2019 Graduate Entrants

[quineonthevine]

This a thread for everybody applying this fall for admission in the fall of 2019. What are your areas of interest? Where are you planning to apply? What is your topic for your writing sample? What are your stats (if you feel comfortable sharing them)?

Also, you should all join the Facebook group called "Philosophy Graduate Entrants 2019".

[hector549]

I'm applying. Just finished the first year of my MA. Interests are mainly in German Idealism/phil of mind. Right now, I'm hoping to apply to a lotttt of programs. I have a working list, but need to start winnowing it down.

Edited May 19, 2018 by hector549

[Nopun]

Finishing up undergrad at a small liberal arts department with only one analytic professor. I plan on applying to every Masters program in the US with at least one person working in mind, language, and Phil of science each. I have been lurking this board for the last three years and am excited to finally be involved!

[a ravenclaw]

AOI: moral, social and political philosophy, feminist philosophy. The (current) list of programs: Brandeis, GSU, SFSU, Tufts, UW- Milwaukee, Calgary, SFU, Toronto, UBC, Western.

Please let me know if I missed any master program that has faculty members working in my AOI.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by a ravenclaw

[Kantattheairport]

I'll be (re)applying. Interests in moral and political philosophy, philosophy of science (especially philosophy of biology), and the history of philosophy (especially 20th-century and non-Western). Still in early stages of planning for a writing sample (not sure whether I'll polish up last year's  or start anew) and list of places (applied to eight PhD programmes last year, will likely apply to more this time around).

[Cloudsofrain]

On 5/19/2018 at 10:53 AM, Nopun said:

Finishing up undergrad at a small liberal arts department with only one analytic professor. I plan on applying to every Masters program in the US with at least one person working in mind, language, and Phil of science each. I have been lurking this board for the last three years and am excited to finally be involved!

Hello Nopun, My situation was similar to yours, but I just applied. I came from a very historical-oriented undergraduate program, but I knew that I wanted to do analytic philosophy. I applied to almost all the  MA programs listed in the PGR and got into a good amount of them with funding. I will be going to UMSL this Fall 2018, they are really strong in Moral philosophy and Mind. I think my AOS is Metaethics and Action theory, so UMSL is a really good fit.  I think they are also  pretty good in Phil of sci. If you have any questions about applying or maybe a specific MA program, feel free to ask me. I'll try my best to answer.

[Nopun]

2 hours ago, Kantian Heretic said:

Hello Nopun, My situation was similar to yours, but I just applied. I came from a very historical-oriented undergraduate program, but I knew that I wanted to do analytic philosophy. I applied to almost all the  MA programs listed in the PGR and got into a good amount of them with funding. I will be going to UMSL this Fall 2018, they are really strong in Moral philosophy and Mind. I think my AOS is Metaethics and Action theory, so UMSL is a really good fit.  I think they are also  pretty good in Phil of sci. If you have any questions about applying or maybe a specific MA program, feel free to ask me. I'll try my best to answer.

Its great to already be welcomed! So my current list is: Tufts, Brandeis, NIU, UW-Milwaukee, GSU, UMSL, SFSU, Houston, Virgina Tech, and WMU. If you (or any other one) thinks I am leaving out a worthwhile MA program please let me know.

[Cloudsofrain]

1 hour ago, Nopun said:

Its great to already be welcomed! So my current list is: Tufts, Brandeis, NIU, UW-Milwaukee, GSU, UMSL, SFSU, Houston, Virgina Tech, and WMU. If you (or any other one) thinks I am leaving out a worthwhile MA program please let me know.

That looks like a solid list!

[_deat]

Hey all,

I'll be reapplying to several PhD programs this coming fall.  I graduated with an MA back in 2013 and have somehow been able to keep afloat as an adjunct full time.  My interests are in continental philosophy at large with a particular focus on the philosophy of art, aesthetics, ethics, and phenomenology.  I'm not too sure what my writing sample will be, but I'll be hopefully auditing a course this coming fall and hope to produce something that will be workable for the application.  I have a fairly extensive list of programs that interest me, but some of the top schools include UC Berkley's program in rhetoric, Stony Brook, New School, Boston College amongst many others.

While I'm not excited about the application process I am happy to be going through it with others-- here's to getting to know everyone better as we do this together!  

[Cloudsofrain]

On 5/20/2018 at 4:08 PM, a ravenclaw said:

AOI: moral, social and political philosophy, feminist philosophy. The (current) list of programs: Brandeis, GSU, SFSU, Tufts, UW- Milwaukee, Calgary, SFU, Toronto, UBC, Western.

Please let me know if I missed any master program that has faculty members working in my AOI.

 

 

 

 

Hello, I don't know if you have already considered these schools, but you might want to think about applying to Virginia Tech, UMSL, and NIU.  I am assuming that you've already considered these schools since your tentative list looks pretty good. If not, these programs that I listed are MA terminal programs and I think they are pretty strong in moral, social, and political philosophy. 

[quineonthevine]

My AOI’s are language, mind, epistemology, and history of (analytic) philosophy. I’m basically planning to blanket the PGR top 20 and apply to some other PhD programs. I also want to apply to a few MA programs, although I’m not sure where I’d apply.

My sample is on Kripkenstein and non-reductionism about meaning. I’d really love to go to NYU, but I’m not holding my breath. Thankfully most/all of the schools I’m applying to are strong in my research interests. I want to go somewhere that has at least some focus on the history of philosophy, so I’m not sure whether I’ll apply to MIT.

Edited May 23, 2018 by quineonthevine

[a ravenclaw]

On 5/22/2018 at 8:04 PM, Kantian Heretic said:

Hello, I don't know if you have already considered these schools, but you might want to think about applying to Virginia Tech, UMSL, and NIU.  I am assuming that you've already considered these schools since your tentative list looks pretty good. If not, these programs that I listed are MA terminal programs and I think they are pretty strong in moral, social, and political philosophy. 

 

Thank you! Yes, you are right. I will probably add them to my list. I was searching people who work on both value theory and feminist philosophy and left out some of the good programs. 

[hector549]

On 5/14/2018 at 1:18 PM, quineonthevine said:

Also, you should all join the Facebook group called "Philosophy Graduate Entrants 2019".

I'd like to make a case for using this website's forum. There's a lot of useful information and discussion that I've found by searching and digging around in old threads. Discussion in a closed FB group won't be accessible to future philosophy applicants.

I'm not saying don't use the FB group; one could use both the forum and the group of course! However, I do think there are distinct advantages to having discussion and the like on this forum rather than a FB group.

Edited June 2, 2018 by hector549

[HomoLudens]

Hi all,

I am a junior at a small LAC. I switched from history to philosophy at the end of my sophomore year. I only have one unit in philosophy on my transcript because I have been abroad this past year, and as such none of my courses at my German uni have transferred. For this reason, I feel intimidated about applying to any programs. So far I have taken numerous master level courses in German, but I still feel like I don't have a good enough foundation to actually be a competitive applicant. My GPA is around 3.8 (3.9 if you count transfer credits from my Community College) and my school is on that (in)famous list of schools with the lowest grade inflation that went around about a year ago, but I don't think that can cover my lack of foundation in the field.

I will be active (i.e. lurking more than usual) as deadlines approach. Good luck y'all.

Edited June 3, 2018 by HomoLudens

[Very Hungry Caterpillar]

Hi!

Unlike most of you, I have too many possible AOIs. I want to say it's because I didn't take enough classes as an undergraduate, but 10 philosophy classes later and I'm still not sure.

Probably going to be centered around Epist, though. Also into Mathematical Logic, given what little I know of it. I'm also not sure how much of this is just because of an undergraduate focus, but history of modern philosophy has been super fun for me.

Have taken the GREs - 170Q/167V/5.0AW. Writing sample on evo debunking arguments. Currently on second draft.

My list is 25 schools long, which is overkill, and since I've given myself two years(while working) to apply, I might apply to a more selective list for the first round and then reapply next year. Does anyone know any advice international applicants with degrees from American Schools should worry about?

[Very Hungry Caterpillar]

29 minutes ago, HomoLudens said:

Hi all,

I am a junior at a small LAC. I switched from history to philosophy at the end of my sophomore year. I only have one unit in philosophy on my transcript because I have been abroad this past year, and as such none of my courses at my German uni have transferred. For this reason, I feel intimidated about applying to any programs. So far I have taken numerous master level courses in German, but I still feel like I don't have a good enough foundation to actually be a competitive applicant. My GPA is around 3.8 (3.9 if you count transfer credits from my Community College) and my school is on that (in)famous list of schools with the lowest grade inflation that went around about a year ago, but I don't think that can cover my lack of foundation in the field.

I will be active (i.e. lurking more than usual) as deadlines approach. Good luck y'all.

Here's some advice I got from a wonderful, wonderful professor in my school:

Please don't feel intimidated about applying to programs! If you're really interested, you should try your best and let the schools decide. 

[Duns Eith]

On 6/2/2018 at 11:51 AM, hector549 said:

I'd like to make a case for using this website's forum. There's a lot of useful information and discussion that I've found by searching and digging around in old threads. Discussion in a closed FB group won't be accessible to future philosophy applicants.

I'm not saying don't use the FB group; one could use both the forum and the group of course! However, I do think there are distinct advantages to having discussion and the like on this forum rather than a FB group.

The anonymity!

[hector549]

1 hour ago, Duns Eith said:

The anonymity!

Yes! And that! And not everyone is on/wants to be on FB.

Edited June 4, 2018 by hector549

[_deat]

16 hours ago, HomoLudens said:

Hi all,

I am a junior at a small LAC. I switched from history to philosophy at the end of my sophomore year. I only have one unit in philosophy on my transcript because I have been abroad this past year, and as such none of my courses at my German uni have transferred. For this reason, I feel intimidated about applying to any programs. So far I have taken numerous master level courses in German, but I still feel like I don't have a good enough foundation to actually be a competitive applicant. My GPA is around 3.8 (3.9 if you count transfer credits from my Community College) and my school is on that (in)famous list of schools with the lowest grade inflation that went around about a year ago, but I don't think that can cover my lack of foundation in the field.

I will be active (i.e. lurking more than usual) as deadlines approach. Good luck y'all.

Similar to you I switched from history to philosophy as an undergrad and fairly late-- maybe the end of my junior year.  I had the same worries as you when I was applying for graduate programs.  While courses may not show up on your transcript your statement of intent would be a great place to include what philosophy work you've done of which can be illustrated via your writing sample.  

[quineonthevine]

My AOI's are meaning, mind, and epistemology. I also have interests in the history of analytic philosophy and the history of philosophy generally. My sample is on Kripkenstein and I'm coming from a PGR top-10 school.

I'm planning to apply to ~20-25 PhD programs (the PGR top-20, more or less, and some other programs) and 4 or 5 MA programs. NYU is the dream, but I'd be really happy with any top-20 PGR program in NYC, Boston area, or California, with a couple exceptions.

If anybody's interested, I've compiled a word document with all the deadlines and application fees of all the schools I'm applying to. Some programs haven't updated their application deadlines - for those, I included last year's deadline and made a note. This list includes all of the PGR top-20, I believe), so it might be useful to a few of you. The total cost of application fees for about 25 PhD programs and 5 MA programs is approximately $2500 ?. 

PM me if you want this document! I'm planning to give this list of deadlines (minus the app. fees) to all of my letter writers so they know when their letters should be submitted by.

[mithrandir8]

Applying in 2019 after getting my JD this year. Main AOIs in Philosophy of Language, Metaethics, and Philosophy of Law. This will be my second time applying (applied at the same time I applied to law school).

[Spinozian]

On 5/20/2018 at 4:08 PM, a ravenclaw said:

AOI: moral, social and political philosophy, feminist philosophy. The (current) list of programs: Brandeis, GSU, SFSU, Tufts, UW- Milwaukee, Calgary, SFU, Toronto, UBC, Western.

Please let me know if I missed any master program that has faculty members working in my AOI.

 

 

 

 

hi there,

I can only speak from my experience at SFSU, but there are people there strong in social/political phil as well as feminist phil. Three faculty members come to mind, which is the perfect number for a committee for a MA thesis (req'd at SFSU). Feel free to send any questions my way, and good luck.

[HomoLudens]

Can anyone comment on Vanderbilt's program? Funding, environment, placement, etc. I know they are strong in pragmatist thought with Aikin and Talisse. I live in Knoxville, so it would be nice to be so close to home, but that isn't really important to me.

[jc177]

I'm primarily interested in philosophy of language; I also have secondary interests in philosophical logic and epistemology.

[_deat]

On 6/7/2018 at 12:40 PM, HomoLudens said:

Can anyone comment on Vanderbilt's program? Funding, environment, placement, etc. I know they are strong in pragmatist thought with Aikin and Talisse. I live in Knoxville, so it would be nice to be so close to home, but that isn't really important to me.

I don't know the specifics of the program but Vanderbilt is always rated very highly in continental circles.  A few classmates of mine from Stony Brook are finishing up their PhDs down there.  And regarding good continental programs in Tennessee, The University of Memphis has a good reputation.