Doctoral program
Additional information
Comprehensive examination (PhD)
As a doctoral student, you will write a set of comprehensive examinations at the beginning of your second year in the last two weeks of September. You must select one theme in each of the following three areas:
- History of philosophy
- Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
- Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
- Value theory
- Ethics and Political Philosophy
- Philosophy of Art, Philosophy of Culture and Philosophy of History
- Metaphysics/Epistemology
- Philosophy of Language and Philosophy of Mind
- Logic and Philosophy of (Natural and Social) Science
- Theory of Knowledge and Metaphysics
A reading list for each theme will be provided in May. The list will seek to be representative of the theme rather than exhaustive.
For each theme, a list of 8 questions at the most will be provided in mid-July. The examination questions will be drawn from this list.
Examinations are in mid-September. From the moment the questions are provided, students have 2 days to hand in their essays. Each examination consists of 4 questions, but the student should answer only 3 questions. The word count for each answer must be between 1,200 and 1,500 words.
Each examination will be graded as a pass, fail or pass with distinction. If you fail an examination, you may try again in February or September of the following year.
Approval of thesis projects
Procedures
Submission of thesis project
All thesis projects are drawn up in consultation with the appointed supervisor and must be submitted in written form to the graduate studies committee, along with suggested names for two thesis committee members, who have agreed to be on the committee. Normally thesis committee members will be affiliated with both the Department of Philosophy and the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Forms are available from the academic assistant. It is understood that once the project has been approved, the committee members commit to being thesis consultants until the thesis is submitted. More precisely, they agree to read the chapters of the thesis and, if necessary, suggest improvements of a general nature to the student.
Thesis project seminar
The thesis project seminar is meant to assess the appropriateness and feasibility of the project. The committee is free to modify, reject or approve the thesis proposal. The seminar is open to the public. It is held before the thesis supervisor and a committee and chaired by a delegate from the graduate studies committee.
The candidate will give a 15-minute oral presentation of the project. The supervisor and committee members act as a jury and can ask questions or request clarification concerning the project. Following the seminar, the jury deliberates in confidence and decides either to approve or to reject the project; in the latter case, the jury gives reasons and also advises as to whether a revised project or a different one is warranted. Decisions are by a majority vote, with the vote of the chair being decisive in case of a tie.
Language test
If the thesis committee members judge that knowledge of a language other than the one in which the project is written is necessary for the completion of the thesis, they may require that the candidate pass a language test. Passing this test then becomes necessary for the approval of the project. The committee members are responsible for the preparation and correction of this test.
Language test example : The student has one hour to translate, with the help of a dictionary, a 300-word text that is directly related to his or her thesis subject.
Deadlines
The doctoral student should submit his or her project by the end of the sixth registered session, that is, by the end of the second full year of studies.
Thesis
Thesis supervision procedures serve three main purposes:
- To assure the quality of the thesis.
- To guarantee and respect the academic freedom of the thesis examiners and the candidate.
- To ensure the thesis has been judged fairly and respectfully.
Following thesis project approval, you will carry out research under the supervision of your director and the members of the committee. The latter will be the supervisor's consultants until the submission of the thesis. However, the co-supervisor cannot be a member of the thesis jury. A co-supervisor may be selected at the discretion of the supervisor and with the approval of the graduate studies committee.
The thesis supervisor will set up meetings to monitor your progress.
A doctoral thesis should normally be 175 to 250 pages in length. Exceptions require the approval of the thesis committee.
Before the official submission of the thesis, the supervisor will seek the opinion of the committee as to the acceptability of the thesis. If a favourable opinion is received, the supervisor will sign the thesis submission form and submit it to the director of graduate studies. If an unfavourable opinion is received, you will meet with the supervisor and the committee.
The jury of a doctoral thesis includes at least three internal members, an external member and the jury chair. The internal members are chosen from among the thesis consultants. The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies chooses the external member in consultation with the thesis supervisor.
The thesis is microfilmed, therefore the text must be clean, on good quality paper, the pages must be numbered correctly and a summary of 350 words should be provided.
A doctoral thesis must constitute a significant contribution to knowledge in the field, embody the results of original investigation and analysis and be of such quality as to merit publication, at least in part, once the necessary revisions and corrections have been made.
Recommended rates of progress and sequences
PhD |
Sept.-Dec. |
Jan.-April |
May-August |
1st year |
3 courses |
3 courses |
Preparation for comprehensive exams |
2nd year |
Sept. 15 to 30 |
Approval of thesis project |
Thesis |
3rd year |
Thesis |
Thesis |
Thesis |
4th year |
Thesis |
Thesis |
Defence |