Graduate Program

The UCSC Graduate Program in Philosophy admitted its first students in 2001, and continues to grow There are about currently 23 graduate students in the program and each year we accept approximately 4-5 new Ph.D. and 2-3 new M.A. students.

The majority of the Philosophy Department faculty is housed in the Cowell Faculty Annex at Cowell College overlooking the state-of-the-art Physical Education and Recreation Facilities, the magnificent Monterey Bay Sanctuary, and the lively and charming town of Santa Cruz. Philosophy graduate students have office space in the Philosophy Grad Lab, located at Cowell 154. The Department Offices are also housed at Cowell College in room 220.

Faculty research has focused in the areas of philosophy of science and social science,
ethical theory, continental philosophy, philosophy of mind, ancient philosophy, and philosophy of religion. Graduate students are also able to take advantage of a wide range of courses in the history of philosophy, including ancient, early modern, Kantian, 19th century, American and early analytic philosophy.

Both the M.A. and the Ph.D. programs encourage interaction with other fields, and the curriculum includes graduate and undergraduate courses cross-listed with departments such as Psychology, Linguistics, Anthropology, Environmental Studies, History of Consciousness, Legal Studies, Politics and Feminist Studies.

Quarterly, the department sponsors a colloquia series that provides the Philosophy community the opportunity to interact with distinguished guests from other universities. Some past visitors included Scotts Soames (USC), Bas van Fraassen (Princeton), Brian Skyrms (UCI), Alvin Plantinga (Notre Dame), Graham Priest (Melbourne), Michael Friedman (Stanford), and Mark Colyvan (Queensland).

An annual Graduate Student Colloquia is held every spring where advanced graduate students can present their research focusing on their Masters’ or Doctoral work in the field.

Graduate Programs of Study:

• M.A. degree in Philosophy
• Ph.D. in Philosophy

Inquiries should be directed to:

John Bowin

Graduate Faculty Advisor
(jbowin@ucsc.edu)

Jonathan Ellis

Meg Lilienthal

Department Manager, Graduate Program
(megl@ucsc.edu)
(831) 459-4578