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The University of Rochester's Philosophy Department places its PhD program at the heart of its academic community. With an intimate cohort size (around 10 faculty members and 20 doctoral candidates), students enjoy close mentorship relationships. Beyond formal seminars, the program features multiple reading groups each term, with significant emphasis on independent study under faculty guidance. Doctoral candidates gain teaching experience as teaching assistants and may lead their own courses.
Faculty specialties encompass diverse philosophical domains including epistemology, ethics, historical philosophy, logic, mathematics philosophy, metaphysics, language philosophy, mind philosophy, religion philosophy, and sociopolitical philosophy. The ethics faculty specialize in normative theory, bioethics, metaethics, and artificial intelligence ethics.
The doctoral program mandates 90 course credits plus a philosophical dissertation, structured for completion within five years. Our department boasts philosophers with wide-ranging expertise and varied philosophical viewpoints.
We prioritize preparing students for academic research and instruction. The department collaborates with computer science, cognitive science, and linguistics departments through a joint cognitive science graduate program.