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University of Florida

Academic Year: 
2022 - 2023

Department Name

Department of Philosophy

Department Chair

John Palmer,
Professor

Degrees Offered

Ph.D., Terminal Masters, Non-Terminal Masters

Financial Aid

Teaching Fellowships:
Non-Teaching Fellowships:
Teaching Assistantships:
16
Scholarships:
Students teaching their own classes:
Other Financial Information:
Students admitted to the graduate program typically receive a teaching assistantship with a stipend of $17,722 and a tuition waiver for 3 graduate courses each semester. Students who have satisfied the requirements for an MA might receive a teaching assistantship over the summer to teach on their own courses, and advanced students might have the opportunity during the fall or spring semesters to do the same.

Faculty


Members

Jaime Ahlberg, Associate Professor
John Biro, Professor
Rodrigo Borges, Lecturer
Chris Dorst, Assistant Professor
Stewart Duncan, Associate Professor
Molly Gardner, Assistant Professor
Lyndal Grant, Lecturer
David Grant, Assistant Professor
John Palmer, Professor and Chair
Arina Pismenny, Lecturer
Duncan Purves, Associate Professor
Greg Ray, Professor
Jon Rick, Lecturer
Amber Ross, Assistant Professor
Jennifer Rothschild, Assistant Professor
Nathan Rothschild, Lecturer
Gene Witmer, Associate Professor

Demographics

Ph.D.


Program Strengths

The Department has 17 faculty covering all the major areas of philosophical research (history, value theory, and metaphysics & epistemology). Several recent hires include philosophers with expertise in the specific area of the ethics of technology and artificial intelligence (Purves, Ross, D. Grant, L. Grant), an investment supported by the ongoing university-wide initiative in artificial intelligence (see http://ai.ufl.edu). Several other faculty who work in areas of ethics and social and political theory support this as well (Ahlberg, Gardner, Pismenny, Rick, J. Rothschild). By way of history, the faculty include experts in ancient and modern philosophy (Biro, Duncan, Palmer, N. Rothschild). By way of "M&E," the faculty include epistemologists (Biro, Borges), philosophers of science (Dorst, D. Grant), philosophers of mind and language (Biro, Ray, Witmer) and metaphysicans (Ray, Ross, Witmer). Some modest coverage of Continental philosophy is provided as well (N. Rothschild). The Department takes pride in the supportive and friendly community it has built over the years, a community including both faculty and graduate students. In recent years working groups involving both have become active, providing a venue for participants to share work in progress, discuss recent work in the area, or work through classic texts together. The department maintains an active speaker series and has recently twice hosted the Southeastern Epistemology Conference (in 2020 and 2021), among other events (see the events archive at https://phil.ufl.edu/previous-events/). It is not unusual for faculty and graduate students to collaborate on research, and doctoral students have opportunities for designing and teaching their own courses as part of their training. New Teaching Assistants are provided an “in house” workshop before starting their duties so as to ease their way into the job, and all faculty supervising TAs are required to sit in on TA sections so as to provide appropriate and helpful feedback. High quality teaching is taken seriously here, which is one reason the community includes not just faculty and graduate students but an exceptionally robust body of undergraduate philosophy majors and minors.

Student Demographics

Degrees Awarded

Ph.D. Tuition (US$ in FTEs)

Number of Required Courses: 
30
Additional Information: 
Students admitted to the PhD program usually have a Teaching Assistantship that provides a tuition waiver for 3 courses (9 credits) each fall and spring. Taking 3 courses each fall and spring is the standard for making appropriate progress.

Ph.D. Program Entry Requirements

Transcripts: 
Yes
Writing Sample: 
Yes
Minimum GPA Required?: 
No
Letters of Recommendation: 
3
GRE Required?: 
No
TOEFL Required?: 
Yes

Master's


Program Strengths

For a general description of strengths of the program, see the description for the PhD. By way of specific information on the MA, two points are relevant. First, MA students are eligible for Teaching Assistantship support, just as PhD students. Second, the department has an excellent record of placing their MAs in good PhD programs. Of the 17 students who received an MA between 2013 and 2019 and who sought placement with funding in a PhD program in philosophy, and disregarding those who started in the PhD here at UF, 15 succeeded. The programs into which they were placed were: Arizona State University (2), Florida State University, Johns Hopkins University, Oklahoma University, UC-Davis (2), University of Kent (UK), University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Miami, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Univesity of South Florida, and University of Texas, Austin.

Student Demographics

Master's Tuition (US$ in FTEs)

Number of Required Courses: 
12
Additional Information: 
Students admitted to the MA program usually have a Teaching Assistantship that provides a tuition waiver for 3 courses (9 credits) each fall and spring. Taking 3 courses each fall and spring is the standard for making appropriate progress.

Master's Program Entry Requirements

Transcripts Required?: 
Yes
Writing SampleRequired?: 
Yes
Letters of Recommendation: 
3
GRE Required?: 
No
GPA Required?: 
No
TOEFL Required?: 
Yes
Other Requirements: 

Types of Master's

Terminal Master's: 
Yes
Non-Terminal Master's: 
Yes

Placement


Summary of PhD Students 2018

Summary of Ph.D. Students, 2017

Summary of Ph.D. Students, 2011 - 2015

Summary of Master's Students, 2017

Summary of Master's Students, 2011 - 2015

Students Retention Summary 2015