phoenix book) in

all drafts of the dissertation. Students should choose dissertation topics of vital concern to

themselves and for which they have requisite linguistic, logical, or other technical skills,

scholarly background, and philosophical talents. They should choose directors from those

members of the faculty best equipped to assist and criticize their work.

(3) Students, dissertation directors, and second readers should ensure that that there are clear

expectations about what is expected from each. Different people have different work styles, but a

common arrangement is (a) for the director to read 3-4 drafts of each chapter and for the second

reader, after approval by first reader, to read 1-2 drafts, (b) for students to produce a draft every

2-6 weeks, and (c) for the faculty reader to provide written comments and to meet with the

student within 1-3 weeks of receiving the draft. It is the responsibility of the director to read each

part of the dissertation carefully, make detailed criticisms and suggestions, and require it to be

rewritten as many times as necessary to meet high standards of philosophical discourse. While

the director should help in matters of style, structure, and content, the primary responsibility lies

with the student to perfect the dissertation.

(4) The student should keep the other readers and members of the Doctoral Program Committee

informed of the progress of the dissertation as it is being written to ensure that it will be

acceptable to them and to benefit from their advice. (A common procedure is to ask other

members of the committee to read the dissertation only when the first and second reader judge it

ready for defense.)

(5) Copies of the dissertation should also be made available to members of the Doctoral Program

Committee at least a week before the final examination. The student should send electronic

versions to each committee member and offer to provide hardcopy to anyone upon request. The

director should send to all faculty and student members of the Department an e-mail inviting

them to attend the oral defense. The e-mail should include the abstract and should identify the

time and place of the final examination, name of the candidate, title of the dissertation, and

members of the Doctoral Program Committee. The defense should be scheduled in a room large

enough to accommodate all interested parties interested in attending.

(6) The final examination is a searching oral examination of the content of the dissertation, the

student’s background knowledge, and his/her ability to handle issues orally. The examination is

open to all MU philosophy graduate students and all MU faculty in any department. Others may

attend with the unanimous approval of the Doctoral Program Committee. Initially, onlymembers

of the Doctoral Program Committee have the right to ask questions and comment. Once they are

done, other philosophy faculty and students have the right to ask questions and comment.

Following that, any other MU faculty members have the right to ask questions or comment. The

Doctoral Program Committee alone determines whether to pass or fail the student on the

examination. In order for the dissertation to be successfully defended, the committee must vote

to pass the student on the defense with no more than one dissenting or abstaining vote.

(7) The Doctoral Program Committee may (a) pass the student unqualifiedly, (b) require the

examination to be retaken or the dissertation altered in view of issues raised by theexamination,

or (c) fail the student altogether. All decisions other than the decision whether to pass require a

majority vote of the Doctoral Program Committee.

(8) The student’s advisor reports the result to the Office of Graduate Studies on form D-4, Report

of Doctoral Dissertation Defense,

http://gradstudies.missouri.edu/forms-downloads/repository/d4.pdf

(9) When the dissertation has been approved by the Doctoral Program Committee, the student

submits an electronic version, in the requisite format, to the Office of Graduate Studies. The

deadlines for submission of dissertations in time for graduation in each of the three terms are set

by the Office of Graduate Studies each year (the student should consult the current Graduate

Catalog for exact dates).

(10) The Office of Graduate Studies requires that the dissertation must be completed within five

years of the Comprehensive Examinations. (The Department does not, however, guarantee TA

funding beyond five years after beginning the graduate program [reduced for any graduate

credits that the student elects to transfer to the program].) Students seeking an extension of this

deadline should ask their advisor to send the graduate dean a written request. The final oral on

the dissertation cannot be taken less than seven months after the completion of the examinations.

3.8 Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory academic progress requires:

• a cumulative GPA in philosophy of at least 3.3 during the student’s first two semesters,

and 3.4 thereafter;

• satisfaction of the residency requirements (described above under “Course

Requirements”);

• completion any language requirement in accordance with the timetable laid out inthe

student’s official plan of study (approved by his/her Doctoral Program Committee);

• satisfaction of the colloquium requirement;

• satisfaction of the following progression requirements for full-time students (and the

equivalent for part-time students), where semesters are measured from enrollment in

the graduate (MA) program, adjusted to count any transfer credit:

end of 2

semester: completion of 19 credits, including the Protoseminar with B

or better and the teaching seminar requirement, if the student is teaching.

end of 4

semester: completion of 37credits; admission as doctoral student

(completion of the qualifying process, normally by completing MA). [Students

should normally take 3 credits of PHIL 8090/9090 for their MA research in

their fourth semester.]

end of 6

semester: completion of 55 credits including all course requirements

other than the 72 graduate credit requirement, completion of the

comprehensive exam requirement, approval of dissertation proposal. [In their

fifth semester, students should normally take two regular courses and three

credits of PHIL 9090 (for dissertation proposal). In their sixth semester,

students should normally take one regular course and six credits of PHIL 9090

(for dissertation proposal).]

end of 8

semester: completion of 67 credits, completion of Dissertation Seminar;

normally 6 credits of PHIL 9090 are taken in Fall and in Spring semesters;

end of 9

semester: participation in mock interview and mock job talk, if going on

the job market.

• for students who are not native speakers of English, achieving a score of 3P on the

university’s OPT test by the end of the first semester, a score of 4P by the end of the

third semester, and a score of 4 by the end of the fifth semester.