Philosophy Department
UC Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
(831) 459-2070

UC Santa Cruz Philosophy
Graduate Studies

Courses and Residency
Breadth Requirements
Master's Paper

The M.A. program is designed to be completed in two years or less.  The M.A. program is open not only to students who majored in philosophy as undergraduates, but also to students who majored in other disciplines and who now want to study philosophy more intensively. The M.A. and Ph.D. programs have significant overlap. Students from both programs are in the same classes and work on the same course distribution requirements. Enrollment in the M.A. program confers no advantage for admission to the Ph.D. program.

Courses and Residency
Completion of the master's program requires a minimum of nine courses (45 credits) at UCSC. Seven courses (35 credits) must be graduate work in philosophy. The normal course load for M.A. students is 15 credits per quarter. However, if they are teaching assistants, the normal course load is 12 credits per quarter.  Master's students are required to be in residence a minimum of three quarters and to take a minimum of 12 credits per quarter during that period.

The Graduate Division's information about academic standing can be found here.

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Breadth Requirements
During their first year all graduate students are expected to fulfill a set of breadth requirements. These include the First-Quarter Seminar (Philosophy 201), the logic requirement, and at least one course in the area of metaphysics and epistemology and one course in the area of value theory, according to a list determined annually by the Graduate Committee.
Upon entry into the program, each student will be assigned a faculty adviser. Students will discuss with their adviser their choice of courses for the year and their progress in the program. Students are formally evaluated by the department before the end of each academic year.

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Master's Paper
As M.A. students approach the completion of 45 credits, they will prepare and submit a Master's paper. The Master's paper, including an oral exam, must be approved by two faculty, appointed by the Graduate Committee.