Master of Arts in Philosophy - Moral Psychology

The M.A. in philosophy is a very small program serving a narrow range of applicants: (a) current University of Michigan students in other doctoral programs for whom a graduate credential in philosophy would complement their primary degree; (b) current University of Michigan law students; (c) military personnel who require a master's degree in philosophy; (d) in very rare cases, other self-funded applicants whose circumstances closely align with the program's purpose. The program admits at most one or two students in a typical year, and in some years admits none. The M.A. is not intended to serve as a general advanced credential in philosophy, as preparation for Ph.D. study elsewhere, or as a pathway into the Ph.D. program at Michigan. No financial aid is available for M.A. students. If a student in the M.A. program decides they want to earn a Ph.D., they must apply for admission to the Ph.D. program in the normal manner, in competition with other applicants. M.A. students at Michigan will not be given special consideration for admission to the Ph.D. program. If an M.A. student is accepted into the Ph.D. program, coursework done as an M.A. candidate will not automatically be credited toward the Ph.D. requirements. Whether some or all of it is so credited is to be decided by petition. Our faculty have research specialties ranging from standard areas—like moral and political philosophy, metaphysics and epistemology, the philosophy of language and mind, the philosophy of science, and the history of philosophy—to more specialized fields like feminist philosophy, rational choice theory, formal epistemology, philosophy of law, and philosophy of physics.

The Department seeks to enroll about five first-year doctoral students per year. Since this usually represents about 2% of applicants, the admissions process is exceedingly selective. Successful applicants have typically majored in philosophy as undergraduates or have gone on to do MA degrees in philosophy. However, to apply to our PhD program, applicant transcripts must show at least 5 previous philosophy courses. There is no minimum overall undergraduate GPA. However, successful applicants nearly always have an average GPA higher than 3.8 in their philosophy courses. (They also tend to have exceptional overall GPAs, but we pay most attention to grades in philosophy courses.) In considering your GPA, we will certainly take into account the varying difficulty of courses, the varying degrees of grade inflation among institutions, and any relevant circumstances you discuss in your personal statement.