Doctor's degree Philosophy - Boston College - Newton Centre MA

Doctor's degree Philosophy from Boston College - Newton Centre MA is a Campus Ph.D Philosophy degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. Requirements for the Ph.D. are as follows: one year of full-time residence; course work (cf. below under Course Work); proficiency in logic; proficiency in two foreign languages; preliminary comprehensive examination; doctoral comprehensive examination; dissertation; and oral defense of the dissertation. Doctoral students are generally admitted with financial aid in the form of Research Assistantships and Teaching Fellowships. Research assistants and teaching fellows receive remission of tuition for required courses. Doctoral students are expected to pursue the degree on a full time basis and to maintain satisfactory progress towards the completion of the degree. For the academic year 2005-2006, stipends for research assistants are $14,250 and stipends for teaching assistants average $15,200. Course Work The total course work required for the Ph.D. is 16 courses (48 credits). Students entering the program with an M.A. in philosophy may be given credit for up to 6 courses (18 credits) toward this requirement, but must take a minimum of 10 courses (30 credits) in the program. Students entering the program without an M.A. earn an M.A. on their way to the Ph.D. Grading In each graduate course, in which a student is registered for graduate credit, the student will receive one of the following grades at the end of the semester: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, F, W, J, or I. In the Boston College Doctoral program, graduate credit is granted for courses in which the student receives a grade of A, A-, B+, or B. No degree credit is granted for a course in which a student receives a grade of B- or below. Seminar in Teaching To provide Ph.D. students with the requisite pedagogical instruction and supervision, the department requires first-year and second-year Ph.D. students who are or will become teaching fellows to participate for four semesters in a series of training seminars. These seminars deal with such issues as preparation of syllabi and exam schedules, fundamentals of the art of teaching, grading, and advising. Each student presents a sample syllabus which is then discussed by the group. The Seminar in Teaching meets six times a semester, generally on Friday afternoons. The Seminar does not count toward the doctoral requirement of 16 courses (48 credits). Proficiency in Logic The Ph.D. student must demonstrate proficiency in logic by taking PL 577 (Introduction to Symbolic Logic) with a grade of ?B? or better, or by attaining a score of 80% or better on the Logic Proficiency Examination, or by showing evidence of comparable prior course work. PL 577 may count towards the requirement of 16 courses. (See Attachment 3) Language Proficiency The Ph.D. student must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages, Latin, Greek, French, or German. Proficiency may be demonstrated by receiving a grade of "B" or better in two semesters of the language at the elementary college level or one semester at the intermediate college level, in the 12-week summer language class for graduate students at Boston College, or by passing the department's own language examination. The requirement of the first language should be fulfilled before a graduate student begins his or her third year of study at Boston College. Both language requirements must be fulfilled before a student takes the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. With department approval, a language that is central to the candidate's thesis may be substituted for one of the other languages. For further information on the language exam, please consult Prof. Peter Kreeft. Preliminary Comprehensive Examination The Preliminary Comprehensive Examination is the same as the M.A. Comprehensive Examination. Ph.D. students are expected to take this examination at the end of their first year in the program. Students sign up for the examination by completing the Master's Comprehensive Examination Selection Sheet (Attachment 2) and submitting it to RoseMarie DeLeo. For those students without an M.A. degree, after you have fulfilled all the requirements for the Master's degree , you should apply to the Graduate School and Student Services for your degree to be registered with the university. Doctoral Comprehensive Examination The Doctoral Comprehensive Examination is a two hour oral examination. It is conducted by four professors and consists of four parts: the student's dissertation proposal, a systematic problem, and two major philosophers. It is the responsibility of the student to secure the cooperation of four faculty examiners and to negotiate with them the terms of reference for the examination. A Ph.D. student must complete all course requirements, and demonstrate proficiency in two languages and in logic, before taking the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. It is the responsibility of the student to request the Registrar to send a final transcript of grades to the department, to complete the Selections form, and to submit it for department approval, together with a suggested date and time for the examination. Ph.D. Students are expected to take the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination (Attachment 4) by November of their fourth year (third year, for students entering the program with the M.A. in hand). A failed examination may be retaken once and once only. Dissertation The Ph.D. student is expected to complete a dissertation which embodies original and independent research and which demonstrates advanced scholarly achievement. The research must be carried out and the dissertation written under the direction of a faculty supervisor. For good reason and with department approval the supervisor may be a faculty member from another department. The student's dissertation proposal constitutes part of the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. The manuscript of the dissertation must be prepared according to a recognized manual of style (e.g., the MLA). Dissertation Defense The Ph.D. student is expected to defend the dissertation in a public oral examination. This examination must be held during the academic year (September to April). Prior to the examination the dissertation must be approved by the supervisor and by a second reader. The chair of the department serves ex officio as third reader. It is the responsibility of the student to comply with the regulations of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and with the requirements of the University Registrar, to provide the department with an abstract of the dissertation for distribution to faculty and graduate students (no later than two weeks before the defense), and with two copies of the dissertation for inspection by faculty and graduate students (no later than one week before the defense). After the defense, two copies of the dissertation the original plus one copy) are to be turned in to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, along with the required forms. One copy of the dissertation should be left with the department. Time Limit All requirements for the doctorate must be completed within eight consecutive years from the beginning of doctoral studies. Extensions beyond this limit may be made only with departmental recommendation and the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 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