An informal page for philosophy graduate students at the University of Houston.
The UH Philosophy M.A. program has consistently been rated among the top M.A. programs in the country and is noted in the APA grad guide as having special strengths in Cognitive Science, History of Philosophy, Ethics, and Aesthetics. Our program is designed to prepare students for the best Ph.D. programs in the country. We offer our students a variety of placement services (provided by a faculty placement coordinator--currently Dr. Justin Coates), which includes a writing sample review and consultation, coordinated organization of recommendation letters, and advice about programs that would provide the best fit given a student’s interests. With these placement services, our students regularly go on to top programs such as Princeton, Rutgers, Cornell, UCLA, UCSD, and Harvard.
The department is especially concerned to mentor students in the fine art of philosophical writing. Students may choose between two tracks for developing their writing skills. One track requires a master's thesis. The other requires additional course work and reworking of what each student takes to be his or her best seminar paper; students who take this option frequently use it as their writing sample, and interact extensively with a faculty member to perfect it for Ph.D. admissions. Many of our M.A. students also work as Teaching Assistants in introductory courses, and so have experience in grading, meeting with students, and tutoring.
Students who do well in our program will be eminently qualified for competitive Ph.D. programs, often much better prepared than others entering directly from an undergraduate program: they know what to expect, their ability and motivation to do graduate level work has been tested, they obtain more credible and informed letters of recommendation, and they have acquired a graduate level background that provides a useful head start on Ph.D. work.
This is an informal page designed to enable discussions between and provide information for current, prior, and prospective graduate students in philosophy at the University of Houston. The views expressed here in posts do not reflect those of the University of Houston or the University of Houston Philosophy Department or even necessarily those of the posters themselves. If there are any concerns about the content of this page, please message an administrator.
Reviews, get directions and information University of Houston Philosophy Grad Student Page.
