Pre Fall 2006 Degree Requirements

New degree requirements are in effect for students entering the program in the fall of 2006 or thereafter. Students who entered the program before the fall of 2006 may choose to meet either the old requirements or the new requirements. However, they may not mix the two. In other words, they may not meet some of the new requirements and some of the old requirements. The old way of listing the traditional track requirements are below; however, the new way that they are listed is actually the same, but put in an easier-to-understand form.

Note that only six hours of credit transferred from another institution may be applied towards the GSU M.A.

Download degree requirement worksheets for the Traditional, Applied Ethics and Religious Studies tracks.
Documents are in Microsoft Word format.

With the exception of the J.D./M.A. track, our program is designed to be finished in two years.

Requirements which Apply to All Tracks

  1. Only one Phil 8950 (To register for this course you need to take this form to the faculty member with whom you wish to work.), Directed Readings, course may be counted towards the degree. Additional Phil 8950 courses may be taken but they will not count towards the degree.
  2. Thesis Submission Deadlines. The department has submission deadlines so that theses can receive the full consideration that they deserve. Students who do not meet these deadlines must postpone their graduation.
  3. Only six hours of credit transferred from another institution may be applied towards the Georgia State M.A.
  4. No student who has taken the 4000-level version of a course at Georgia State may take the 6000-level version of that course without advance permission of the Director of Graduate Studies. The Director will verify that the course content and requirements of the 6000-level course are different enough to warrent graduate credit for the course.

Requirements of the traditional, applied ethics, and religious studies tracks

The traditional, applied ethics, and religious studies tracks must meet the following requirements. (See below for additional requirements specific to each of these three tracks as well as the degree requirements of the J.D./M.A. and individual tracks.)
  1. Twenty-four hours of graduate coursework in philosophy.
  2. The following courses do not count towards the 24-hour requirement.
    1. Phil 8900, Internship
    2. Phil 8960, Research or Teaching Assistantship in Philosophy
    3. Phil 8970, Teaching Philosophy
    4. Phil 8980, Teaching Philosophy Practicum
    5. Phil 8999, Thesis Research (To register for this course you need to take this form to the faculty member with whom you wish to work.)
  4. Distribution requirements
    1. Seminar Requirement--at least one seminar course. (Seminar courses have the word "Seminar" in the title.)
    2. History Requirement--at least one of the following courses:
      1. Phil 6010, Plato
      2. Phil 6020, Aristotle
      3. Phil 6030, Special Topics in Ancient Philosophy
      4. Phil 6040, Augustine and Aquinas (Formerly Phil 6120.)
      5. Phil 6050, Special Topics in Modern Philosophy (Formerly Phil 6150.)
      6. Phil 6060, Kant (Formerly Phil 6160.)
      7. Phil 6070, Marxism (Formerly Phil 6790)
      8. Phil 6080, Wittgenstein (Formerly Phil 6170.)
      9. Phil 6090, Special Topics in Continental Philosophy (Formerly Phil 6190.)
    4. Ethics and Social/Political Philosophy Requirement--at least one of the following courses:
      1. Phil 6650, Religion and Ethics
      2. Phil 6700, Ethics
      3. Phil 6710, Biomedical Ethics
      4. Phil 6800, Social and Political Philosophy (Formerly Phil 6760.)
      5. Phil 6820, Philosophy of Law (Formerly Phil 6720.)
      6. Phil 6850, African-American Ethical and Legal Issues (Formerly Phil 6750.)
    6. Metaphysics and Epistemology Requirement--at least one of the following courses:
      1. Phil 6100, Epistemology (Formerly Phil 6420.)
      2. Phil 6130, Philosophy of Science (Formerly Phil 6430.)
      3. Phil 6300, Metaphysics (Formerly Phil 6600.)
      4. Phil 6330, Philosophy of Mind (Formerly Phil 6440.)
      5. Phil 6530, Philosophy of Language (Formerly Phil 6400.)
  5. A general examination or an additional seminar course. Students interested in pursing the Ph.D. in philosophy are encouraged to take and pass the general examination. An additional seminar course used to satisfy this requirement does not count towards the twenty-four hours of graduate course work required for the degree.
  6. Six hours of thesis research, Phil 8999 (To register for this course you need to take this form to the faculty member with whom you wish to work.).
  7. A thesis.
  8. An oral thesis defense.

In addition to the above requirements, there are requirements specific to the traditional, applied ethics, and religious studies tracks.

The Traditional Track

The traditional program is designed for those who plan to seek the Ph.D. in philosophy or have a general interest in philosophy.

  1. Phil 6520, Symbolic Logic (This requirement may be fulfilled by passing the departmental examination in symbolic logic.)
  2. At least one additional seminar course.

The Applied Ethics Track

Students who wish to use their philosophical knowledge and skills in business, government, social service, health service, or religious institutions should consider the applied track. This track may also be the best choice for those who wish to seek a Ph.D. in philosophy with a concentration in applied ethics.

  1. Phil 6520, Symbolic Logic (This requirement may be fulfilled by passing the departmental examination in symbolic logic.)
  2. In addition to the course taken to fulfill the Ethics and Social/Political philosophy requirement, at least two of the following courses:
    1. Phil 6700, Ethics
    2. Phil 6710, Biomedical Ethics
    3. Phil 6800, Social and Political Philosophy (Formerly Phil 6760.)
    4. Phil 6820, Philosophy of Law (Formerly Phil 6720.)
    5. Phil 6850, African-American Ethical and Legal Issues (Formerly Phil 6750.)
    6. Phil 8700, Seminar in Ethics (Formerly Phil 8400.)(This course counts, at the student's choice, towards either the Applied Ethics requirement or the seminar requirement but not both.)
    7. Phil 8900, Internship

The Religious Studies Track

The religious studies track is designed for those who plan to seek the Ph.D. in religious studies or have a general interest in religious studies.

  1. At least two of the following courses:
    1. Phil 6200, Religion in American
    2. Phil 6220, Theories of Religion
    3. Phil 6250, African-American Religion
    4. Phil 6260 Religion and Literature
    5. Phil 6680 War, Peace, and Religion
    6. Phil 6270, Women and Religion (Formerly Phil 6370.)
    7. Phil 6280 Religious Dimensions of the Holocaust
    8. Phil 6450, Judaism in the Modern World
    9. Phil 6480 Islamic Fundamentalism and the Modern World
    10. Phil 6570, Special Topics in Islam
    11. Phil 6610, Hinduism
    12. Phil 6615, Buddhism
    13. Phil 6620, Confucianism and Taoism
    14. Phil 6625, Zen and Shinto
    15. Phil 6630 Comparative Study of Mysticism
    16. Phil 6650, Religion and Ethics (This course counts, at the student's choice, towards either the Religious Studies requirement or the Ethics and Social/Political Philosophy requirement but not both.)
    17. Phil 6670, Church and State
    18. Phil 6680 War, Peace, and Religion
    19. Phil 6910, Issues in Religious Studies
    20. Phil 8210, Seminar in Religious Studies (Formerly Phil 8750.)(This course counts, at the student's choice, towards either the Religious Studies requirement or the seminar requirement but not both.)