Philosophy at UIC
The UIC Graduate Program in Philosophy is a Ph.D. program. Most of our faculty were trained in analytic philosophy, and their research and teaching interests reflect that basic orientation. The table below describes the broad range of areas we cover. (For more information, see Faculty.)
Philosophy faculty Heading link
| Concentration | Faculty |
|---|---|
| Aesthetics | Eaton, Fleischacker |
| Ancient Philosophy | Vlasits |
| Continental Philosophy | Eaton, Schechtman |
| Early Modern Philosophy | Fleischacker, Hilbert, Sinkler, Sutherland, Whipple |
| Epistemology | Hilbert, Martín |
| Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy | Fleischacker, Laden, Martín, Small |
| Feminist Theory | Eaton, Laden, Martín |
| History of Analytic Philosophy | Gray |
| History of Ethics and Social/Political Philosophy | Fleischacker, Laden, Small |
| Kant | Fleischacker, Laden, Sutherland |
| Logic and Philosophy of Logic | Vlasits |
| Medieval Philosophy | Sinkler |
| Metaphysics | Hilbert, Schechtman, Small, Whipple |
| Philosophy of Action | Laden, Small |
| Philosophy of Language | Goodman, Gray |
| Philosophy of Mathematics | Sutherland |
| Philosophy of Mind | Goodman, Gray, Hilbert, Schechtman, Small, Sutherland |
| Philosophy of Physics | Huggett |
| Philosophy of Religion | Fleischacker, Sinkler, Whipple |
| Philosophy of Science | Hilbert, Huggett |
Philosophy groups and events Heading link
The UIC philosophy department actively participates in The Chicago Area Consortium in German Philosophy. In addition to Sam Fleischacker, and Daniel Sutherland at UIC, the Consortium includes faculty from DePaul, Loyola, Marquette, University of Chicago, Northwestern, Purdue, Notre Dame, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Wheaton College. The Consortium brings together scholars interested in German Philosophy for regular colloquia and reading groups in the greater Chicago Area.
The Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience (LIN), located in the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is an excellent resource for graduate students working in philosophy of mind. The LIN is composed of faculty and students from the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Psychology, and Philosophy. The mission of the LIN is to promote research, teaching, and all forms of scholarship on nervous systems and behavior. The LIN offers an extensive curriculum of neuroscience-related training at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Our colloquium series and our biennial Irving Thalberg Memorial Lecture make for an active program of invited speakers. See our calendar for more information.
About the Ph.D. program Heading link
The Department of Philosophy at UIC offers a Ph.D. Admitted students proceed toward the Ph.D. in two stages. The first stage centers around graduate seminars and, later, special preparation in the area of the doctoral dissertation. This stage typically takes three years. During the first two and a half years, the student takes at least 14 regularly scheduled graduate courses, mostly seminars, at the rate of 3 per semester. These must be chosen so that the student satisfies course requirements in logic (one course), history of philosophy (three courses with at least one in ancient or medieval and at least one in modern philosophy), and three distribution areas — metaphysics or epistemology; philosophy of language, philosophy of science, or philosophy of logic; and ethics, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, or philosophy of law — (five courses with at least one in each of the three areas). During the third year, students work on a project that specially prepares them for work in the area of their dissertation. During the second stage, the student prepares a prospectus for a dissertation, writes the dissertation, and defends it in an oral exam. We expect the second stage to take two years, so the Ph.D. program is a five year program. For a more detailed description of the graduate program requirements, see the UIC Graduate Catalog or (better) the Philosophy Department Graduate Handbook.
Graduate students interested in certain areas are permitted to supplement their graduate study with courses in other departments or programs. For instance, our Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science has several mathematical logicians whose graduate courses are open to philosophy students. Students interested in feminist theory may take graduate courses in our Women’s Studies Program. Students interested in philosophy of mind can take graduate courses in the Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience.
Students interested in applying to any graduate program in philosophy should consult the American Philosophical Assocation’s Data and Information on the Field of Philosophy. For more information on application and admission to the UIC graduate program in philosophy, see Admissions. For information on financial aid for UIC graduate students in philosophy, see Funding.
Information on tuition and fees for graduate students is available online.