{"id":369,"date":"2023-04-17T18:19:21","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T01:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/?page_id=369"},"modified":"2025-11-21T09:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:28:26","slug":"graduate","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/graduate\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate"},"content":{"rendered":" \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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A PhD in philosophy offers students the highest form of training in rigorous thought and analytical writing, and guidance in the development of a productive, active research program, contributing to the advance of the field. <\/p>\n

The PhD program offers the opportunity to work towards a doctorate in philosophy in a supportive and collaborative community of graduate students, faculty, and scholars. The department offers a broad array of courses and seminars across the main areas of the discipline as well as other opportunities for philosophical exchange within the community. Philosophy PhD students at USC also begin to practice and develop as teachers of philosophy and develop the concrete skills that will come in handy in a career as a college or university professor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Degrees Offered\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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We offer both a PhD and a dual JD\/MA in philosophy. However, the only degree for which we directly admit students is the PhD. Students who are already enrolled in the JD program at USC Gould School of Law may apply for admission into the joint JD\/MA program upon completion of their first full year of law school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n The PhD in Philosophy\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n
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Many PhD programs, including in philosophy, adopt a \u2018sink or swim\u2019 mentality. Students are expected to figure out how to be successful, and those who struggle are assumed not to \u201chave what it takes.\u201d We try our best to adopt a different approach. It takes a large and rare combination of skills, talents, dispositions, and the luck of circumstance and timing for everything to go perfectly in a graduate student\u2019s development. Many people of great talent can easily run into trouble in graduate school due only to a minor weakness, bad timing, or a distracting life event. Our goal is to help students realize their philosophical talent by addressing any weaknesses and being as supportive of our students as we can, while guiding them in developing all of the auxiliary skills required for success in the profession.<\/p>\n

That said, a philosophy PhD is not for everyone. Success as a PhD student in philosophy requires talent and preparation, as well as a tremendous amount of hard work. Successful PhD students are independently motivated, set their own goals and are comfortable working with their own deadlines by themselves for significant stretches of time. They also have the patience and dedication to stick to their goals. Nationwide, the average time it takes to earn a PhD in a humanities field, including philosophy, is more than seven years. At USC, it currently takes most students between five and seven years to earn their degree.<\/p>\n

Even once you have earned your degree, there is no guarantee that a job will be waiting for you\u2014academic philosophy is a highly competitive field, with hundreds of applicants for every position. Still, USC students have been doing very well in recent years. Some of our recent graduates have secured tenure-track appointments at such places as the University of Michigan, Princeton University, the University of Colorado, Colgate University, or Claremont McKenna College. And many others have secured permanent positions abroad in such places as University College, London, Cardiff University or Trinity College, Dublin. Visit our Placement Record page to view the most recent placement news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n Explore Our Program\n <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n \n
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Current PhD Students<\/h3>\n \n Meet our PhD students! They come from a variety of philosophical and personal backgrounds. <\/span>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Applying<\/h3>\n \n Applications to the Graduate School of the University of Southern California are coordinated through the WebAdMIT application system. The Application Deadline is January 5. Apply now!<\/span>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Structure<\/h3>\n \n The timeline for degree completion may be influenced a variety of factors, but it takes most students between five and seven years to earn their degree. <\/span>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Publishing<\/h3>\n \n Our students have recently published articles in Ethics, Analysis, Mind, Synthese, Philosophical Studies, and other major journals and volumes. Find detailed listings provided by our students!<\/span>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Getting Jobs<\/h3>\n \n The department is committed to facilitating the transition from the PhD into a satisfying career path, whether in academia or outside it. The placement committee works with students well in advance to give them support for all aspects of their search. View our placement record!<\/span>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":325,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-369","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGraduate - School of Philosophy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here, find links to information and other pages relevant to our PhD program and graduate student publications and support.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/graduate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graduate - School of Philosophy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here, find links to information and other pages relevant to our PhD program and graduate student publications and support.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/graduate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"School of Philosophy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-21T17:28:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/graduate\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/phil\/graduate\/\",\"name\":\"Graduate - 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