Degree Requirements

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 112 quarter hours of graduate level course work (28 courses) is required for the PhD. This includes 104 quarter hours of course work (26 courses), 4 quarter hours of PHL 697 (Graduate Teaching Practicum), and 4 quarter hours of PHL 699 (Dissertation Research).

Of the 112 quarter hours (28 courses) required for the PhD, 32 quarter hours (8 courses) must be taken in accordance with the following distribution requirements:

• Four History of Western Philosophy Courses
• Two in Ancient or Medieval: 8 quarter hours
• Two in Modern or Nineteenth Century: 8 quarter hours
• Two Contemporary European Philosophy Courses: 8 quarter hours
• Two Normative Philosophy Courses: 8 quarter hours

Course Distribution List

History of Western Philosophy - Ancient or Medieval

History of Western Philosophy - Modern or Nineteenth Century

Contemporary European Philosophy

Normative Philosophy

Additional Requirements

Annual Reviews

The Graduate Affairs Committee conducts annual formal reviews of each student’s progress toward the doctoral degree. The purpose of the review session is to discuss the student’s experience in the program thus far, address any questions or concerns that they might have, and assess how well they are meeting the expectations relevant to their year in the program. 

As part of the review process, students are required to submit a self-evaluation of their progress in the program, teaching evaluations (when serving as a Teaching Fellow) and, until all their course work is completed (typically, through their fourth year in the program), students are also required to submit two file papers for review. These papers are read by a second member of the faculty who assesses whether the papers meet relevant standards of graduate level work and thus indicate appropriate progress in the program for each student.

Students deemed not to be making satisfactory progress may be placed on probation or, where the circumstances in the judgment of the Graduate Affairs Committee warrant, the student may be required to leave the doctoral program.

Foreign Languages Requirement

The Philosophy Department places a very high priority on working with texts in original languages, rather than translations. For doctoral students, competence in two languages of research is thus required. Typically, these are Greek, Latin, French, or German. Competence in other languages may be used to fulfill the language requirements if it is deemed appropriate to the research undertaken by the student. In the latter case, prior to beginning preparation to pass a language requirement (by either of the two paths outlined below), the student must submit a short paragraph to the Director of Graduate Studies, to be reviewed by the Graduate Affairs Committee, outlining why the language in question will be important to the student’s future research.

Each student must complete the requirement for one language before scheduling a Dissertation Proposal Defense, and they must complete the requirement for a second language before scheduling a Dissertation Defense.

There are two ways in which students can complete the Foreign Languages requirement:

1. Student may pass a departmentally administered Language Competency Exam, which are offered just before the start of every quarter. This usually involves asking the student to translate a selection from a philosophical text in the original language.
2. Students may, alternatively, complete a certain number of classes in the Modern Languages Department, maintaining a B+ average each quarter. For ancient languages, students must take through the first year. For modern languages, students must take through year two.

Dissertation

Students must form a dissertation committee and submit and defend a dissertation proposal before that committee. Each student must then submit a dissertation and successfully defend it before their dissertation committee. 

The dissertation is a thesis, approximately 200-275 pages (60,000-85,500 words) in length, including scholarly apparatus. The precise topic, structure, and length of the dissertation is to be determined in consultation with the dissertation Director and the other members of the dissertation committee. 

Optional Certificates

Graduate Certificate in Bioethics

The Graduate Certificate in Bioethics is an option for doctoral candidates in Philosophy who want (a) to cultivate their ability to engage in critical analysis of bioethical issues, and (b) to train to teach bioethics, biomedical ethics, or medical ethics to a variety of different kinds of students.

The Certificate requirements are as follows:

Course Requirements:

A minimum of 16 quarter hours including:

Training/Teaching Requirements

1. Students must participate in the Biomedical Ethics Training Program or serve as a Teaching Assistant for PHL 229 BIOMEDICAL ETHICS with a tenured or tenure-line faculty member. 
2. Upon completion of the training program or assistantship, students must teach at least two sections of Biomedical Ethics (PHL 229). 

Applicants apply for the Certificate by sending a letter of intent to the Director of Graduate Studies. Applicants agree to make the above required courses part of their program of study for the Ph.D and must maintain a B average in all Certificate courses.

Graduate Certificate in Business Ethics

The Graduate Certificate in Business Ethics is an option for doctoral students in Philosophy who want to gain a competency in business ethics, qualifying them to teach undergraduate and MBA courses in that subject. This Certificate does not require a dissertation in applied ethics. Rather it is designed to give students, regardless of their area of specialization, a strong background in business ethics so that they will be competent and competitive in the academic market, as well as comfortable teaching business ethics both at DePaul and in their academic careers.  

A minimum of 16 quarter hours including:

Other Requirements

• Students will be required to teach two Business Ethics courses (this could be in the Department of Philosophy, the Religious Studies Department or in a Management Department at DePaul or in other area universities.) Given that many PhD students in Philosophy are required to teach, this is not always an additional teaching requirement. 
• Attend and participate in at least one professional conference or complete an internship in applied ethics. In terms of Conferences, students will have to present a paper at the annual meeting of the Society for Business Ethics or the annual Vincentian Conference on Business Ethics. (Expenses will be covered by the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics.) A publishable paper would be the optimal goal. In terms of internships, such opportunities will have to be directly related to Business Ethics, Sustainability or Societal Justice. This will be approved by the Certificate Chair in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Applicants can apply by sending a letter of intent to the Certificate Chair and the Director of Graduate Studies. Applicants must have at least a B average and will agree to make the above required courses as part of their program of study for the PhD.​​​

Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies

The Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Certificate Program at DePaul University is offered by the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and it is available to students in the doctoral program in the Department of Philosophy.

The Program’s requirements are:

• WGS 400 FEMINIST THEORIES
• Three additional graduate-level elective courses approved by Women’s and Gender Studies. The student should petition for approval for courses from the WGS Director of Graduate Studies.

It is highly recommended that students take the foundational course, WGS 400, prior to the other three required WGS electives. The elective courses may be taken from the Women’s and Gender Studies offerings and/or from courses in other departments and programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences that have been approved by the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, but all three elective courses cannot be from one department.

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