Graduate Catalog

2008-09 Academic Year

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Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies

Main Departmental Office
Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building, Room 225
Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #310920
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-2266

Web site: www.phil.unt.edu

E-mail: philosophy@unt.edu

J. Baird Callicott, Chair

Graduate Faculty: Callicott, Figueroa, Fredericks, Frodeman, Gunter, Hargrove, James, Kaplan, Klaver, Rozzi, Yaffe.

The Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies is the leading graduate program nationally and internationally in environmental ethics and environmental philosophy. The department offers the following degrees:

Master of Arts with a major in philosophy; and
Doctor of Philosophy with a major in philosophy.

The master’s degree is appropriate for students wishing to develop master’s-level expertise in philosophy before pursuing doctoral studies in philosophy or related fields. It also provides an excellent background for students planning careers in law. A non-thesis option is available for students pursuing non-academic career opportunities. Because this option can be completed in slightly more than a year, it provides professionals with the opportunity to develop expertise in philosophy during one-year leaves of absence from their jobs.

Graduate courses in philosophy may also be taken as part of the Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies through the Center for Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. This program permits students, in close consultation with a faculty advisor, to create their own degree plans, which involve study in three or more related areas. This degree can be completed in one year including summer.

Because of its high concentration of specialists in the field of environmental ethics, the department offers humanists, scientists and professionals unique opportunities for postdoctoral work and professional development either through independent study and research or organized course work.

Philosophy courses also may be taken as a minor on the master’s degree in other disciplines and as a minor or supporting work on the doctorate. Philosophy department faculty participate in the Faculty of Environmental Ethics, a universitywide group within the Center for Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies. See the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies section for more information about this faculty and its research and instructional activities.

The doctoral program in philosophy at the University of North Texas is a cooperative program between UNT and the University of Texas at Arlington, drawing upon the expertise of the faculty of both institutions. Students apply for admission to the PhD program through the degree granting institution, UNT. Upon admission, students are able to register for graduate courses at either participating institution and to make use of the academic resources available at both institutions.

Career opportunities for students who successfully complete the UNT/UTA PhD in philosophy and religion studies are diverse. Students interested in specializing in environmental philosophy and ethics will be well positioned to find jobs in academe as demand for specialists in this exciting and expanding new subfield of philosophy increases. We expect that job-seeking students completing a more traditional course of study in philosophy and religion studies can find either academic or non-academic employment commensurate with their qualifications; those who are already employed in, for example, the religion industry may enhance their skills and education.

For detailed information about the graduate program, visit www.phil.unt.edu/programs/graduate.

Research

Research in the department includes methods and philosophical implications of the social and natural sciences, phenomenology, literature, aesthetics, philosophy of religion and biblical studies, philosophy of mind and philosophical psychology, philosophy of education, metamathematics and philosophy of mathematics, environmental justice, philosophy of ecology, philosophy of law and political philosophy, and history of philosophy. The major thrust of the department is environmental ethics and environmental philosophy.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Graduate teaching assistantships and fellowships and research assistantships are available from the department. To be eligible, students must have the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in philosophy. Students interested in teaching assistantships and fellowships must mention their interest in their statements of purpose. All teaching assistants, teaching fellows, and research assistants are eligible to enroll on an in-state basis.

Because the graduate degree program in the department is recognized as a unique program by the Academic Common Market, students from 14 southern states may enroll on an in-state tuition basis.

A $500 fellowship is provided to one student each term/semester by the Richardson Environmental Action League, a nonprofit recycling organization in Richardson, Texas. To be eligible a student must have completed 15 semester credit hours.

Two $1,000 graduate support awards are available normally to students applying for graduate support.

Admission Requirements

Application for admission to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies is made through the graduate school. At the same time, a statement of purpose should be sent directly to the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies along with a writing sample and letters of recommendation (at least two for the MA program and at least three for the PhD program). The statement of purpose should briefly summarize the applicant’s background, specific interests in the field of environmental ethics and future career plans. The Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies offers admission to its graduate programs for fall term/semester only. Complete application materials must be received by February 1 each year for admission to the following fall term/semester.

Master’s applicants normally should have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, while PhD applicants should have a master’s degree in philosophy or a related field. Exceptions will be evaluated on an individual basis. All students seeking admission to the graduate philosophy program are required to take a standardized admission test (e.g., GRE, GMAT or LSAT). For standardized admission test and additional admission requirements, contact the academic program or the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.

Degree Programs

Master of Arts

Two options exist for completing the Master of Arts with a major in philosophy: thesis and non-thesis.

For the thesis option, the student takes 24 semester credit hours of approved course work and a thesis carrying 6 hours of credit (for a total of 30 credit hours). The student will normally take a minimum of six courses (18 credit hours) in philosophy. Six semester credit hours in supporting fields may be elected by the student with the consent of the department. An oral examination is scheduled after the completion of the thesis.

The non-thesis option consists of 36 semester credit hours. The student will normally take a minimum of six courses (18 credit hours) in philosophy. A 9-semester-credit-hour minor in a supporting field is required. Nine additional semester hours may be elected by the student in philosophy or in one or more supporting fields. The examiners at the oral examination will include a faculty member representing the minor field and, at the option of the department, one or more representatives of other supporting fields.

Students pursuing either option are expected to complete one course in environmental philosophy, either PHIL 5450, 5451, 5700 or 5750. Students must also take one graduate course in environmental science.

Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. The language will normally be French or German, unless another language is specifically required for the student’s research for the thesis. See the Master’s Degree Requirements section of this catalog for further details.

For information on the Master of Science with a major in interdisciplinary studies, see the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies section of this catalog.

Doctor of Philosophy

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 are welcome to apply. As appropriate, such students will be required to take up to 18 hours of graduate work in philosophy as foundational background for acceptance in the program.)
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 School of Graduate Studies at UNT.

In addition to meeting all of the requirements above, students applying for admission to the cooperative doctoral program in philosophy must submit three letters of recommendation, a writing sample representative of their best academic work in the field, and 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).

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.

The Center for Environmental Philosophy

Eugene C. Hargrove, Director

The Center for Environmental Philosophy encourages and supports workshops, conferences and other special projects, including postdoctoral research in the field of environmental ethics. Activities currently include the publication of Environmental Ethics: An Interdisciplinary Journal Dedicated to the Philosophical Aspects of Environmental Problems, which is now in its fourth decade of publication; Environmental Ethics Books, a reprint series of important books dealing with environmental ethics and philosophy; and annual workshops on college and university curricula development and on nature interpretation. National research conferences focusing on selected topics in environmental ethics are held on an irregular basis.

Courses of Instruction

All Courses of Instruction are located in one section at the back of this catalog.

Course and Subject Guide

The “Course and Subject Guide,” found in the Courses of Instruction section of this book, serves as a table of contents and provides quick access to subject areas and prefixes.

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