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Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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- What are the deadlines for applying for graduate admission?
Applications from non-U.S. residents must be submitted by December 1.
U.S. applicants have until January 15.
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- Do you consider mid-year applications?
All applications must be submitted according to the established
deadlines. In special circumstances it may be possible to defer
admission if you are accepted, but normally admission is granted
only for entrance at the beginning of the Fall semester.
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- How do I submit my application?
Applications should be submitted online.
Please check here for more details about applying.
A complete application requires original copies of your college transcripts, three letters of reference, GRE scores, your statement of purpose and a writing sample.
If you are applying to another department or program at Indiana
University you will need to pay two application fees. If the other
department that you are applying to is within the College of Arts
& Sciences you will get a refund on your 2nd application fee. If
it is not within the College of Arts & Sciences you will not
receive a refund.
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- Are there any special requirements for
international students?
Non-U.S. students should visit
the International
Admissions website for specific information about international
applications. International students whose native language is not
English are required to submit evidence of English proficiency to
the department by January 15 at the latest. We recognize
TOEFL (Test of English
as a Foreign Language) scores. Other means of demonstrating English
proficiency may be acceptable but must be arranged with the Director
of Graduate Studies well in advance of the deadline.
International students must send all supporting documentation to International Admissions by December 1. Their address is International Admissions, 300 N. Jordan, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. A complete application requires original copies of your college transcripts, three letters of reference, GRE & TOEFL scores, statement of purpose and a writing sample.
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- What kind of academic background is needed to study HPS at the graduate level?
Applicants to this department have a wide variety of academic backgrounds. A major in the field is neither required nor expected. We welcome inquiries and applications from all people with at least a Bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) who are interested in pursuing graduate studies in history and philosophy of science. In judging applications for admission and financial aid, we are primarily concerned with general intellectual ability together with interest and commitment to history and philosophy of science as a field of study. Admission to the Department's programs (M.A. and Ph.D.) is based in part on the applicant's past academic achievements. Equally important from our point of view is an applicant's ability to master the basic principles of the discipline and his or her sincere interest in entering into the fellowship of scholarly endeavor.
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- What kinds of GRE scores do students who are
admitted to HPS typically have?
Although GREs are one factor that is taken into account when
determining admissions, it is not the only factor, or even the most
important factor. While we can't reveal particular scores, students
with combined verbal and quantitative scores of 1350 and above have
generally been competitive.
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- What are the department's GRE codes?
When registering to take the GRE you should use 1324 as the Institution code and 2703 as the Department code.
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- What kind of undergraduate grade point averages are required for admission?
A B (3.0) average in the undergraduate major is required for admission
to the University Graduate School and the College of Arts and Science
a minimum requirement of 3.0 in undergraduate studies, and 3.2 in
previous graduate studies. At the departmental level it is hard to
give meaningful information about averages because many students
finish their undergraduate studies much more strongly than they start.
Thus we tend to look closely at performance in upper level courses
that are relevant to HPS.
(The interpretation of these requirements for foreign students is
handled by the University Graduate School, which determines
equivalency of foreign degrees to U.S. degrees. This is one reason
why earlier application is necessary.)
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- What are you looking for in my application's
writing sample and cover letter?
The purpose of the writing sample is to convince us of your general
intellectual ability together with interest and commitment to history
and philosophy of science as a field of study, and your ability to
master the basic principles of the discipline. This can be
accomplished in many ways so there are no general requirements as to
form, topic, or discipline. Because we are a small department
admitting only a few students each year, we tend to look favorably on
applicants who have done their homework about IU and can show or
explain why IU is the right program for their particular interests.
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- What funding is available for PhD students?
The department typically provides four years of funding to a select
group of incoming, full-time PhD students. This funding usually
begins with a year of fellowship and three years of teaching
assistantships, although the formula may sometimes vary. Fifth year
fees are generally low because students have finished all course work
and are enrolled for dissertation research hours only. Departmental
awards are based entirely on academic criteria and U.S. and
international students are considered equally. Generally we can fund
about three students per year.
Some special university awards may increase the funding period to five
years, and students should check these pages for special fellowship opportunities:
Students applying for admission should alert the Director of Graduate
Studies to any special fellowships that they believe themselve to be
eligible for.
The GradGrants
Center can help current students find external funding. Current students should pay special attention to these external sources:
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- Are benefits and fee remission included
with fellowships and assistantships?
With support from the College of Arts and Sciences and the University
Graduate School, students holding fellowships and assistantships
receive fee remissions up to 24 credit hours of degree-related courses
per year. Standard graduate student health
benefits are provided according to standing university policies.
Current and prospective students are referred to the financial aid
pages of the University Graduate School, and the website of the Graduate and Professional Student
Organization for the latest information.
Special information for international students on costs, fees, and
health benefits is available at the International
Admissions website.
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- Is there funding for Masters students?
Unfortunately, the department cannot guarantee fellowships or
assistantships for students seeking masters degrees in HPS. Funding
is also not guaranteed for students who enter as masters students and
are subsequently approved for entry into the PhD program, although such
students have generally had some support on an ad hoc basis from
teaching and research assistantships that become available at short
notice.
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- What are the tuition and registration costs at IU?
The most up to date information is available from the IU
Bursar website. Funded students are responsible for paying
mandatory fees. Unfunded students must also pay the per credit hour
tuition costs, at either the Indiana resident or non-resident rate, as appropriate.
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- For current students, what kind of travel funding is available?
Some departmental fellowships offered to PhD students include a modest travel budget. However, most students are dependent on submitting competitive grant proposals for conference and research travel. The HPS department itself has the Richard S. Westfall Fellowship for Graduate Student Research Travel.
Conference travel support is available from the College, the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs, and from the GPSO. The University Graduate School also offers grants in aid of research which can be used to cover research-related travel expenses.
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- For PhD students, what is the significance of choosing a "Field of Study"?
The choice of field of study creates a presumption about the most
appropriate way to satisfy the department's foreign language /
research skill requirement. Students whose field of study is history
of science will normally be expected to demonstrate proficiency in two
languages while students whose field of study is philosophy of science
will normally be expected to demonstrate proficiency in one language
and one other research skill, such as logic or probability theory,
although they have the option of pursuing two languages. Students
whose field of study is equally in the history and philosophy of
science may satisfy the requirement in either way. In all cases, the
exact means of fulfilling the requirement must be decided in
consultation with the student's advisory committee.
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- How is foreign language proficiency determined?
Most students demonstrate proficiency through passing the courses that
the various language departments at IU put on for just that purpose.
If you already have a high degree of competence in an appropriate
language it is possible to test out of those courses. However, the
exact requirements are set by the relevant department, not by us, so
the details depend on the language(s) being considered. Here's some information about requirements for specific languages:
| French |
See the list of requirements at the French & Italian department. |
| German |
Germanic Studies offers courses G491 and G492 for this purpose. |
Latin |
CLAS-L 300: Intensive Introduction to Classical/Medieval Latin, and CLAS-L 400: Intensive Study of Literary Latin. |
You should always check with the certifying department to make sure that requirements have not changed. Note that while these courses do count towards full-time student status, they do not count towards the 90 (60) credit hours required for the Ph.D.
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- For MA and PhD students, what is required for the tool skill in logic?
The exact requirements for the logic tool skill are determined in
consultation with the Department of Philosophy. Presently the
requirements consist of P505 (Logical Theory I) plus one course from
the following list: P506 (Logical Theory II), P551
(Philosophy and Foundations of Mathematics), P350 (Logic of Sets), P352 (Logic and
Philosophy), P550 (Systems of Modal Logic), P751 (Advanced Seminar in
Logic).
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- Which are the core courses in HPS?
The core courses are divided into History sequence (H1, H2),
Philosophy sequence (P1, P2, P3) and HPS. Because they are referred to differently between the department's guide to graduate studies and the university's graduate bulletin, the following table is provided for conversion:
| Description in Guide | Name in Bulletin |
|---|
| H1: History of Science I (antiquity to circa 1750) |
= X506: Survey of History of Science up to 1750 |
| H2: History of Science II (circa 1750 to the present) |
= X507: Survey of History of Science since 1750 |
| P1: Philosophy of Science I (antiquity and the middle ages) |
= X556: History and Philosophy of Science in Antiquity |
| P2: Philosophy of Science II (the modern period through late positivism) |
= X552: Modern Philosophy of Science |
| P3: Contemporary Issues in Philosophy of Science |
= X551: Survey of the Philosophy of Science |
| HPS: Contemporary Issues in History and Philosophy of Science. |
= X706: Special Topics in the History and Philosophy of Science |
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- When do PhD students form their doctoral advisory committee?
Every Ph.D. student needs to have a faculty advisory committee in place and formally approved no later than the end of their first year. Please do not confuse the Doctoral Advisory Committee (for beginning students) with the Ph.D. Research Committee that is submitted when the student advances to candidacy. The College has an online form to facilitate the approval process. The form asks the student to enter the names and usernames of committee members (at least two graduate faculty members in the major and one representing the minor), and then contacts those faculty members to confirm their willingness to serve on that student's committee. Once all members are confirmed, the College Graduate Office reviews the submitted application and formally approves the student's advisory committee. The form is located at:
http://www.indiana.edu/~college/graduate/office/record.shtml. If you need help to identify or assign committee members, contact the DGS.
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- What is required for a graduate minor in HPS?
Graduate students from other departments desiring a minor in history
and philosophy of science must complete 12 graduate credit hours of
course work in the department with a B+ or higher. The set of courses
should represent a coordinated objective and must be approved by the
Director of
Graduate Studies. Usually such a program of courses will include
at least two of the department's core courses, but the others may be
freely chosen from the graduate offerings.
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- Is it possible to do a PhD in HPS on a part
time basis?
It has not been attempted and we do not recommend it. Fellowships and
teaching assistantships can only be given to full-time students.
Also, University policy is that course and research credit hours
expire after 7 years, therefore it is necessary to plan the degree so
that credits taken at the beginning are still current at the end.
Although it is possible to petition for reinstatement of expired
credits, part time study would make it difficult to complete the
degree in a timely fashion.
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- Can I take HPS courses as a non-degree seeking student?
As long as you meet the eligibility requirements of the University Graduate School for continuing non-degree student status then you are eligible to sign up for HPS courses.
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- Can graduate students get credit for attending colloquia?
Unlike some other departments, we don't try to pad colloquium
audiences by requiring attendance. But it is hoped and expected that
graduate students will take advantage of the educational and
professional opportunities afforded by the colloquium series. In a
relatively small department such as ours, a lively colloquium series
is one of the principal means for getting a broad perspective on the
discipline of History and Philosophy of Science. The department also
funds two graduate students for dinner with visiting speakers, and
personal connections made during such visits can pay off in various
ways.
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- What is the expected length of the 3rd year
qualifying paper, and how are the faculty readers selected?
There is no set length for qualifying papers, but something in the
range of 30-35 pages is probably the norm. The paper should be a
substantive piece of work that demonstrates you have the skills needed
for dissertation research. In most circumstances one reader will be
your advisor, and you will select two other readers in consultation
with your advisor. You should have at least one history reader and
one philosophy reader. In addition to the committee approval, the
paper should be discussed in a public meeting of the department with
commentary by another graduate student chosen in consultation with
your advisor or the DGS. This public presentation will normally (but
not necessarily) take place before the committee approval is
sought. Once all signatures have been obtained and the appropriate form is submitted to the DGS, the paper
is submitted to the full faculty at the next departmental meeting.
See section 9.7 of the Guide to Graduate
Studies for full details.
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- Can I get transfer credit for graduate work from another university?
The Graduate School allows up to 30 hours of graduate work completed
at another institution to be counted towards a graduate degree at IU,
provided that these hours were not already applied toward a degree at
the same level. Practically, this means that you may not use courses
already used for a Masters degree at another institution towards an IU
Masters degree, but you may count such courses towards a PhD at IU
so long as you did not previously count them towards a PhD at the other
institution.
Each transfer request will be assessed on its own merits, but HPS
Students are generally discouraged from requesting exemptions from the
core courses.
If you wish to transfer credit from another university, you must
submit a memo to the Director of Graduate Studies petitioning for the
credit to be accepted as part of your degree plan, and supplying the following information:
- A list of courses you wish to transfer, and any available
documentation of the content of each course, such as a syllabus,
exams, and papers.
- For any courses that are not in HPS, Philosophy
of Science, or History Science, you should obtain a memo from your
advisor approving the use of these courses in your degree plan.
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- What does every grad student need to know?
Cynthia Verba of the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has tried to answer this question in 185 pages of her Scholarly Pursuits: A Guide to Professional Development During the Graduate Years. Some of the information is specific to Harvard, but much of it applies to graduate students anywhere.
A different, more succinct spin on what you need to know about
graduate school is provided by IU HPS alumna Alice Dreger (PhD 1995) in
her graduate
school survival guide.
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Is your question not answered here? Please send email to hpscdept@indiana.edu
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