Joanne Waugh. Professor Waugh is serving both as Associate Chair of the Department and as Director of Graduate Studies. Her duties are referred to in various places in this handbook. Prospective students should feel free to call Prof. Waugh for an appointment, contact her by E-mail, come by at her scheduled office hours, or just walk in and visit her when her office door is open.

Darlene Corcoran. Ms. Corcoran is the Graduate Program Assistant. She is the first person to seek out when you have a bureaucratic question about the Graduate Program. She sends out information about the Program; she makes certain that your application file is complete and she will wage battles for you against the stonewall of bureaucracy when errors are made regarding your application or records. She is the person from whom you obtain various forms for thesis and dissertation committees, and doctoral candidacy. She maintains evaluation files and records your progress through the program.

Stephen Turner. Professor Turner is Chair of the Department. Prospective students should feel free to call Prof. Turner for an appointment, contact him by E-mail, come by at his scheduled office hours, or just walk in and visit him when he is in his office.

Nancy Keen. Nancy Keen is the Office Manager for the Department of Philosophy. She is the person who will send the appointment letter if you receive a Teaching Assistantship, and she is the person who will make certain that you are paid for your labors.

Graduate Student Representatives. Jennifer Ingle is President of the Philosophy Graduate Student Organization; Tom Brommage currently serves as Faculty Liaison.

THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PHILOSOPHY

Graduate students are governed by the policies of the State University System of Florida (SUS), the University of South Florida (USF), the USF Graduate School, and the Department of Philosophy. Students are expected to become familiar with these policies. The policies stated in this Handbook are generally those of the Department of Philosophy Department. See the appropriate sections of the USF Graduate Catalog for SUS, University and Graduate College policies.

A. The Department of Philosophy Admission Requirements

The Department of Philosophy offers graduate studies leading to both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. A student seeking admission to either program must submit the following materials in addition to meeting minimum university admission requirements:

All applicants must submit:

1. A philosophy writing sample of approximately 10 pages or a copy of the master’s thesis.

2. Three letters of recommendation.

3. A brief statement of the applicant’s philosophical interests

The Graduate Committee makes all admissions decisions on the basis of its assessment of a student’s likelihood of success in the program.

B. SUS Minimum Requirements for Admission to a State University

Students who seek admission to a graduate degree program in the SUS as first-time or transfer graduate students shall be required to meet minimum system-wide requirements:

i. Shall have earned a graduate degree from regionally accredited institution

or

ii. Shall have earned a "B" (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) average or better in all work attempted while registered as an upper division student working for a baccalaureate degree,

or

iii . Shall have a total verbal plus quantitative GRE General Test score of 1000 or higher, or an equivalent score on an equivalent measure approved by the BOR, taken within five years preceding application.

For information on dates and venues at which one may take the GRE contact :

Educational Testing Service, Box 899, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

Applicants denied admission will be given timely notice in writing, including the reason for their rejection. Applicants denied admission who meet the minimum system-wide standards may write to the Director of Admissions within 30 days of the date of denial to request reconsideration by the department, college, and Dean of the Graduate School. The request should explain why, in the applicant's view, reconsideration is warranted.

Applicants from non-regionally accredited U.S. institutions may apply for special consideration for admission on an individual basis if they score at least 1000 on the quantitative plus verbal portions of the GRE General Test and have a "B" average or better on all work attempted while registered as an upper division student working for a baccalaureate degree.

Up to 10 percent of the graduate students admitted for a given academic year may be admitted as exceptions to the above minimum criteria. Students admitted as exceptions need not meet any of the criteria listed above except the presentation of test scores, but should meet other criteria devised by the University, such as excellent letters of recommendation from trusted educators, satisfactory performance in a specified number of graduate courses taken as post-bachelor students, or practical professional experience in the discipline for a specific period of time.

Students with a bachelor's degree or the equivalent who do not meet the SUS criteria and wish to enroll in courses, but not in degree programs, at the post-bachelor's level, may enroll as non-degree seeking students. Colleges wishing to admit non-degree seeking students to graduate degree programs after the students have satisfactorily completed a certain number of credits may do so, provided that the number of admitted is included as part of the 10 percent exception.

International applicants must have earned, in an institution of higher learning, a degree equivalent to a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university in the United States.

The following items are required as part of the formal application and should be received by USF at least 6 months prior to the desired entry date:

1. A completed USF International Student Application.

Application and information for the required tests may be obtained from the addresses listed below:

Graduate Record Examination: Educational Testing Service, Box 955, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

English as a Foreign Language: Educational Testing Service, Box 899, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

Section II: Program Requirements for M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees

Effective Fall 2002 to the present.

The "Old Program" effective through Summer 2002

GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT

The Department wants to attract good students and to encourage them in their graduate studies for the time it takes to complete the Ph.D. degree. We therefore place a high priority on providing financial support to as many students as we are able to fund. Though our budget situation is always more uncertain than we would like, we are optimistic that we will be able to increase the number of students receiving financial support. Financial support takes the form of Graduate Fellowships or Graduate Teaching Assistantships. Over the five year period in which students complete their graduate degrees, students may have a combination of a Fellowship and a Teaching Assistantship.

There are some Fellowships available through the Graduate School to students who fall into groups that historically have been underrepresented in USF’s Graduate School.

ASSISTANTSHIP & FELLOWSHIP DETAILS

A. ACTIVE GRADUATE FACULTY

John P. Anton, Ph.D. (Columbia University), Professor. Major interests: Greek Philosophy, Aristotle, Byzantine Thought, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Literature, Aesthetics, Metaphysics.

Roger Ariew, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley), Department Chair & Professor. Major interests:

Charles Guignon, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley), Professor. Major interests: Continental Philosophy, Hermeneutics, Moral Value, Psychotherapy

Brook Sadler, Ph.D. (Duke University), Assistant Professor. Major interests: Contemporary Ethical Theory, History of Moral Philosophy, Kantian Moral Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Philosophy of Love and Friendship.

Martin Schönfeld, Ph.D. (Indiana University), Associate Professor. Major interests: History of Modern Philosophy: Kant, Eighteenth Century Thought; Ethics: Environmental Ethics; Chinese Philosophy.

Ofelia Schutte, Ph.D. (Yale University), Professor, Women’s Studies and Philosophy. Major interests: Feminist Theory, including Latin American Feminism, Nietzsche, Contintental Philosophy, Latin American Philosophy and Social Thought, Philosophy of Culture: Constructions of Identity and Difference.

Willis H. Truitt, Ph.D. (Boston University), Professor. Major interests: Social Philosophy, Aesthetics, Ethics.

Stephen P. Turner, Ph.D. (University of Missouri), Graduate Research Professor. Major interests: History and Philosophy of Social Science, Social and Political Theory, History of 20th Century Philosophy.

Joanne B. Waugh, Ph.D. (University of Southern California), Associate Professor. Major interests: Early Greek Philosophy, Classical Greek Philosophy, Aesthetics, Feminism.

Roy C. Weatherford, Ph.D. (Harvard), Professor. Major interests: Ethics, Epistemology.

Daniel Weiskopf, Ph.D. (Washington University in St. Louis), Assistant Professor.
Major Interests: Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Cognitive Science.

Eric Winsberg, Ph.D. (Indiana University, Bloomington). Major Interests: Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Logic, Philosophy of Mind.

Kwasi Wiredu, B. Phil. (Oxford University), Professor. Major interests: African Philosophy, Epistemology, Philosophy of Logic, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind.

B. COURTESY FACULTY

Sidney Axinn, Ph.D. (), Professor. Major interests: Ethics, Nietzsche, History of Philosophy.

Michael Gibbons, Ph.D. (), Associate Professor. Major interests: Political Science, Political Thought.

C. EMERITUS FACULTY

James Bell, Ph.D. (Boston University), Professor Emeritus. Major interests: Philosophy of Science, Logic, Method in Philosophy of Social Sciences, Existential Philosophy.

Bruce S. Silver, Ph.D. (University of Colorado), Professor Emeritus. Major interests: History of Modern Philosophy, American Philosophy.

Richard M. Taylor, M. Phil. (Yale University), Associate Professor Emeritus. Major interests: Philosophy of Religion, Existentialism.

Advising and Orientation

The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will advise you initially on ways to meet the departmental requirements.. There will be an Orientation for Graduate Students the first week of classes. Entering students should seek out the DGS at the beginning of the term. Early in the term, you will select a faculty mentor in consultation with the DGS.

The Graduate Committee consists of the DGS, the Associate Chair of the Department, four other faculty members and a graduate student representative. The Graduate Committee makes decisions about admissions, fellowships and assistantships, graduate student travel, and graduate student petitions (e.g., leaves of absence, retroactive withdrawals, etc.) . The graduate student representative participates in policy decisions, but not specific decisions about particular students.

Course-Loads. Many students register for three courses (9 semester hours) in the fall and spring semesters. The graduate school encourages students to enroll for 12 semester hours. This is the minimum load for students on fellowships, teaching assistantships, and tuition and fee waivers. Students may take graduate level courses during the summer term when they are offered, but they are not required to do so. Students often use the summer semester for language study.

Course Scheduling. Graduate courses are offered in the afternoons and evening to minimize conflicts with graduate student teaching assignments. Seminars typically meet once a week for at least two hours.

Information on Courses. Catalog descriptions are highly general, and many times a single course number is used for several topics, so there will be many courses on more specific topics than the courses listed in the catalogs. Feel welcome to contact the instructors themselves if you want more information than is contained in the department's Course Descriptions.

5000 -level and 4000 Level Courses. Courses numbered 5000-5999 are open to graduate students and undergraduate students. 4000 Level Courses are open to both graduate and undergraduate students, but graduate students are limited to 6 credits toward graduate degrees for such courses. There are several reasons why graduate students register for 4000-level courses: some students want to fill gaps in their undergraduate preparation, or they may want or need to take course offered by another department because of its relevance to, or importance for, their graduate program of study. Philosophers of science may need a background in a science; an historian may need to do advanced courses in language, history, and culture; a feminist philosopher may need background in women's studies.

Courses in Other Departments. Written permission is required from the DGS for registration in courses in other departments, but this is routinely granted for classes relevant to your philosophical interests.

Course Work. Students typically spend two to three years on course work. The course work is designed to enhance both the breadth and depth of your philosophical knowledge. Course work is also one of the primary ways in which students undergo preparation for the four area exams in which they establish their areas of competence in philosophy, and lay the foundation for specializing in those areas in which they will write their doctoral dissertation.

Section IV. Evaluation

Individual faculty members have full responsibility for setting assignments and evaluating the work of students taking their courses. Ultimate responsibility for the evaluation of the over-all progress of graduate students rests with the faculty as a whole.

GRADES

Passing Grades. ‘ C ‘ grades do not count as passing grades for graduate students; only ‘A’s and ‘B’s count. Only grades A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F, S, and U (see below) appear on grade sheets and university transcripts.

S/U Grades. The grades S (Satisfactory) and U (Unsatisfactory) are the only grades used for Directed Research.

Deferred Grades. A grade of Z is given for thesis and dissertation hours until the thesis or dissertation is completed, at which time they convert to S or U.

Incomplete Grades. An instructor may give a grade of Incomplete (I) when work remains to be completed, only if the student is responsible for the work not being completed. The university allows a maximum of one semester to complete the work and have the "I" grade changed. If the I grade is not changed in two semesters, it converts to an IF grade. The instructor, however, may negotiate a contract with the student, requiring that the work be completed at an earlier date. If this contract is broken by the student, the instructor may assign an F as the final grade for the course.

Requesting I Grades. To receive an I grade in a course, the student must submit a written request to the instructor prior to the last day of classes.

Evaluation Procedures

Annual Evaluation of Graduate Students. Every spring semester the Graduate Committee evaluates each active graduate student. Before the evaluation meetings, the DGS will determine whether a student is making adequate progress and make available such information as grade point average, exam results, GRE scores and teaching evaluations to the Graduate Committee. Decisions about continued funding and new funding will be made at this time.

Standards of Evaluation. Students compete for funding on the basis of their work in the department and if they are prospective students on the basis of the material that went into the admissions decision, such as GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and writing samples. The department sets standards for students seeking financial aid in the form of assistantships or fellowships, and expects any I grades from the previous Spring semester or earlier to be changed to an A or B grade by March 1, after which initial funding decisions are made. The department also sets standards for progress with respect to the taking of exams. At least one exam should be taken by the time 50 hours in the program have been completed.

Section VI: Teaching and Representation

Teaching Assistantships

Duties Responsibilities of Teaching Assistants (TAs) include leading discussion sections and grading papers for undergraduate courses. (Experienced TAs may be called upon to teach courses on their own.) The specific duties of a TA will be arranged between the TA and the instructor at the beginning of the course. TAs and faculty members are required to meet during the first week of instruction. Normally it is necessary that the TA attend lectures. When a TA and an instructor cannot come to an agreement about what the TA’s duties should be, the TA or the instructor should submit an account of the disagreement to the chairperson. The three will then try to resolve the disagreement. (If either the TA or the instructor should be unhappy with the resolution, an appeal to a review board is possible. The review board will consist of two faculty members selected by the graduate student and the chairperson.)

Assignments The quality of a graduate student's teaching, as well as academic excellence, will be factors in the award of teaching assistantships. Teaching assistants for logic will be restricted to students who have successfully completed a higher level logic class.

Workload TAs on 0.5 appointments are expected to spend 19 hours a week on their duties; TAs on 0.25 appointments are expected to work 9.5 hours a week. (A 0.5 appointment is the standard or "full" TA; a 0.25 appointment is considered a half-time TA.)

Facilities Every TA will be assigned office space. TAs may use office supplies (paper, pens, copying equipment) to fulfill their teaching responsibilities.

Graduate Student Representation

In the Department

Each year the philosophy graduate students elect Graduate Student Organization Officers, including a Representative or Faculty Liaison who attends and vote at most meetings of the Philosophy Department. The exceptions include meetings discussing graduate students individually, faculty recruitment, promotion and tenure, and salaries. Though graduate students have no vote on these occasions, they will be invited to provide evaluations in the case of recruitment and promotion. The Graduate Student representatives are normally elected early in the fall to serve for one year.

In the University

There is a university-wide graduate student council that invites nominations from our group of graduate students. On occasion, a graduate student is appointed to a university-wide ad hoc administrative committee.

The Department has a strong interest in your placement in an academic position, and provides a number of useful services for you.

Dossiers. The department keeps on file letters of recommendation solicited by you from your professors. The letters of recommendation are confidential and may not be reviewed by the student. When you ask us to send your dossier to prospective employers, we mail only letters of recommendation to them. If you wish to send student evaluations of your teaching skills, or other teaching-related material, you should begin compiling a teaching portfolio while teaching your first course. If it becomes necessary to submit this to a prospective employer, you would mail it at your own expense. The Center for Teaching Enhancement offers workshops on "Creating Effective Teaching Portfolios" in both the Fall and Spring semesters. If your schedule conflicts with these workshops, you may wish to contact the Center, where you will find helpful people who can guide you toward the appropriate literature.

Placement Officer. A faculty member will ordinarily be appointed "Placement Officer" and will be responsible for advising the student and, where possible making or assisting in making personal contacts with hiring departments. The placement officer and your advisor will discuss with you the mysteries of AOC and AOS and what they mean for you.

Advisor. Your advisor is the most important person for you to deal with. You appear to the philosophical community as a student of a particular advisor, and his or her contacts and reputation will be important to you as you enter the larger philosophical community. You should discuss with your advisor the kinds of expectations that you will face in the job market, your vita and what it should include, and similar questions.

Publications and Presentations at Meetings. In particular, you should discuss publications and presentations at meetings with your advisor. You should create a record of presentations and publication as a student, and your advisor should be able to get you started in this. The department supports, where possible, travel expenses for student presentations at meetings. Going to APA meetings is an important experience, and you should have it well before you reach the dissertation stage. It will allow you to gain an understanding of professional standards and expectations, as well as the biases and preferences of professional philosophy.

Mock Interviews. The department will conduct mock interviews for students entering the job market. These can be valuable in assessing your strengths and weaknesses, improving your presentation of self, and allowing you to experience the kinds of questions that you will face in an interview. They also will allow the faculty to get a better sense of how to present your strengths to prospective employers. You are responsible for arranging the mock interviews.

Philosophy at the Graduate Level requires much more than sitting in lectures. It is an active rather than passive pursuit. A major part, perhaps the major part, of your graduate career will be the experience of learning from (and arguing with) other students. The department sets aside space for students to meet, and encourages reading groups, student presentations, such as those organized by the GSO, and informal student sociability, i.e. a cold one with the gang now and then. Do not expect to get the full graduate experience without doing this!

Graduate school is also a time to begin one’s contact with the profession. Such activities as going to meetings are discussed in the section on placement. But the profession comes to the department as well, and you should take advantage of the occasions that bring other philosophers on campus. These include:

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM SERIES

The Department sponsors annual series of lectures, and these include both USF and non-USF faculty. This is the single most readily accessible window to the profession and to philosophical research and discussion, and you should take it. Graduate students are expected to attend the monthly departmental colloquia. Among the philosophers from other universities who have lectured in recent years are: Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam, Joseph Margolis, Stephen Toulmin, Sandra Mitchell, Robert Brandom, Robert Cummings, and Sandra Harding.

FELLOWS AT THE ETHICS CENTER AND THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT

On many occasions over the last twenty years there have been visiting faculty, usually on sabbatical, at the two Centers in the Department; and, the department has hosted other visitors as well. The visitors are usually interested in having contact, and often have interesting research agendas. You can always learn something about the outside world from them. Contacts with people from other departments than your Ph.D. department are always valuable– they may be able to write letters of recommendation, tell you about opportunities, give you advice, and most of all provide new or different perspectives. Use them.

The USF Graduate Catalog is published by the Graduate College. It is in this publication that graduate students can read about university wide rules governing graduate programs. The Catalog also contains information about other graduate degree programs in the university.

The USF Class Schedule lists courses, times, and locations for all courses to be taught in the upcoming semester. It also contains an academic calendar for the semester, latest information on registration, tuition and fees, and more. The Timetable is distributed university wide, three times a year.

The Course Descriptions sheet contains detailed descriptions of the courses offered by the Philosophy Department in the upcoming semester. The Course Descriptions are distributed to all students and faculty in Philosophy.

The Comprehensive Area Examination Reading List contains lists of articles and books recommended for reading in preparation for writing a Comprehensive Area Examination.