The Terminal M.A. Degree in Philosophy

The department offers various terminal master's degrees in philosophy, one of which is the generic philosophy M.A. Although the requirements for this degree are basically the same as those for the non-terminal master’s degree that is the first stage of doctoral studies, students pursuing the generic M.A. in philosophy are usually motivated by either the desire for self-development or the hope of laying down an intellectual foundation for graduate work in other areas such as history or theology.

In exceptional cases, a very well qualified student in this or another terminal M.A. program may be considered for admission into the Ph.D. program, but such students compete with other Ph.D. program applicants for admission and must complete all Ph.D. program requirements, including some M.A. requirements not required for the terminal M.A.

Required Coursework

30 hours of graduate coursework (10 courses) are required for all M.A. programs in the Philosophy Department. The requirement for the generic M.A. in philosophy is that the 10 courses taken must include at least one 3-hour course in each of the following five areas:

• ancient philosophy
• medieval philosophy
• classical modern philosophy
• continental philosophy
• Anglo-American philosophy

These courses also satisfy the Ph.D. distribution requirements in the five designated areas. Hence anyone who who comletes the requirements for M.A. in philosophy at Loyola and is subsequently admitted to doctoral studies in the Loyola philosophy program will have half of his or her distributions requirement. Of the required courses, up to three may (but need not) be taken as upper-division undergraduate (300-level) courses. The remainder must be graduate courses (400 or 500-level). 

Language Requirement

There is no language requirement or other research tool requirement for an M.A. degree in the Philosophy Department.

Examination

Toward the end of the generic M.A. course of studies, the student must pass an oral examination on a research paper he or she has written. The focus of the examination is on the argument and analysis of the paper, as well as on the background thought that the argument and analysis presuppose.