JesusFdz

Thank you for the reply and thank you for the honesty. Contrary to many other people, I actually like "Donny downers" and hate condescending answers. My long-term goal is to attain a professional education in philosophy and have a job where I can directly apply it, whether it be in academe, a think tank, or elsewhere. The adjunct pay does seem horrible, but believe it or not I'm still debating with myself. I just thought that maybe there was some "in between". I always understood the tenure-track as an unrealistic dream for me (perhaps for anybody at this point). At the same time, I realize that $18,000 a year is low enough to make anybody absolutely regret their life decisions, and I'm not naive enough to believe that my passion for philosophy is enough to compensate for a marginal material life. I mean come on, the way things work nowadays? Anyways, my hope was to find somewhere in the middle, maybe a position that did not come with all the advantages and prestige of tenure but also did not fall into the apparent inhuman conditions of adjunct life. From what I've read so far, I guess that middle ground doesn't exist. There's the successful .01% and the frustrated rest. Isn't that beautiful? I didn't mention it, but I won't have to pay for an MA, regardless of its cost. Would it still not make sense to earn an MA? Now, add the online factor to it. I feel like I'm the embodiment of every single issue with pursuing academic philosophy haha.

I am in my senior year of philosophy at an online college. I've been thinking about studying a masters degree in philosophy, but for the near future (2-3 years) my only options would be online (there is nothing around and I cannot relocate). What do you think about Edinburgh's MSc in Epistemology, Ethics and Mind? Is this a good option if I want to apply to a PhD program after said period, at what point I'd be able to relocate?

Thanks for the reply, I am thinking about doing a funded MA. My point was that for now (since I won't be able to relocate for another 2 years), would it be fruitful to get an online MA in philosophy instead of getting it in another subject? I will continue my education since it's free, but I want to know if the benefits from getting an online MA in philosophy would outweigh getting an online MA in another subject. If it would improve my chances of attending a funded MA once I am able to relocate or not, or if it would be better to make myself more marketable (with the horrible job market and all that) by getting a different degree and just waiting to relocate and do the funded MA on its own. The ultimate goal is to get into a good PhD program in philosophy and a decent teaching job after that (nothing too fancy, just avoid food stamps and that sort).

Thanks for the reply, one more question. I’ll be finishing my degree sooner than expected, so I’ll still have a couple of years in active duty (which means free Tuition Assistance without using the GI Bill). I was thinking about doing a masters degree (which would have to be online), and at first I thought there were no online masters in philosophy. I had decided to study a masters in economics, since I’d be able to finish it around the date of my separation from active duty. The plan was then to proceed to the MA or possibly PhD in philosophy, with the freedom of relocating anywhere I got accepted. However, I’ve seen a number of online MA programs in philosophy (mostly European universities, like Edinburg and Sunderland). Would it be beneficial for me to do one of these programs on active duty? I wouldn’t mind having to take a second masters in philosophy after (at an actual physical campus) if that’s what it took, but could one of these online programs boost my chances for admission into a good PhD?

So I just took the GRE and my scores are 163V, 159Q. Considering the conditions I mentioned above, do you think I have a chance at any of the decent MA programs? Both my Phil and overall GPA is 3.85.

Thank you very much for the response. To be honest, I have much more experience with Continental Philosophy than Analytic. My recent interest in the Analytic tradition stems from reading about Gödel, Frege and Wittgenstein. I find the logicist project fascinating, and I am very interested in the foundations of mathematics and issues in language and philosophy of mind. Anyways, I will make up my mind 100% and choose a program that fits my interest, as suggested. That is awesome advice on the journals. I didn't know there was such a thing as undergraduate journals, but I'll definitely start exploring that opportunity. Again, thank you very much for the support and the help, I'll be sure to utilize both the website and the Fb group in my advantage. Thank you!

You brought out an excellent point. Like I mentioned in my response to philosopuppy, an academic position would definitely make me feel incredibly accomplished. But it is not my only objective with pursuing philosophy. I will of course apply to some of the top MA programs with the hopes of getting accepted. But if this doesn't happen, I don't want my interest in philosophy to be stopped just because I wasn't one of the "best". What other MA programs are out there for people who don't necessarily need to fulfill the goal of academic excellence and professor emeritus status? It's hard to see when the Top 20-25 or so programs all claim to be extremely competitive (and apparently are!). Thank you so much for the response.

Thanks for the reply. At this point, I will focus almost completely on MA programs, since making "the jump" from my low-tier undergrad degree to a PhD (any PhD apparently) seems impossible. With that being said, what is your advice on applying to said MA's? I've read that the process is still highly competitive, so again my background weighs heavy on my back. What are the chances? I hate being this naive, but analyzing these sorts of things in a sort of quantitative way has always given me comfort. What kind of schools would you recommend for me? The top-tier MA programs still seem way out of my reach. I would like to know the tier in which I realistically fall into, in order to make a better decision and accomplish something instead of dreaming and shooting for the starts without success. Again, thank you very much for the time.

Again, thank you so much for the advice. The reason why I have included several lower-tier programs is because I really REALLY want to pursue graduate education in this field. Like UndergradDad mentioned, I love philosophy and of course, my dream is to become a professor in a highly challenging academic setting where I could do some hardcore research, etc. But the fact is I love philosophy, period. My number one goal is not academia, but philosophy. I enjoy reading it, studying it, writing it, teaching it, researching it, everything. So my biggest fear is to get denied the opportunity to further my studies, rather than not making it to the top. I actually think there is something wrong with the current model in academia, where students feel the need to be the best and climb to the top of a mountain in order to really enjoy philosophy. But I digress.. Of course, I would love to attend a better program just to have access to better education, but again, I'm in it for good and even the "lowest-tier" would leave me tremendously satisfied. Thank you for your advice and please comment on my opinions.

Thank you very much for the response. I have spoken to some of the professors of my college and they say that they have seen previous students go on to graduate school and that it shouldn't be impossible and the like. I definitely plan on discussing my online education in my personal statement like you said, the closest traditional college around is 60 miles away and balancing work with that would be certainly impossible. I will acknowledge that my undergraduate education is not the best, but is my best attempt at pursuing philosophy. I had thought about applying to a terminal MA program, which seems to be the best fit considering my circumstances. Thanks to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, I won't have to worry too much about tuition and costs of attending one of these programs. My only concern is getting accepted. I have a feeling that for some reason they will look at my application and simply dismiss it on the grounds that "no serious philosophical pondering could be done in a military setting like the one I'm in". Trying to find "safety" schools has also been worthless, since it seems like all programs are extremely competitive. Tufts is actually one of the programs I am considering, and its nice to now that they are somewhat military friendly. Other universities I have in mind are Fordham, Kent State, U Kentucky, USF, GSU, UWM, Brandeis, NIU, SIU, CUNY, ASU, Minnesota, Duquesne, Maryland, Brew, Oklahoma, BGSU, Dallas, Washington and UConn. I am mostly interested in logic, the foundations of mathematics, philosophy of mind, epistemology and metaphysics, so naturally I should be choosing more analytic programs. But again, I've come up with this list based on how likely I am to get accepted (from what I could gather, most of these programs are not as competitive as say NYU or Rutgers). To answer your question, my MOS is 2841 radio repairman. My background would be perfect for something like Electrical Engineering, since I deal with communications/electronics systems on a day to day basis. My job is very technical, and it comes with all the leadership skills acquired by being a marine (confidence, public speaking, quality control, low level management, etc.). Im also POG af, so yes, very rear-echelon. As for the night courses, like I mentioned the closest university with a philosophy degree is about 60 miles away. I am currently trying to find conferences and events I can attend, but as far as actual regular courses I think it would be rather implausible. However, I am considering switching to a higher regarded online degree, like the ones offered by ASU or UNC Greensboro. If you have any other recommendations on things I could do outside of my degree to prepare for admissions, please let me know. By the way, I have a list of philosophy books I've read over the recent years and I wonder if that could have any impact. Right now I'm at about 15-20 works, and all of them are major works by a major philosopher. For example, I've read Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, Hegel's Phenomenology, and many more works by these two as well as William James, Wittgenstein, Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Mill, etc. Could this "reading list" act in my favor? I've noticed that many philosophy undergrads don't tackle the big works, whereas on my case I HAVE to read these works, otherwise I wouldn't know much about philosophy. Again, thank you very much for the advice.

Hello everybody, I’m an active duty Marine, currently a junior in an online, for-profit, low-tier (still regionally accredited) college. I’m working towards my Bachelors in Philosophy and I would love to go on to pursue a graduate degree after the military. I’ll be graduating about six months before I leave the service. My GPA is 3.8 and I’ll have a total of 13 courses in philosophy. I’m worried about my chances of admission into any graduate program, the reason being my unusually weird background. The fact is very few veterans go for philosophy, and philosophy seems to be the kind of hard-knitted academic discipline to not have any flexibility whatsoever. I’m pursuing philosophy in the only way I know (my college is the only online affordable university which offers philosophy), but is that enough to compete against more traditional students? Assuming I keep a good gpa of 3.8/3.9, I get great GRE scores and a phenomenal writing sample, how bad is my non-academic background/low-tier online education going to affect my chances of admission? If you want any more information, I can provide it. Thank you!