Terminal MA, Continental Philosophy programmes

[waklu]

Hi all, I would want to gauge your sentiments.

I am an international student from one of the top 20 universities in the world, having majored in philosophy and looking towards a terminal MA in a Continental Philosophy programme. Looking towards a terminal MA programme primarily because my GPA sucks big time (I wouldn't be able to compete otherwise). I am thinking of applying to these programmes: Miami U Ohio, GWU, American Uni, Texas A&M College Park, SFSU, Claremont Grad U. 

My profile: GPA 2.6, research assistant experience in a ethics think tank, given 6 refereed conference talks, some publications in press and forthcoming ones, good reference letters by former undergraduate professors that can explain the low GPA, philosophy related service in home country, racial minority, English as my first language. I have obviously been compensating for my low GPA, the low GPA due to mitigating medical factors.

I am looking towards funding (at least a tuition waiver), otherwise I cannot afford any of the programmes.

1. Would my application be taken seriously knowing my GPA?

2. Is there even a chance of securing some sort of funding, if not full, then partial? 

3. What are the other ways to make up for my GPA handicap? I've done everything I could.

Thanks!

 

 

[thatsjustsemantics]

9 minutes ago, waklu said:

Hi all, I would want to gauge your sentiments.

I am an international student from one of the top 20 universities in the world, having majored in philosophy and looking towards a terminal MA in a Continental Philosophy programme. Looking towards a terminal MA programme primarily because my GPA sucks big time (I wouldn't be able to compete otherwise). I am thinking of applying to these programmes: Miami U Ohio, GWU, American Uni, Texas A&M College Park, SFSU, Claremont Grad U. 

My profile: GPA 2.6, research assistant experience in a ethics think tank, given 6 refereed conference talks, some publications in press and forthcoming ones, good reference letters by former undergraduate professors that can explain the low GPA, philosophy related service in home country, racial minority, English as my first language. I have obviously been compensating for my low GPA, the low GPA due to mitigating medical factors.

I am looking towards funding (at least a tuition waiver), otherwise I cannot afford any of the programmes.

1. Would my application be taken seriously knowing my GPA?

2. Is there even a chance of securing some sort of funding, if not full, then partial? 

3. What are the other ways to make up for my GPA handicap? I've done everything I could.

Thanks!

 

 

1. Yes

2. Yes.

3. Near perfect GRE scores. A good writing sample. The problem: not only do you have to convince departments that you're qualified, but you have to convince graduate schools. For most applicants, doing the latter is easy because GPA requirements tend to (at minimum) be 2.8-3.0 GPA. In any case, it's not out of the question; however, I would look for external scholarships as an incentive for programs to bring you on their first year. You may be able to secure good funding for the rest of the program.

[SamStone]

I'd agree with thatsjustsemantics' on the answers to your three questions.

I'll also add that I'd definitely check into the funding possibilities at these schools before applying. Previously, I applied to CGU, was accepted, and found that the funding they offered was minimal in comparison to the cost of tuition. Same goes for SFSU (but they had some sort of 'in-state' tuition deal). Both schools do offer funding—and, of course, I do no know your financial situation—but in my case, the funding was not enough to accept the offer. Have you considered applying to Georgia State's MA or UW-Milwaukee's MA? From what I have heard: both programs offer great funding, and it would be possible at both to focus on issue within, or the historical figures involved in, continental philosophy. 

[MentalEngineer]

Honestly, now that Julius Sensat's retired I wouldn't recommend UWM for people whose primary interest is continental. Bill Bristow is good, but depending on who you're most concerned with he may not have the background to help you. We generally get one graduate seminar on a major continental figure and maybe a course on Kant per year: last year it was Hegel and this year Nietzsche. So you'd be looking at maybe a third, and probably more like a quarter, of your credit hours being on continental figures, and those are likely all going to be historical. Women's Studies and English have things on different bits of critical theory from time to time, but with only two years here, you might miss the courses that would be most helpful. Whether that's enough preparation I'll let you judge. (As a final piece of data, to my knowledge there have been three writing samples on continental topics in the last three years out of 30+ students: two on different aspects of Nietzsche and one connecting Hegel to debates in contemporary phil. of mind.)

I suppose that you could get into UWM and then take a bunch of courses from Marquette, which is much stronger in continental. They seem quite good from what I can tell (I've gone to a decent number of their talks and a couple of one-day conferences), but I don't really have the background to say for sure. Unfortunately, I'm still unsure that you could do enough courses that way to give you a strong background to apply to continental PhD programs. You might do better to consider getting an MA at Marquette directly if their funding and ranking permit that.

[awdrgy]

The other thing I'd point out is that Claremont Graduate University doesn't appear to fund their M.A. students very often.

Edited January 25, 2016 by nilfunks

[dodolanausee]

It's been almost two years since I last applied, but if Canada works for you, take a look into McGill.