Gnothi_Seauton

For anyone rejected by Rutgers:

I would take the philosophy of language class. Any significant grounding you can get in the major developments in 20th century analytic philosophy is good before grad school, if you are planning to go to an analytic-centered program. You probably got a bit in the philosophy of science course, but the more the better.

If you are planning to continue with PPE, I actually think a letter from an economist might be a help, at least at Ph.D. programs that take PPE seriously. Especially if the economist in question works on some area of economics related to PPE (like game theory) and can attest to your ability in that area.

I can see why you'd look at UNC's faculty list and think it would be better to wait and apply in a couple years after an MA, especially for a shot at Arizona. But I think you might be underestimating how friendly a place UNC is for your interests. Geoff Sayre-McCord and Luc Bovens are both really good and will definitely be around throughout your grad career. Jerry Postema and Geoff Brennan are less likely to be around for your entire grad career, but you could still benefit from them for a few years. Also, UNC is actively building its PPE program, so you can expect at least one hire and maybe a couple hires in your area in the next few years. We're even in the process of creating a PPE area exam, so specializing in the area will become easier. We also organize and run the annual PPE Society conference, which immediately gives you access to a large network (including the people I'm sure you're interested in working with at AZ, Brown, and Georgetown). So don't write UNC off too quickly!

I don't understand how you can read these funding descriptions and think that these programs guarantee only two years of support. They offer two years of fellowship (in Berkeley and UCLA's cases anyway) and three to four years (or more) of teaching. That's 5-6 years (or more) of financial support. UNC, where I am, guarantees six years of funding (2.5 of fellowship and 3.5 of teaching). If you're just trying to say that they don't technically guarantee teaching support because it is contingent on the availability of public funds, then sure. But how often in practice is a TA-ship denied in philosophy because public funds aren't available? I've never heard of such a case. Not saying there have never been such cases, but they are the exception and not the rule. (Summer funding can be harder to come by, but that's not usually because of lack of funding but rather because summer courses sometimes get cancelled because of low enrollment)

With those interests, you might check out UNC-Chapel Hill. I think that you would be a good fit to work with people like Gillian Russell, Matt Kotzen, Luc Bovens, and Marc Lange.

I'm not an applicant, but I do know someone who has secured BPhil funding this admissions season. I don't know whether that means anything about funding for other people.

UNC's prospective student visit was March 19th-21st. We had something like 12 students attend, a few of whom were on the waitlist. I'm not sure, but I would bet that we're shooting for an incoming class of 6-7. If you recently made it to the waitlist and eventually get accepted, then you won't have the opportunity for a formal visit, but if you'd like to come to the department, I know the faculty and grad students would be happy to meet with you and talk about the program. (I'd also be happy to answer questions about the program via PM).

Regarding UNC, I don't have any privileged info, but I'll say a couple things that might factor in. First, we are still in the middle of a few faculty searches, which might be delaying sending out rejections. Second, we had a pretty significant yield a couple years ago, so our admissions practices have changed a little so as to avoid getting more students than we can fund. The result is a smaller-than-in-the-past group of accepted students, a larger-than-in-the-past group of officially waitlisted students, and, I believe, a so-called "hidden" waitlist. The purpose of the hidden waitlist is to keep some students in the running without having to fund prospective student visits for them (which can get expensive for the department). If you haven't heard anything at this point, then you are either on the "hidden" waitlist or else rejected. Our prospective student visit is this weekend/early next week, so if you're hoping for good news, stay tuned until at least next week.

I can only speak for my own program, but here at UNC we are very bad about accepting transfer credit. In the most egregious case, one of our students did a two year terminal MA, three years at a different Ph.D. program, and then had to start over here.

I'm still waiting to hear from UCLA, and I'm a second year in a Ph.D. program. I'm sure my rejection will be coming any day now.

Yes, UNC is done making offers. We sent notifications to all admitted students and all those on the waitlist. Sorry about that, but best of luck with your other apps!

A few people in philosophy departments who come to mind and work on philosophy of education, at least as a secondary interest. 1. Harry Brighouse at UW-Madison. He actually just started a center there that focuses on issues in philosophy of education. 2. Jennifer Morton at CUNY. 3. Rob Reich and Debra Satz at Stanford. 4. Harvey Siegel at Miami. 5. Karen Detlefsen and Amy Gutmann at UPenn. Gutmann is the president of the university, though, so I doubt she does much work with students anymore. 6. Derrick Darby (and to some extent Elizabeth Anderson) at Michigan. I don't know much about education departments, but I would guess that all but CUNY and Miami would be pretty solid (and they might also be fine). If you are planning to get your degree in an education department and, presumably, try to get a job in an education department, then I think your pedigree probably matters less than it would in philosophy. If you were to decide to get a degree in philosophy, then you'd probably be able to apply for jobs in both education schools and in philosophy departments, but your pedigree would matter a lot more. But you'd be almost certain not to land a job in a philosophy department with only a degree in education, even if you focused on philosophy of education and worked with people in a philosophy department. Just another thing to consider.

Just a note about the person from Toronto who got a job at UNC: That person got a job in the public policy school after working on political philosophy at Toronto. He isn't in the philosophy department. It's a nice job to have to be sure, but you shouldn't walk away with the conclusion that Toronto is placing people into top 30 philosophy departments based on that data point. If you are planning to work in a field like political philosophy that has obvious relations to other disciplines, then that placement would be good news for you since it opens up the job prospects a bit. But it isn't evidence that Toronto is placing into top philosophy departments.

No other thoughts immediately spring to mind, but I enjoyed my time there immensely. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Most people who do one of the MSc programs at the LSE do not pursue philosophy further, so the placement is limited, but I know a few who have applied to Ph.D. programs and done reasonably well in admissions. The LSE is particularly good in philsci. I also know a few people who have done the M.Litt at St. Andrews and the M.Phil at Cambridge and have done well in admissions. Obviously the Oxford BPhil is a fantastic degree to have going into Ph.D. admissions. I think a master's from a quality UK university is a solid stepping stone into Ph.D. programs either in the US or in Europe. The main factor to consider when looking into these programs is funding.

Given your interests, I would accept Penn if you get in off the waitlist and the LSE otherwise (with one caveat). I did an MSc at the LSE, so I can say with confidence that it is a fun place to be. I'm not sure what the funding package looks like, but just keep in mind that London is very expensive, so your living arrangements won't be great for your time there. Not sure how picky you are about such things. But otherwise London is an amazing place to be. Here's the caveat: You might have trouble finding a job outside of the UK/Europe with a Ph.D. in philosophy from the LSE. It's not unprecedented, but in general a Ph.D. from anywhere in the UK other than Oxford doesn't travel very well. Syracuse is probably technically the best choice for your interests, but its placement record isn't great. UConn is definitely an up-and-coming program, but not much going on in either ethics or metaphysics.

When I visited UNC, one of our prospective students brought his SO. She didn't go to any of the info sessions or anything like that, but she was certainly invited to all the social events, and in our down time, they were able to explore the area a bit. I don't think there's anything problematic about bringing an SO.

I just wanted to make a quick comment on verificationist's claim that one-year taught master's programs in the UK are "rubbish if you already have a philosophy degree." I got my BA in philosophy and went on to one of those programs, though not one of the ones mentioned. I learned a great deal, and I'm happy with how I did in Ph.D. admissions last year. That said, these programs wouldn't be the right choice for someone who has a BA in philosophy, did well, and intends to pursue doctoral studies in the UK. That's true enough. The standard path would be either a research-oriented MA (or M.Phil or B.Phil or whatever the relevant degree is) followed by a Ph.D. (or D.Phil as the case may be). And I think that is verificationist's point, but I just wanted to emphasize that one-year taught master's programs in the UK are not necessarily worthless. It really just depends on your ambitions. If you are planning to do a Ph.D. in the UK, then they are, at best, a springboard to a research-oriented master's program. If, on the other hand, you plan to do a Ph.D. in the US, those programs are a solid alternative to a US terminal MA. And you finish in half the time!

I'm the one who was rejected by Tufts and accepted to UNC. So that definitely happened. And the UVA waitlist/Harvard acceptance person was someone else from last year. Strange things happen in philosophy admissions. Admissions committees don't read application materials and then all select the same group of "objectively best" candidates. Sometimes a particular writing sample will strike one faculty member and leave another cold. A good letter of rec from an old friend can make an impression that others won't. Sometimes programs want students interested in a particular area in their incoming class. There are so many unpredictable factors in play that applicants ought not to predict their outcomes at some schools on the basis of their results from others.

I still haven't heard anything from UCLA, and I applied last admissions cycle!

If any of the UNC prospectives (whether you were admitted or are on the waitlist) have questions, feel free to send me a message. Congrats!

I want to second this. It's a weird process. Last year, one guy got admitted outright to Harvard but was waitlisted by UVA. I got into UNC outright and was rejected by Tufts for the MA. There are lots of unpredictable results, so I wouldn't infer anything from rejections (or acceptances).

I can't confirm any of the acceptances posted on grad cafe, but I know someone who doesn't follow the online results and has been admitted to Brown this year, so they have definitely started sending out offers.

I believe all 8-9 of us were initial admits, but I'm not completely sure. I suspect that Duke is open to waitlistees visiting, but I don't know if they'd fund the visit for waitlistees. You'd have to check. As for those numbers, I'm not sure how to interpret them. If the incoming class was only 4, then 12 offers probably means initial offers plus offers to initially waitlisted applicants.