Departmental Comments on Various Graduate Programs in Philosophy and Liberal Studies
(These suggestions and comments are intended only as a helpful guide to
our students. They are not meant to be exhaustive. You may want to
speak to the individual department members about the departments they
recommend.)
Professor Brown's suggestions:
Programs in Philosophy
Boston College
Marquette University
Catholic University
St. Louis University
University of Toronto
University of Notre Dame
Villanova University
All of these schools have good programs in history of philosophy, with strong emphasis on the ancient and medieval tradition. They would also be good in the systematic areas of Ethics, Metaphysics, and Philosophy of God. Boston College and Villanova also specialize in continental philosophy. If one wanted to focus more on analytic philosophy, the University of Toronto and Notre Dame would be the best choices; the others would be somewhat weak in this area. In terms of how hard the programs are to enter, Notre Dame, University of Toronto, and Boston College are the most selective. Admission to their PhD Programs with tuition remission and a fellowship is very competitive. Catholic University, Marquette, and Villanova would be easier to get into (Catholic U. probably being the most selective and Villanova the least). Admission to a Masters Program (for which one usually pays some or all of the cost) at any of the institutions is a good deal less selective.
Programs in Liberal Studies or Great Books
For Masters degrees in Liberal Studies, St. John's College in Annapolis or Santa Fe is a good one and not too difficult to get into.
Professor Spoerl's suggestions:
Some graduate school suugestions for St. A's philosophy students:
1) The University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): This is a very large department
with a fair amount of variety. It is strong in analytic philosophy and ethics. It used to be
strong in Thomism and medieval philosophy, but this has changed in recent years. There
are some restrictions on the financial aid that is available to non-Canadians.
2) The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC): A large department with rigorous
requirements.
3) Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wis.): A large department with faculty and course
offerings in a wide variety of areas. Has accepted St. A's graduates in the past.
Professor Krantz's suggestions:
Graduate programs in philosophy:
1. Villanova University
Continental philosophy
2. Pennsylvania State University
at University Park, PA
Analytic philosophy
more competitive
3. Brown University
Analytic philosophy
more competitive
4. University of Minnesota
Analytic philosophy
History of philosophy
5. University of Nebraska
at Lincoln
Analytic philosophy
