Inquiry on graduate program(Philosophy of Science & STS)

[Minki-Jung]

Hello,

I am an international student from South Korea planning to advance my studies in Philosophy of Science abroad. I am aiming for US or Canadian schools mostly. Currently, there is 6 months for me to prepare and I would appreciate some opinions and feedback on my situation.

So, I have just completed my undergraduate degree with a major in Physics and a minor in Philosophy. I only really began taking my studies seriously from 3rd year and have managed to obtain a 3.6 GPA out of 4.5. I was an exchange student to York University for a semester and that was when I decided to pursue an academic career. However, since my commitment formed rather late, I was not able to get involved in research and assume student leadership roles in my department.

I have tried to find some people on here who are or have studied as Masters students for Philosophy of Science but without success. I am quite desperate for insight and know-hows on how they prepared for their admission and what the learning/research atmosphere is like at each university. It would be helpful if I could get some suggestions on practical accomplishments that I can achieve in these remaining 6 months to add onto my application.

Thank you in advance!

 

(I'm considering these Universities; Western-Ontario, U of Toronto, Wisconsin-madison, Indiana and York(sts))

Edited June 28, 2019 by Minki-Jung

[philosophaurus_rex]

My initial piece of advice would be to apply to more programs than you currently list. I planned to apply to 12 programs (I think that’s a decent number, but some people apply to almost twice as many.).

As it happens, I made a few very silly mistakes, which cut my applications down to 9. I’d made a list of due dates, and I accidentally switched the dates for two schools. On a different application, I included the wrong SOP and I think that probably had a significantly negative impact on my packet for that school (but then again, maybe it didn’t). I still ended up being accepted to 3 schools, but I’m glad I erred on the side of caution, and applied to as many places as I could.

There is (at least some degree of) luck involved in the application process, in addition to human error. I’d strongly suggest that you apply to at least 8 schools, if you are able to. Many schools offer fee waivers, though you may have to do some digging to find out how to qualify.

Edit: I cannot speak to phil of science because it is not my AOI. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by philosophaurus_rex

[hector549]

On 6/27/2019 at 9:30 PM, Minki-Jung said:

Hello,

I am an international student from South Korea planning to advance my studies in Philosophy of Science abroad. I am aiming for US or Canadian schools mostly. Currently, there is 6 months for me to prepare and I would appreciate some opinions and feedback on my situation.

So, I have just completed my undergraduate degree with a major in Physics and a minor in Philosophy. I only really began taking my studies seriously from 3rd year and have managed to obtain a 3.6 GPA out of 4.5. I was an exchange student to York University for a semester and that was when I decided to pursue an academic career. However, since my commitment formed rather late, I was not able to get involved in research and assume student leadership roles in my department.

I have tried to find some people on here who are or have studied as Masters students for Philosophy of Science but without success. I am quite desperate for insight and know-hows on how they prepared for their admission and what the learning/research atmosphere is like at each university. It would be helpful if I could get some suggestions on practical accomplishments that I can achieve in these remaining 6 months to add onto my application.

Thank you in advance!

 

(I'm considering these Universities; Western-Ontario, U of Toronto, Wisconsin-madison, Indiana and York(sts))

If I understand you correctly, you're looking to apply to master's programs? Western does, I think, have a stand-alone MA program, as does Toronto and York, but Indiana and Madison do not. It's generally advisable to apply to terminal MA programs rather than MA programs that are at departments that also offer the PhD, because the PhD students get most of the faculty time and attention, as well as departmental funding, etc.

If I were in your position, I'd take a look at this list of the top terminal, funded MA programs (if you haven't yet), look at the faculty from each, and apply to all the programs that seem like a good fit. Off the top of my head, I know that NIU, UWM, Virginia Tech, and Western Michigan have philosophers of science, and I'm sure that there are others.

Edited July 3, 2019 by hector549