THE MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE
PHILOSOPHY
PHILOSOPHY

21.2.1 THE MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE

General Nature of the Program

The aim of the program is to give students the opportunity to deepen their philosophical understanding both by broadening their undergraduate background and/or by allowing them to concentrate their studies in one of the two specific areas of focus in our program. The first area is informal logic, the theory of argument, and the theory of critical thinking; the second is twentieth-century continental philosophy. It is expected that theses and major papers will be written in one of these two areas. The possibility of concentrating in some other area exists, but is conditional upon staffing resources, which are subject to change. The Philosophy M.A. program is structured in such a way as to encourage maximum participation by students in seminars and to allow extensive contact with professors outside of formal class time.

Admission Requirements

See 1.6.1 for general requirements for admission into an M.A. program at the University of Windsor. The Philosophy program normally requires the equivalent of twenty one-term courses in philosophy for admission to the one-year Master's program and the equivalent of ten one-term courses in philosophy for admission to the two-year Master's program.

Program Requirements

For general requirements for the Master's degree, see 1.6.2. The following are particular requirements for the M.A. in Philosophy:

1) The student may proceed to the degree in any one of the following ways:
(a) successfully complete at least four and not more than six graduate courses (the fifth and sixth courses may be in a cognate field), and satisfactorily complete a thesis on which there shall be an oral examination;
(b) successfully complete six courses, two of which may be in a cognate field, and satisfactorily complete a major research paper on which there shall be an oral examination;
(c) successfully complete eight courses, two of which may be in a cognate field.
Note:
i. Students wishing to pursue Ph.D. studies are advised to take option (a) or (b), but not (c).
ii. Students choosing option (c) should recognize that students in their candidate year normally take two graduate courses each term and that it will take more than one year to complete their program.

2) All students proceeding to the degree must:
(a) include the Departmental Seminar (Philosophy 34-590) among their courses for the degree;
(b) successfully complete the Master's Examination in Philosophy.

3) M.A. Qualifying Year: Students at the I Master's level are required to take 34-491 (Honours Seminar) (see 3.16.3 of the Undergraduate Calendar).

4) Program Approval: Each student must have his or her projected program authorized by the Graduate Coordinator.