Profile Evaluation/ Advice: Canadian Interdisciplinary Student

[SaladDays]

Hello Everyone,

 

Long time lurker, first time poster etc. 

 

I just graduated last month with a math degree and I'm interested in applying to graduate programmes starting fall 2016. I'll be applying to both mathematics and philosophy programmes. I'm interested in applying to schools in Canada, Europe, and the United States. 

 

I'm looking for advice on the application procedure, what programmes are a good fit for me, and what schools are in my range. 

 

School: I did my undergrad at a small Canadian university with no reputation to speak of. 

Major: Mathematics 

Minor: Philosophy & Physics 

GPA by Year: (We don't have a 4 point scale here, this is what I figured using online GPA calculators and whatnot)

1: 2.90 (rough transition from high school)

2: 3.60

3: 3.96

4: 3.41 (medical issues this year. spent over a week straight in the hospital, constantly had to go back for bloodwork/ various appointments, surgery. Not a huge deal but it definitely affected my grades. I'm fine now.)

5: 4.0 

 

Background:

I haven't taken a ton of philosophy courses...

Intro ( C)

Ancient Greek (A)

Logic (A)

Early Modern (A-)

Aesthetics (A)

Philosophy of Religion ( B )

Freud and Continental Thought (A-)

Post-Structuralism (A)

Philosophy After the Holocaust (A)

 

I went to a really small school, so a lot of these classes only had 5 or 6 people in them - I think this will help my application. In a few of these classes I had to go through an oral examination. I got to know my profs really well. 

 

Letters of Recommendation: 

1) Math Prof

Wrote my undergraduate thesis with them, which went very well. Worked with them during the summer on a topology project- not original research, more like a reading course. Took two other classes with them, got the highest mark in the class each time. 

 

2) Physics Prof

Only took one class with them and got a B, still the highest in the class. I'm currently working with him on a research project, hopefully we get something publishable this summer. 

 

3) Philosophy Prof

Took four classes with them (3 As, 1 A-). They are a big fan of my writing, has encouraged my to apply directly to PhD programmes. 

 

Because of small classes, I got to know all of my letter writers very well. I know they will have a lot of good things to say. 

 

Writing Sample: I have an essay on Heidegger that I'm going to use.

 

Areas in Intrest:

I'm broadly interested in the philosophy and history of science ( Kuhn, Feyerabend ) and continental thought (Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida)

 

I'm a bit unsure of whether or not I want to apply to schools in the U.S. because of the GRE and it would be more expensive - I'm still interested. 

 

So far I've looked into:

University of Toronto (IHPST)

University of Alberta 

 

Because I didn't major in philosophy I'm interested more in an M.A.. I haven't been exposed to a ton of philosophy, my research interests could change dramatically after I take a few graduate classes. 

 

Any program recommendations, ways to improve my application, things to mention in SOP would all be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thanks so much 

 

[maxhgns]

Western is *very* strong in the philosophy of science, not so much in continental thought. McGill is very strong in philosophy of math and continental. A good place to start your search for PhD programs would be the specialty rankings of the Philosophical Gourmet. 

 

 

As far as an MA is concerned, your chances of being funded are probably best in Canada, since (if?) you're Canadian. An MA is a very different beast from a PhD. Its goal is to begin to professionalize you, and to ensure that you come out of it with a fairly broad knowledge base in philosophy. As such, it doesn't matter so much whether your MA school has multiple (well-known) faculty in your area of interest, provided it has someone who can supervise your work in that area. In Canada, the MA programs to look at, given your interests, are probably Toronto, UBC, Western, Victoria, Waterloo, Alberta, and Simon Fraser.

[philstudent1991]

The best MA program for continental is probably Georgia State, and they also regularly offer seminars and other courses in philosophy of science. 

[dgswaim]

I'm not really comfortable evaluating anyone's "chances." Such things are really quite difficult to estimate. One worry that I'd have, though, is that most of the best places to do history and philosophy of science (Pitt, Indiana, Notre Dame, etc.) would not really know what to do with a writing sample on Heidegger. Kuhn and Feyerabend, sure (although Feyerabend doesn't have much currency in the contemporary literature), but it's going to be a bit more difficult to accommodate your continental interests. Of the really top-notch places to do HPS, the one place I can think of that might be able to really accommodate your interests would be U of Chicago's program in the Historical and Conceptual Studies of Science.

 

As for MA programs, I'd consider applying here at LSU. Charles Pence, Jon Cogburn, Husain Sarkar, and Jeff Roland have all published philosophy of science stuff. Pence's primarily speciality is history and philosophy of biology, but he knows just as much history and philosophy of physics. Sarkar's philosophy of science stuff is more general, and focused primarily on theories of scientific methodology. His book Theory of Method takes on Kuhn and Feyerabend directly, so he knows that stuff quite well (Paul Feyerabend actually wrote one of his tenure recommendation letters). Cogburn and Roland are less directly involved in phil science these days, but they still know the literature.

 

Plus, there are lots of continental people in the department. I don't really know them or their work since my work isn't in that area, but my understanding is that they're good at what they do.