Graduate Program
Program Requirements

Admission to the program does not require undergraduate training in philosophy; students with strong backgrounds in any academic discipline are invited to apply.

Overview (please contact the department for further requirements)

  1. Successful completion of 72 units of courses and seminars at 400-level or above (with the exception of Symbolic Logic, PHIL 302) in a way that meets both the detailed course requirements and the following minima:
    1. 42 units of Philosophy coursework
    2. 24 units of empirical coursework/laboratory work
  2. Attendance at the weekly Philosophy Colloquium and weekly PNP Works in Progress seminar.
  3. Completion of 3 qualifying papers, to be submitted on the first day of Year 2, 3 and 4 respective. Each student must submit one paper in each of the following areas:
    1. Metaphysics/Epistemology/Philosophical Logic/Philosophy of Science (there should be no significant overlap with the paper satisfying requirement (b)
    2. Philosophy of Mind
    3. History of Philosophy/Value Theory
  4. Satisfaction of any colloquium requirement imposed by the department
  5. Completion and defense of a dissertation prospectus (typically during the 4th year)
  6. Completion and defense of a dissertation
Required Philosophy courses

All students in the PNP program are required to take the following courses:

PHIL 502 Proseminar
PHIL 4332
OR
PHIL 403		 Computation and Cognition

Mathematical Logic 1
PHIL 419 Philosophy of Psychology
PHIL 4210 Advanced Philosophy of Science
PHIL 4310
OR
PHIL 4315		 Meta-Ethics

Normative Ethical Theory
And at least one of the following
PHIL 4065 Advanced Philosophy of Language
PHIL 4142 Advanced Metaphysics
PHIL 4141 Advanced Epistemology

History of Philosophy requirement

All students in the PNP program are required to take 6 units of coursework (2 courses) in the history of Philosophy.

Non-Philosophy requirements

The 24 units of empirical coursework/laboratory work should include:

  • A course in research methods/statistics. PSYCH 5066 is recommended.
  • 6 units from the following courses:
    BIO 5651 Neural Systems
    PSYCH 4450 Computational Modeling in Cognitive Neuroscience
    PSYCH 4418 Functional Neuro-imaging Methods
    BIO 404 Laboratory of Neurophysiology
    PSYCH 519 Advanced Cognitive, Computational and Systems Neuroscience

  • 6 units from the following courses:
    PSYCH 4001 Introduction to Neuropsychology
    PSYCH 433 Psychology of Language
    PSYCH 4301 Contemporary Topics in Cognitive Development
    PSYCH 444 Human Psychophysiology
    PSYCH 4182 Perception, Thought, and Action

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