Comments on: Advice about graduate school in Philosophy

By: Huenemann

Huenemann — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:44:56 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Andy. I think you are right that philosophers will find their analytic skills come in handy wherever information is at stake!

By: Andy Wesolek

Andy Wesolek — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:50:55 +0000

This is a great piece. I might suggest adding “Librarianship” to your list of fields in need of philosophically-minded folks. Much is changing in the world of libraries, as they shift from simply collecting resources, to becoming active participants in the creation and dissemination of knowledge.
From the highly analytic aspects of classification schema to the moral dimensions of the scholarly communications crisis, I depend on my philosophical training on a daily basis. With great reluctance, I left a terminal MA program, but honestly, I find myself flexing the ole philosophy muscle as much in my role here, as I did in my role as a graduate student.

By: Huenemann

Huenemann — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:04:46 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Barnard, and congratulations on getting into such an excellent program!

By: pbtmnbtf

pbtmnbtf — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:03:33 +0000

Great advice. I just went through the PhD application process, and found everything you’ve mentioned to be quite important. The most important thing I would add, however, is that for those of us applying from USU, it is vital to apply to as many schools as you can afford financially and that comprise a good research fit.

I applied to over 10 schools, as was happy to be accepted to two of them. Conversations with friends in similar positions, and the statistics at gradcafe.com support the claim that the process is incredibly competitive.

I applied to a PhD in Political Science, but doing Political Theory, and most programs I applied to had a less than 5% acceptance rate. At one school, I was told that the prior year they had only accepted applicants from Harvard, Yale, or Princeton.

That being said, with a lot of help from the Drs McNamara in USU Polisci, I’m happy to report that I’ll be going after a doctorate from UPenn. It is possible to get in from a relatively unknown state school like USU, but it’s important to realize how slim our chances are and to plan according.

Best of luck to all!

-Barnard