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Fall 2025 Graduate Catalog

Philosophy, MA
Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Awarded: Master of Arts in Philosophy
 
Chairperson: Anthony Steinbock, Harriman Hall 213 (631) 632-7585
Assistant to the Chair: Alissa Betz, Harriman Hall 211-A (631) 632-7590
Graduate Program Director: Anne O’Byrne, Harriman Hall 252 (631) 7590
Director for MA in Philosophy: Tom Brockelman, Harriman Hall 213 (631) 632-7570
Graduate Program Coordinator: Lisa-Beth Platania, Harriman Hall 213 (631) 632-7580
 

The Department of Philosophy, in the College of Arts and Sciences, offers programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy and the Master of Arts in Philosophy. Given its commitment to philosophical pluralism and its triple focus on the history of philosophy, interdisciplinary studies, aesthetic and the philosophy of art, Stony Brook’s Master of Arts in philosophy has been recognized throughout the profession as distinctive and innovative. The curriculum of the program embodies this commitment and focus.

Administration: The administration of the MA Program is carried out by the MA Director in consultation with the Chair of the Philosophy Department, the Graduate Program Committee, the Graduate Coordinator and the core faculty of the Philosophy and Arts program.

Admission Requirements

Application Website

For admission to the doctoral and master’s programs in philosophy, the following are normally required:

  1. A bachelor’s degree with a major in philosophy.
  2. Some knowledge of the history of philosophy and of contemporary modes of thought is highly desirable. Deficiencies in these areas may require the student to undertake special work.
  3. Official transcripts  from the institution(s) where undergraduate and any graduate degrees were conferred; unofficial transcripts from other institutions where classes were taken but no degree was conferred
  4. Letters of recommendation from three previous or current instructors.
  5. Submission of a philosophical essay (which may be a paper written for a previous course).
  6. Statement of Purpose (no more than 2 pages single-spaced).
  7. Acceptance by both the Department of Philosophy and the Graduate School.

Degree Requirements

Completion of the master’s degree entails 30 course credits, the equivalent of 10 courses. You will find specific course descriptions for each semester on our website under the “current courses” tab. Of the 30 credits, 6 may be taken as Independent Study. Additionally, with the permission of the M.A. program director, 6 credits (2 courses) may be taken in the Philosophy Department’s PhD program or in other departments at Stony Brook. One M.A. course per year is delivered at the Stony Brook Campus. An M.A. thesis option is available but not required for graduation.

Course of Study

The primary purpose of the Master of Arts Program in Philosophy is to prepare students for original and independent research and scholarship in the field, and to prepare them for further postgraduate work in either philosophy or other humanistic disciplines. As an MA Program with special emphasis on the fine arts, it is also designed to provide artists with access to philosophical and intellectual resources not generally available in the art field.

In order to graduate, the student must have earned a total of 30 credits. Of these 30 credits:

  1. 6 credits may be transfer credits (so long as they were not used toward earning another degree).
  2. 6 credits may be earned either by taking 2 independent study courses, or by taking 1 independent study course and PHI 599 - Master’s Thesis Research .
  3. In order to be able to register for the MA Thesis course, students must fill out the MA Thesis Approval form, and have it signed by the MA Program Director as well as the Advisor of the MA thesis. The MA Thesis Advisor must be a permanent faculty member of the Philosophy Department.
  4. All MA students must take at least one 500 or 600 level seminar on the Stony Brook University Campus
  5. First year MA students may not take either Ph.D. seminars or independent studies. A second year MA student wishing to enroll in a PhD seminar must first obtain approval from the program director to request permission from the teaching faculty member. Only the teaching faculty member can give permission to enroll in the seminar.
  6. If students enroll in PHI 520 , it must be done with a permanent faculty member of the Philosophy Department.

Note the difference between PHI 520 - Advanced Studies in Philosophy  (3 credits, ABCF grading, variable and repetitive credit) and PHI 521 - Contemporary Moral Issues  (may be repeated for credit, S/U grading). If the Independent Study is intended to reach the required 30 credits for graduation, enrollment in PHI 520  is recommended (as only ABCF graded courses count towards cumulative credits).

The MA Thesis Option

Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill all of their MA degree requirements by taking the regularly scheduled graduate courses. Under certain conditions, however, a student may wish to pursue the MA thesis option by requesting the formation of a faculty committee for the thesis project.Such a Thesis Committee will consist of a thesis advisor, and at least one other member of the departmental faculty or a reader from the faculty of another discipline. The MA Thesis Advisor is selected by the student, while the Second Reader (and possibly third reader) is selected by the advisor and student together. The Thesis Committee must be approved by the MA Program Director upon submission of the appropriate form and a brief thesis proposal summary. This form must be submitted to the MA Program director at least four weeks before the beginning of the semester in which the student is registering for PHI 599 - Master’s Thesis Research . The student will not be able to register for the MA thesis course without this form having been fully filled out and signed.

An MA student who takes the thesis option (see above) must notify the MA Program Director when submitting the thesis document to her/his thesis director. Once a student has submitted the thesis, the faculty thesis director has 3 weeks in which either to approve it for graduation purposes or require further revisions. In either case, the thesis director will notify the MA Director of the decision to approve or to require revisions. In the event that a thesis director fails to act within the time frame just specified, the MA Director will notify the student of her/his right to be assigned a different thesis director. The MA Director will also inform the Department Chair in case further administrative action is required.