The BA/MA in Philosophy program allows students to earn both bachelor's and master’s degrees in philosophy in five years. This accelerated degree program is a cost-effective option for undergraduate majors wishing to pursue graduate education in philosophy. It prepares students to apply for doctoral programs and gives them a chance to work with faculty they already know at the graduate level. A student enrolled in this program is an undergraduate for four years and a graduate student for one year. Philosophy majors must apply to the BA/MA program in their junior year. They will then have a modified program of study in their senior year, taking courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level that count toward their BA and MA, before completing a fifth year of graduate study.

Students who begin the program in Fall 2023 or later will follow new program requirements in their senior year. These new requirements, as well as the old requirements for students who began the program before Fall 2023, are included under the section “Years 1–4, as an Undergraduate Student.”

Program Highlights

• Cost-effective option for undergraduate majors interested in pursuing graduate education in philosophy.

• Takes half the time to complete than a traditional MA at a new institution

• Provides excellent preparation for applying to PhD programs and pursuing specialized research at the doctoral level

• Offers continuity of education, allowing students to continue working with faculty they already know

BA/MA Requirements

Prerequisites

• Junior philosophy major
• Overall GPA of 3.3 or higher
• GPA of 3.5 or higher in philosophy (with at least 5 completed courses, 3 at the 300 level)
• Apply by March 15th of junior year

Years 1-4, as an Undergraduate Student

New Requirements for students who begin the BA/MA program in Fall 2023 or later:

Complete the BA in philosophy with modified senior year requirements

BA in Philosophy

• 3 of the 11 courses required for the major must be at the 300-level (4 if 301 is taken) and 4 must be taken at the 400-level
• 1 course from ethics group (181, 182, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289 or 300-level equivalent)
• 1 course from epistemology group (130, 271, 272, 273, 275, 276, 279 or 300-level equivalent)
• Logic (274 or 301)
• Ancient philosophy (304)
• Modern philosophy (309)
• Elective (any number)
• Elective (300-level)
• Elective (400-level) – Double counts toward the BA and MA
• Elective (400-level) – Double counts toward the BA and MA
• Elective (400-level) – Double counts toward the BA and MA
• Elective (400-level) – Double counts toward the BA and MA

Notes:

• BA/MA students are not required to take the capstone seminar. If students replace their BA capstone seminar with a graduate seminar, they take an additional 3 400-level electives, “double dipping” these (for a total of four double-dipped courses) towards their BA and MA. If students take the BA capstone seminar, then they take four “double-dipped” 400-level courses as electives.
• BA/MA students can use relevant 400-level courses to satisfy the ethics and epistemology requirements toward the BA. Whether the course counts as relevant is determined in consultation with the GPD, UPD, and course instructor.

Old requirements for students who began the BA/MA program before Fall 2023:

Complete the BA in Philosophy and take 2 additional courses towards the MA in Philosophy

1. BA in Philosophy

• 7 of the 11 courses must be at the 300-level (8 if 301 is taken)
• 1 course from ethics group (181, 182, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289 or 300-level equivalent)
• 1 course from epistemology group (130, 271, 272, 273, 275, 276, 279 or 300-level equivalent)
• Logic (274 or 301)
• Ancient philosophy (304)
• Modern philosophy (309)
• Capstone seminar (395-399) ** [double counts for the MA]
• Elective (any number)
• Elective (300-level) ** [double counts for the MA]
• Elective (300-level)
• Elective (300-level)
• Elective (300-level)

2. Take two additional courses towards the MA in Philosophy

• One must be a 400-level course, the other can be 300 or 400-level

Year 5, as a Graduate Student

Take 6 graduate courses to complete the MA in Philosophy and defend the MA thesis or paper.

1. MA in Philosophy

• The 6 graduate courses – plus the 2 courses taken towards the MA as an undergraduate student and the 2 courses that double-count – complete the 10 courses required for the MA. The courses must also satisfy these distribution areas:
  • Ancient philosophy
  • Medieval philosophy
  • Modern philosophy
  • Continental philosophy
  • Analytic philosophy
  • 5 Electives

2. The MA thesis or paper

• Write and successfully defend a research paper before a committee of three faculty members.

Application

Submit a transcript, a writing sample, a one-page statement of purpose, and three letters of recommendation from full-time Loyola philosophy faculty members to Dr. Joseph Vukov, Graduate Program Director, at jvukov@luc.edu. 

Questions?

Dr. Joseph Vukov, Graduate Program Director, jvukov@luc.edu 
Dr. Richard Kim, Undergraduate Program Director, rkim7@luc.edu