School of Liberal Arts

Departmental URL: http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/philosophy

Program URL: http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/philosophy/index.php/programs/graduate/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Departmental E-mail: jeberl [at] iupui [dot] edu

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts in Philosophy, joint Master of Arts/Doctor of Jurisprudence (with the School of Law), joint Master of Arts/Doctor of Medicine (with the School of Medicine), joint Master of Arts/Master of Public Health (with the Department of Public Health in the School of Medicine), Ph.D. Minor, and Graduate Certificates in Bioethics and American Philosophy

Master of Arts in Philosophy

The Department of Philosophy M.A. program offers a general track covering core historical and topical areas of the discipline as well as two specialized con­centrations: Bioethics and International Research Ethics. Students who pursue a general philosophical education may take a number of elective courses focused on classical American philosophy.

Special Departmental Requirements

Admission Requirements

Applicants are expected to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or its equivalent, with a grade point aver­age of at least 3.0 overall (on a 4.0 scale) and at least 3.0 in the student’s major. There is no specific major requirement, but applicants must show a record of course work (or equivalent experience), demonstrating that they are sufficiently prepared to do graduate work in philosophy. For applicants interested in the Bioethics or International Research Ethics concentrations, professional training or experience that involved health care or research ethics could be accepted in lieu of coursework. Applicants must also show an appropriate level of achievement on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test unless they already hold an advanced degree.

Program Requirements

Students are required to take a minimum of 30 credit hours. Students must complete a set of core courses as well as a set of open or concentration-specific electives. Students in the general track of the Bioethics concentration may apply to write a 6 cr. thesis in place of two 3 cr. graduate courses; students in the International Research Ethics concentration must complete a practicum and capstone research project. Students must attend and complete these courses at IUPUI, except those courses accepted for transfer. At least 15 credit hours must be taken at IUPUI and at least 18 credit hours must be phiosophy courses. No course with a grade lower than a B will count toward the degree.

General M.A. Curriculum

Philosophy Core (15 cr. required)

1. History (6 cr. required)

• PHIL P515 Medieval Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P522 Topics in History of Modern Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P558 Classical American Philosophy (3 cr.)

2. Topics (6 cr. required)

• PHIL P514 Pragmatism (3 cr.)
• PHIL P540 Contemporary Ethical Theories (3 cr.)
• PHIL P543 Social and Political Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P553 Philosophy of Science (3 cr.)
• PHIL P560 Metaphysics (3 cr.)
• PHIL P562 Theory of Knowledge (3 cr.)

Electives (15 cr. required) 

• PHIL P503 Semiotics of C.S. Peirce (3 cr.)
• PHIL P507 American Philosophy and the Analytic Tradition (3 cr.)
• PHIL P520 Philosophy of Language (3 cr.)
• PHIL P525 Topics in the History of Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P542 Ethics and Values of Philanthropy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P545 Legal Philosophy
• PHIL P552 Philosophy of Logic
• PHIL P561 Philosophy of Mind
• PHIL P572 Philosophy of Religion
• PHIL P600 Topics in Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P650 Topics in Semiotic Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P701 Peirce Seminar (3 cr.)
• PHIL P730 Seminar in Contemporary Philosophy (3 cr.)
• PHIL P748 Seminar in American Philosophy (3 cr.)
• Any PHIL course offered in the Bioethics concentration

Thesis option: Students may petition to write a thesis (P803, 6 cr.) under certain circumstances. They must secure permission from their graduate director and three faculty members who are willing to constitute a thesis committee. Students who receive permission to write a thesis need only take 9 cr. of electives. 

Bioethics Concentration

Philosophy Core (6 cr. required)

1. Required foundational course (3 cr.): PHIL P540 Contemporary Ethical Theories (3 cr.)
2. Core electives (3 cr. required): PHIL P525 Topics in the History of Philosophy (3 cr.); PHIL P543 Contemporary Social and Political Philosophy (3 cr.); PHIL P553 Philosophy of Science (3 cr.); PHIL P560 Metaphysics (3 cr.); PHIL P562 Theory of Knowledge (3 cr.)

Concentration-specific Courses (18 cr. required)

1. Required foundational course (3 cr.): PHIL P547 Foundations of Bioethics (3 cr.)
2. Concentration-specific electives (15 cr. required)

• Areas of central importance (5 cr. required): PHIL P548 Clinical Ethics Practicum (3 cr.); LAW DN838 Bioethics and Law (2 cr.); MHHS M504 Introduction to Research Ethics (3 cr.)
• Specialized electives (9 cr. required): ANTH E445 Medical Anthropology (3 cr.); COMM C510 Health Provider-Consumer Communication (3 cr.); HIST H546 History of Medicine (3 cr.); LAW DN761 Law and Public Health (2 cr.); LAW DN845 Financing and Regulating Health Care (3 cr.); NURS N534 Ethical and Legal Perspectives in Advanced Nursing Practice (2 cr.); PHIL P549 Bioethics and Pragmatism (3 cr.); PHIL P555 Ethical and Policy Issues in International Research (3 cr.); PHIL P590 Intensive Reading (1-4 cr.) [When content is track-specific]; PHIL P600 Topics in Philosophy (3 cr.) [When content is track-specific]; PHIL P696 Topics in Biomedical Ethics (3 cr.); PHIL P730 Seminar in Contemporary Philosophy (3 cr.) [When content is track-specific]; SOC R515 Sociology of Health and Illness (3 cr.); SOC S560 Topics: Death and Dying (3 cr.)

Thesis or Research Project (6 cr. required)

• PHIL P803 Master’s Thesis in Philosophy (6 cr.)

In lieu of a thesis students may opt to complete a research project under the guidance of an ap­propriate faculty committee. Examples of admissible research projects: research that leads to a paper of sufficient length and quality to be considered for publication in a peer-reviewed journal; a comprehensive briefing paper for a legislative hear­ing; and analysis of a hospital, institutional, or research policy.

In lieu of the above, students may also opt for six credits of general electives; i.e., any graduate course offered by the IUPUI Philosophy Department.

International Research Ethics Concentration

Core Courses (10 cr. required)

• PHIL P540 Contemporary Ethical Theories (3 cr.)
• PHIL P547 Foundations of Bioethics (3 cr.)
• PHIL P555 Ethical and Policy Issues in International Research (3 cr.)
• MHHS M592 in African Health (1 cr.)

Concentration-specific Courses (12 cr. required)

• ANTH E445 Medical Anthropology (3 cr.)
• HIST H546 History of Medicine: Global Health and History (3 cr.)
• LAW DN696 AIDS: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues (2 cr.)
• LAW DN761 Law and Public Health (2 cr.)
• LAW DN813 International Human Rights (2 cr.)
• LAW DN838 Bioethics and Law (2 cr.)
• MHHS M504 Introduction to Research Ethics (3 cr.)
• PHIL P549 Bioethics and Pragmatism (3 cr.)
• PHIL P553 Philosophy of Science (3 cr.)
• PHIL P600 Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy of Medicine (3 cr.)
• PHIL P696 Topics in Biomedical Ethics (3 cr.)
• SOC R515 Sociology of Health and Illness (3 cr.)

Practicum/Research Project (8 cr. required)

•  PHIL P554 Practicum in International Research Ethics (8 cr.)

Joint Degrees

Master of Arts in Philosophy and Doctor of Jurisprudence in the School of Law

This joint degrees program, in which 12 hours of course work are creditable toward both degrees (provided the degrees are received simultaneously), affords the opportunity to earn both a Doctor of Jurisprudence (with an optional concentration in health law) and a Master of Arts in Philosophy (with a concen­tration in bioethics or international research ethics) while completing a total of only 108 credit hours. Program requirements include:

1. 90 hours credited in the School of Law, including all its required course work; and
2. 30 hours credited in the Department of Philosophy, includ­ing all of its required course work; and
3. a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.3 on all work done in the School of Law and at least 3.0 on all work done in the Department of Philosophy.

Master of Arts in Philosophy and Doctor of Medicine in the School of Medicine

The Department of Philosophy and the IU School of Medicine offer combined degrees in Medicine (MD) and Philosophy (MA), with a concentration in bioethics. Through the combined degrees program, the two degrees can be obtained with a total of 181 credits of coursework rather than the 194 cred­its required if the two degrees are obtained independently. Furthermore, the IU School of Medicine requires students to achieve a level 3 (the mastery level of competence) in three of the nine competencies that comprise the IUSM curriculum in order to be eligible for graduation. The combined degrees program provides participating students with the opportunity to achieve a level 3 in the Moral Reasoning and Ethical Judg­ment competency.

Ph.D. Minor

To earn a doctoral minor at IUPUI, the student must earn 12 credit hours of graduate courses in philosophy, with a grade point average of at least 3.0 (B), including 6 credit hours in courses selected from the Philosophy Core (P525, P540, P543, P553, P560, P562).

Graduate Certificates

The department offers two graduate certificates, one in Ameri­can Philosophy and one in Bioethics.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are expected to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or its equivalent, with a grade point aver­age of at least 3.0 overall (on a scale of 4) and at least 3.0 in the student’s major. There is no specific major requirement, but ap­plicants must show a record of coursework (or equivalent expe­rience) demonstrating that they are sufficiently prepared to do graduate work in philosophy. Acceptable coursework includes an undergraduate degree in philosophy. For their application, students are required to submit in addition to their application form: a statement of purpose, official transcripts, and at least one letter of recommendation.

Program Requirements

To complete the certificate students should take 15 credit hours in the IU system, at least 9 of which must be taken at the IUPUI campus. All courses must be at the 500-level or higher and be completed with a grade B or higher. Students for the American Philosophy certificate are required to take PHIL P558, whereas students for the Bioethics certificate are required to take PHIL P547. In addition, students should take nine credit hours in concentration-specific courses, while taking the remaining three credit hours either in concentration-specific courses or in courses that fall within the M.A. core.