For admission into the PhD program, prospective students must simultaneously meet the following requirements:

• The applicant must hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a regionally accredited college or university.
• The applicant should have a master’s degree in philosophy or a related field or be prepared to complete such a degree prior to completing the PhD in philosophy. (Students with master’s degrees in fields other than philosophy and outstanding bachelor’s degree applicants are welcome to apply. As appropriate, such students may be required to take up to 12 hours of graduate work in philosophy as foundational background for acceptance in the program.) Exceptions will be evaluated on an individual basis.
• The applicant must have satisfactory academic standing at the previous institution attended and have at least a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 undergraduate semester hours of work prior to receiving the bachelor’s degree or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work to be considered for unconditional admission. Applicants who have already completed a master’s degree must have at least a 3.4 GPA on the master’s or meet the undergraduate GPA standards as listed to be admitted unconditionally for doctoral study.
• Students seeking the PhD in philosophy are required to submit satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or another appropriate standardized examination.
• Previous academic performance must demonstrate the potential for graduate work in philosophy.
• An applicant whose first language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in oral and written English prior to being admitted.
• The applicant must, at a minimum, meet the requirements for acceptance into the Toulouse Graduate School at UNT.

In addition to meeting all of the requirements above, students applying for admission to the doctoral program in philosophy must submit three letters of recommendation, a writing sample representative of their best academic work in the field, a “statement of purpose” describing both their reasons for pursuing doctoral work in philosophy and their specific areas of academic interest (e.g., sub-disciplinary areas of interest within the field), and a curriculum vitae.

Information on requirements for the PhD with a major in philosophy is available from the department and online at www.phil.unt.edu/programs/graduate/phd.

Departmental graduate course distribution requirement

In order to achieve its specific goal of offering its students a foundational training in environmental philosophy, the history of Western philosophy, agility in several topic areas of philosophy, and interdisciplinary experiences, students in the PhD program in philosophy must pass, with a grade of B or better, the course work listed to satisfy the course distribution requirements specific to the student category. Categories for students are determined according to the degree achieved upon admission to the program and upon department recommendation.

Category 1 students, 72 hours

Category 1 students: accepted to the PhD program with bachelor’s degree in any discipline/field

• Required courses, 21 hours
• Elective courses, 39 hours
• Dissertation, 12 hours

Category 2 students, 42 hours

Category 2 students: accepted to the PhD program with master’s degree in a discipline/field other than philosophy

• Required courses, 15 hours
• Elective courses, 15
• Dissertation, 12 hours

Category 3 students, 42 hours

Category 3 students: accepted to the PhD program with master’s degree in philosophy

• Required courses, 12 hours
• Elective courses, 18 hours
• Dissertation, 12 hours