Department of Philosophy

Benefits | Graduate School | Applying to Graduate School

Benefits of Philosophical Training

Graduate School

For some, the formal study of philosophy does not end with the completion of their undergraduate degrees. A small number of students continue philosophical training at the graduate level.

There are various reasons as to why people choose graduate study in philosophy. For most, graduate study leads to obtaining the professional credentials necessary to teach at the post-secondary level. [1] For others, graduate study in philosophy is a time of career exploration. Still others study philosophy at the graduate level so that they can apply the training to other types of work. [2]

In the next section, we will look at how one should prepare for graduate school, and how they should go about completing the application process.

Preparing for Graduate Study

Undergraduate concentrators considering graduate study in philosophy may have many questions about the nature of graduate study, the various graduate programs, and the application process. How can they learn more?

One way is to attend the meeting held every fall by the Tutorial Office. During this meeting, seniors who are considering graduate schools in philosophy can learn more about the application process, as well as potential programs that would best suit their interests. [3]

Another way is to speak with the Head Tutor, along with any of the graduate students or professors in the department. They can help students:

• Decide as to whether they want to apply
• Discuss possible programs
• Provide advice on how to approach people for recommendations.
• Locate people who have attended, or taught at, schools of potential interest.

In short, students should not hesitate to avail themselves of the counsel and advice offered by the Department when considering graduate school and programs.

Of what does the application process consist? Let us examine this in the following section.

Application Process: General

Application deadlines for most programs are typically at the beginning of January. Usually the application requires:

• GRE scores (general part only -- this link will take you to the GRE site.)
• Transcripts
• Statement of purpose
• Three letters of recommendation
• Writing sample

Click on the links above to learn more about the various components of the application process.

Applicants should note that, while each component of the application package is important, the most important parts are the writing sample and the letters of recommendation. It is typically these—and especially the writing sample—on which a final decision to admit will turn.

Application Process: Transcripts & Coursework

Application Process: Statement of Purpose

• A lengthy autobiographical narrative. [4]
• An outline of a specific line of research for the dissertation. [5]

• A clear and concise explanation of what area of philosophy has so gripped a student that s/he is considering graduate study.

• A serious explanation of the student's philosophical interests, as s/he now finds them to be.
• A reasonable assessment of what the student hopes to accomplish in graduate school.
• Specific areas of philosophy about which the applicant would like to learn more
• Specific areas which bear upon the applicant's main areas of interest about which the s/he thinks that s/he needs to know more.

Application Process: Letters of Recommendation

In regards to the letters of recommendation, the best advice is this: develop close professional relationships with at least two of the faculty before the senior year.

Why? The large lecture format that typifies many Harvard undergraduate courses makes it nearly impossible for any faculty member to get to know all of the students. As a result, a professor will have an extremely difficult time writing a cogent, informed letter for a student if that student is only one among many members of some large lecture course.

One excellent means for developing such relationships is by attending professors' office hours. Office hours are excellent times discussing course lecture materials, asking intelligent questions, or reviewing a paper being written for the course. Since office hours are for just such things, students should feel free to make full use of them. Students would perhaps be surprised how often some of the faculty spend their office hours with no one to talk to.

Another way is to attend the various department colloquia and receptions that follow afterwards.

Application Process: Writing Sample

The writing sample, though, is perhaps the single most important document you will submit—in the end, it is what will make or break a student's application.

The applicant should view the production of a writing sample as if it were an additional course and plan to devote a fair amount of time just to doing that.

Some questions to consider as you begin to prepare your writing sample:

It is, generally, not a good idea to:

• Merely submit a paper that received an 'A' without revision.
• Submit a paper that a student is writing for a course taught in the fall of the senior year, given that there is insufficent time to polish the piece for inclusion as a writing sample.

A better idea is to use a successful paper written in the junior year as the foundation for the writing sample, and then spend a good deal of time refining it, whether by:

• Doing additional reading and research on the topic
• Polishing the arguments
• Getting feedback on drafts
• Discussing the comments received on the paper with the professor or teaching assistant for whose course the paper was written.

If the applicant remains unsure of which paper s/he might submit, faculty can help to choose a paper that would be appropriate for a writing sample

A good writing sample takes on a substantial philosophical problem, either in a critical evaluation of an argument or in a serious attempt to interpret difficult philosophical texts, rather than being a mere report of what a particular philosopher said.

Applicants should note that admissions committees are looking for promise in the writing sample. In other words, they want to see that the student has a solid basis from which s/he can start learning to do original philosophical work. Hence, students should not worry that the writing sample must make some original contribution to the area about which they are writing.

The writing sample needs to be a substantial piece of work. A good rule of thumb is:

• At least 12-15 pages long, but no more than 40 pages; a rough maximum length would be about 25 pages. Admissions committees generally do not have time to read papers longer than this.
• The writing sample should be printed on 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper, 1-inch margins, with double-spaced text in a common 12 pt. font, such as Times New Roman.

While it is permissible to submit more than one sample of writing, it is generally not advisable to do so, unless there are compelling reasons, e.g., the student has serious interests both in the philosophy of language and in Aristotle.

Should a student decide to submit more than one sample of work, s/he should indicate which of the pieces is intended to be primary and which is supplemental, in case the committee deems itself unable to read everything.

Students should be absolutely certain to proof-read thoroughly. Supplement spell- and grammar-checkers with friends reading through the paper and commenting upon style, grammar, and so forth.

Citations should also be in good order, with quotations and footnotes are properly and consistently formatted in one style.

There are many sources about style, grammar, and citation format, and students should consult them frequently while preparing the writing sample.