Best 22 Doctoral Programs in Philosophy 2019/2020

Our global PhD program is open to a spectrum of disciplines and interests. It aims to address a range of problems in virtually every area of human and ecological concern. Our doctoral program is dedicated to helping you shape and co-create a new global civilization so the human species can learn to act as responsible and respectful stewards of our larger planetary ecosystem.

At every level in the doctoral process you are supported by mentors and coaches. You will be required to take certain core courses and will have the freedom to design the rest of your program in consultation with your mentors and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Students can select courses from either inside Ubiquity or outside Ubiquity. This means that if there is a course you need to take that is offered through another institution, you are free to do so. Ubiquity’s in-person courses are also available for doctoral credit.... [-]

The Faculty offers two research-based degrees, namely Master of Philosophy (MPhil), & Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Our PhD students are supervised by a Department-based scholar and choose additional supervisors from the same or other Departments, or other universities.

The Philosophical Faculty of the University of Hradec Králové offers a Ph.D. Degree which may be pursued in full-time study. The Ph.D. programme is designed for students who have obtained a Master´s Degree in Philosophy and related study disciplines.

The Ph.D. study in Philosophy aims to provide a high-quality education and research training in the field of contemporary philosophy, with a special focus on the philosophy of social sciences. The Ph.D. study is designed for students with a Master's Degree in Philosophy or related disciplines.

The graduates will be professionally and also linguistically fully prepared for independent scientific research and teaching, for work in public institutions, media, non-governmental organizations.... [-]

Normal Duration: 3 or 4 years (Full-time)

Place: Hong Kong

The Department of Philosophy at Lingnan has 13 members. They cover all the main areas in philosophy in their research and teaching, including aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, history of Chinese and Western philosophy, logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. Some of them are also seriously engaged in interdisciplinary work, in collaboration with researchers in artificial intelligence, education, linguistics, and mathematics. The work of Lingnan philosophers has been published by leading publishers (like Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press) and in top journals (like British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Ethics, Mind, Nous, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and Philosophy of Science).... [-]

The goal of the doctoral program in Transformative Studies is to develop thought-leaders who are committed to exploring leading-edge issues in innovative ways that combine scholarship, creativity, and self-inquiry.

The program encourages students to pursue research topics they are passionate about and supports participation in the scholarly discourse through publication. It views academic inquiry as an opportunity for personal and social transformation, grounding transformative processes in academic depth, rigor, and imagination.

About the Program

Participants in the Transformative Studies program will:

Make an original transdisciplinary research contribution in a chosen area of inquiry... [-]

Doctoral study of philosophy (P6101) is a full-time or a distanced study programme for three years. In special cases, it is possible to ask for a shortening, interruption or extension. The study program is modular with a credit system. At the beginning, the student together with the supervisor creates an individual study plan which must correspond with the courses enrolled in STAG. The main duties include the teaching of elective lectures and seminars, publication, participation in conferences and in an international education experience, studying a foreign language, attending methodical courses and developing the so-called "soft skills". In order to successfully complete the study, the student is required to obtain at least 180 credits, pass the state doctoral examination and successfully defend a dissertation.... [-]

The Doctorate program aims to train researchers in philosophy that from a solid knowledge of the tradition and the current philosophical are capable of performing competently in some of the following tasks: interpret and rigorously analyze the historical philosophical thinking in some of its themes , authors and eras; contribute to the development of contemporary philosophical debates; to be participants in the discussions about those problems proper to our social and historical reality; directing philosophical research projects; be part of interdisciplinary research teams; train new researchers in philosophy or related areas.

Boston College’s graduate philosophy programs attract talented students from around the world. We offer master’s and doctoral degrees, covering all periods in the history of philosophy and with a diversity of philosophical approaches.

The Department of Philosophy is noted for its strength in the history of philosophy, contemporary continental philosophy and practical philosophy, including ethics and social-political philosophy. In addition, the department offers two interdisciplinary programs: philosophy and law, and philosophy and theology. The program also includes Asian philosophy and diaspora studies.

Each September our doctoral program admits a small group of new students, who are immediately welcomed as research assistants. The experience of working with an established scholar is designed to help the student learn some of the basic skills of philosophical research and establish a mentoring relationship with one or more faculty. The program’s flexibility ensures individualized attention in designing a plan of welcome to the department of philosophy at Boston college study. All Ph.D. students have funding through their fifth year in the program (fourth year if they enter with an M.A.) assuming successful completion of requirements. Doctoral students gain experience teaching in the University’s two-semester Philosophy of the Person core course. There is a teaching seminar in the first two years of the program to help prepare the doctoral students to design their own syllabi and to provide feedback on teaching; ongoing class visitations take place thereafter.... [-]

For this degree, students write a thesis under supervision, on a topic selected in consultation with the Department. The topic must be in line with the expertise of the available lecturers. Four seminars and a Doctoral defense (of either the proposal or the thesis) are required in accordance with the general regulations of the Faculty of Humanities.

To be admitted to this Degree, students must fulfill the Department’s admission requirements (in addition to the University’s admission requirements) and prove their knowledge of research methodology and history of philosophy. Some of the requirements are [i] at least 65% average for the Master’s Degree in Philosophy and [ii] the submission of written philosophical work done for the Master’s Degree. Supplementary oral examinations might be required.... [-]

The Cultural, Social, and Political Thought major in the Ph.D. program is interdisciplinary in nature and is based on a cohort learning model that fosters an environment of interdisciplinary engagement and exchange, research, peer mentoring, collaboration among a small group of students, within a team-based learning experience. The overall academic aims of the program are to emphasize social, cultural, and political thought and to inculcate the intellectual and practical tools needed to work successfully with community partners and agencies to facilitate social change. Students graduating from the Cultural, Social, and Political Thought major are trained experts, who demonstrate a mosaic of professional skills (e.g., teaching, peer reviews, presentations, critical thinking, etc.) and research competencies. Graduates are capable of producing novel, relevant, and rigorous research that make significant and substantive contributions to interdisciplinary knowledge.... [-]

Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-timeThe SOAS Religions and Philosophies Department offers a vibrant, stimulating, and interdisciplinary research environment. We provide individual research supervision in a wide variety of religious traditions and comparative and interdisciplinary topics. Supervisors are experts in their fields and thoroughly familiar with the religions, cultures, languages, and geographical areas they specialise in.

In addition to individual supervision the Department offers research training at various levels: an obligatory research writing workshop which prepares year 1 MPhil students for their upgrade to the PhD level; a weekly seminar for PhD students in years 2 and 3 to discuss work in progress and receive feedback before submitting their thesis; a departmental research seminar in which both staff and students present papers on their research projects and discuss them in an interdisciplinary setting. Students also have the opportunity to attend seminars, lectures, and conferences offered by the various specialist Centres relating to their particular fields. These centres run regular evening lecture series, workshops, and conferences which host visiting speakers from other universities in Britain, Europe, and globally.... [-]

The purpose of doctoral studies in the field of Philosophy of Religion is for students to cultivate, in the usual way for advanced studies, their ability to examine, using philosophical tools and approaches, religious phenomena and issues relating to the religious dimension of human culture, including theological thought and its traditions. Students learn to reflect critically on these approaches and their results and to interpret them both in their specific context and within the framework of current academic knowledge. In direct connection with its multidisciplinary nature, this study program develops the skills necessary for analyzing complex issues, and students learn to combine various specialist perspectives and discourses in evaluating specific findings and testing hypotheses, while at the same time ensuring that the methods used are appropriate, the thinking is precise, and complex or controversial problems are expressed clearly. The study program not only leads to the acquisition of expert knowledge and skills, but also develops the ability to understand views, concepts, teachings and theories that are non-traditional or differ from one’s own, cultivates argumentative approaches to critical debate, and refines the ability to evaluate oneself and to formulate one’s own opinion or position.... [-]

Graduates of the doctoral program in Logic are qualified researchers in the field of logic and related disciplines. They possess in-depth knowledge of the methods and trends in modern logic and specialize in one of its aspects and applications – pure mathematical logic, applications of logic in (and logical foundations of) mathematics, computer science or linguistics, or exclusively philosophical aspects of logic. They are able to undertake independent scientific research and to publish its results internationally, and they are open to interdisciplinary cooperation. Ph.D. graduates are trained for research and tertiary-level teaching professions at institutions specializing in any of the listed disciplines.... [-]

The study program "Algebra, Number Theory, and Mathematical Logic" offers students an advanced education in a selected area. The education allows the program graduates to follow contemporary research. It teaches them the basics of independent scientific work and how to approach various abstract problems.

The program does not contain specializations.

Admission for studies

Admission for studies will be granted to the applicants, who:

This doctoral program is advertised for the classroom and distance learning. Anyone who is interested in the fields of classical and modern German philosophy, the French philosophy of the 19th and 20th centuries, German and French phenomenology as well as the current international reception of these philosophies can apply, and the conditions of admission (required documents see below) fulfill. The curricula of the doctoral students in this program include the following to be provided during the two-year study (Minimum Duration): In addition to the preparation of at least three term papers following the compulsory courses according to Accreditation, these are at least three articles to be published, participating in at least three conferences as well as at least two research stays abroad related to the thesis. The final degree consists in the proof of the above-mentioned achievements, the submission of the doctoral thesis as well as in their defense as part of a doctoral examination. Successful PhD students may take the title Ph.D. to lead.... [-]