Preparing for Graduate School

[Wafer]

I have a couple of bachelor's degrees- one in communication studies and another one in computer science. I had a 3.65 GPA. When I was in school, I took four philosophy courses: introduction to philosophy, logic, philosophy of science, and business ethics. I'm thinking about earning a master's degree in philosophy. What would be the best way to prepare for a graduate program in philosophy? What are some things I should take into consideration? Do you think I should go back to school to take more philosophy courses before entering a graduate program? I live in the US, but I'm open to going to the UK for school. Which has better graduate philosophy programs? The US or UK?

Edited February 25, 2016 by Wafer

[MVSCZAR]

What kind of philosophy do you like and why do you want to go to graduate school for it? 

[bechkafish]

I second @MVSCZAR on those being the two big questions you should ask yourself. In addition, though: are you hoping to go on to a PhD after your masters, or are you happy with the terminal MA? You told us what philosophy courses you took in undergrad, but not how you did on them, which is important - As? Or did you have any trouble? If the latter, you might want to take a closer look at your goals and motivations. And, ultimately, this is my biggest piece of advice - if you do end up deciding to pursue your masters, do your very best to make sure that you apply only to funded programs. I, alas, did not do this: and I'm a solid $120,000 in debt just for my MA, which is (a) criminal, and (b) not really worth it if this is only a cursory interest and/or you're not sure how you could use this degree to your financial advantage.

[Wafer]

10 hours ago, MVSCZAR said:

What kind of philosophy do you like and why do you want to go to graduate school for it? 

I'm mostly interested in epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.

I would like to teach philosophy in college.

 

[Griswald]

Of the reputable MA programs in the US that I'm aware of, none would require that you take more undergraduate courses before being admitted. Many MAs (in the US) explicitly welcome applications from people in your situation, with some exposure to philosophy but with undergraduate degrees in other fields. If you don't have letter writers from professional philosophers, however, then I would advise you to take some classes (you could just audit; I did this) with the aim of impressing the instructors enough that they'd be willing to write for you.

That's speaking more towards graduate school applications though, and your question was about preparing for graduate school. Here, my advice is: read as much as possible in your areas of interest, but also take time to read outside your areas; write often, seek feedback, and revise; learn skills that are relevant to your areas of interest (e.g. foreign languages, mathematics, sciences).

[Wafer]

2 hours ago, bechkafish said:

I second @MVSCZAR on those being the two big questions you should ask yourself. In addition, though: are you hoping to go on to a PhD after your masters, or are you happy with the terminal MA? You told us what philosophy courses you took in undergrad, but not how you did on them, which is important - As? Or did you have any trouble? If the latter, you might want to take a closer look at your goals and motivations. And, ultimately, this is my biggest piece of advice - if you do end up deciding to pursue your masters, do your very best to make sure that you apply only to funded programs. I, alas, did not do this: and I'm a solid $120,000 in debt just for my MA, which is (a) criminal, and (b) not really worth it if this is only a cursory interest and/or you're not sure how you could use this degree to your financial advantage.

I would like to go on to a PhD.

I did very well in the philosophy courses that I took- all A's.

[MentalEngineer]

I want to preface this by saying that I don't have strong knowledge about the admissions end of the process, in that I don't know the criteria AdComms are using. What I do know is the profile of the students that have been admitted to my program over the last 3-4 years. I'm speaking only about my MA program, and this is a personal sense rather than truly rigorous data. It probably also comes off as harsh, for which I apologize, but I think it's only fair to answer your question as realistically as I can.

MA programs that are funded and of sufficient quality to position you well for PhD admissions are now almost as competitive as PhD programs themselves. While my program is one of those with the aim of taking people with an interest in graduate-level philosophy from nontraditional backgrounds and preparing them for graduate study, I doubt you would be admitted here with the profile you give above. We have admitted a number of students without a philosophy undergrad in the last few years - and they've proven to be excellent philosophers. But to my knowledge all met at least one of the following criteria. 1) Even if they did not have a philosophy major, they had a double philosophy major or a philosophy minor. 2) Even if they did not have a philosophy minor, they had a significant amount of philosophy coursework - more than four classes (two of which, intro and business ethics, are unlikely to say much about your interest or ability). 3) Those with less philosophical background have substantial work in closely related fields, such as economics/public policy, theology, or aesthetics, often including graduate work in these fields, which shows their ability to do work at this level, even if it's not strictly philosophy. I know of nobody in the last three or four years who has been admitted on the strength of four A's and an interest in philosophy.

I think, at a minimum, you should consider auditing more courses. This is a good idea from an admissions point of view, but I think it's also a good way to address your question of how to prepare to be in a program. I don't know the details of your four undergrad courses, but my guess is that only philosophy of science was anything like what grad work in philosophy is like. Spending more time in the classroom should help you figure out if this is actually what you want to do, confirm or disconfirm the areas of interest you've expressed, and get you face time with professors who can help you do things like figure out what programs would be a good fit for you.

Edited February 25, 2016 by MentalEngineer

[Wafer]

11 hours ago, MentalEngineer said:

I want to preface this by saying that I don't have strong knowledge about the admissions end of the process, in that I don't know the criteria AdComms are using. What I do know is the profile of the students that have been admitted to my program over the last 3-4 years. I'm speaking only about my MA program, and this is a personal sense rather than truly rigorous data. It probably also comes off as harsh, for which I apologize, but I think it's only fair to answer your question as realistically as I can.

MA programs that are funded and of sufficient quality to position you well for PhD admissions are now almost as competitive as PhD programs themselves. While my program is one of those with the aim of taking people with an interest in graduate-level philosophy from nontraditional backgrounds and preparing them for graduate study, I doubt you would be admitted here with the profile you give above. We have admitted a number of students without a philosophy undergrad in the last few years - and they've proven to be excellent philosophers. But to my knowledge all met at least one of the following criteria. 1) Even if they did not have a philosophy major, they had a double philosophy major or a philosophy minor. 2) Even if they did not have a philosophy minor, they had a significant amount of philosophy coursework - more than four classes (two of which, intro and business ethics, are unlikely to say much about your interest or ability). 3) Those with less philosophical background have substantial work in closely related fields, such as economics/public policy, theology, or aesthetics, often including graduate work in these fields, which shows their ability to do work at this level, even if it's not strictly philosophy. I know of nobody in the last three or four years who has been admitted on the strength of four A's and an interest in philosophy.

I think, at a minimum, you should consider auditing more courses. This is a good idea from an admissions point of view, but I think it's also a good way to address your question of how to prepare to be in a program. I don't know the details of your four undergrad courses, but my guess is that only philosophy of science was anything like what grad work in philosophy is like. Spending more time in the classroom should help you figure out if this is actually what you want to do, confirm or disconfirm the areas of interest you've expressed, and get you face time with professors who can help you do things like figure out what programs would be a good fit for you.

I've decided to go back to school to take some more philosophy courses. I'm thinking of taking courses in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, history of philosophy, and the philosophy of mind. I might take advanced composition or philosophical writing if it is offered.