Graduate Studies

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The Department of Philosophy at Western University has for many years been considered one of the foremost Departments of Philosophy in Canada and in certain areas it is considered to be among the foremost Departments in the world. It is continuously ranked among the top 50 Departments in the world and is ranked on the Philosophical Gourmet Report in General Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Physics, Decision Theory, Philosophy of Math, Mathematical Logic, Early Modern (17th Century), Early Modern (18th Century), and Feminist Philosophy.

We currently have 21 faculty members, as well as typically 12 other faculty members involved in our graduate programs (PhD in Philosophy and an MA in Philosophy). Currently, there are about 75 graduate students in these programs. While enjoying the numerous resources and benefits of a major research university, the Department itself maintains an atmosphere that is both congenial and vital. There is extensive formal and informal contact between the faculty and the graduate students – both have offices in Stevenson Hall, and spend a great deal of time working and talking in the Department.

We also play a lively and substantial role within the larger world of professional philosophy. Philosophers from other universities visit regularly during the academic year to participate in the Department's weekly colloquium series. In addition, the Department has hosted a number of successful conferences and workshops over the past several years that have brought distinguished philosophers to the campus from all parts of the world, and that have resulted in publications by quality presses. Graduate students actively participate in all of these activities.

The Department also cooperates with and draws strength from several other sectors of the University. These include the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, the Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism, and the following Departments: Women's Studies and Feminist Research, Political Science, Physics and Astronomy, Applied Mathematics, and Psychology. Several students are active in the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Lab Associate Program run in collaboration with Western's Brain and Mind Institute.

The department regularly offers seminars in foreign languages as an elective educational opportunity. The seminars are devoted to reading and translating a philosophical text, often one for which no English translation exists. One language is studied in each of the fall and winter terms, and four languages - Greek, French, Latin, and German - are rotated over two years. Those choosing to participate will meet once a week throughout the term for approximately one hour.

All in all, the Department provides a friendly, stimulating, first-class environment for graduate study in philosophy.