Although this document is fairly long, please read it carefully, and as you take each step in the process please re-read the relevant section. 95% of the questions applicants ever ask are addressed below, and it will save you time and anxiety to find the answers you need right here! (Of course, for that other 5%, please use the contacts listed here.)

• Graduate Study: A PhD is a major commitment – only a minority finish in the States within six years – with (at best) uncertain employment prospects at the end of it. So you should treat the decision to apply seriously (even the application is time consuming and expensive).

For insights into programs you should look at the Philosophical Gourmet Report; don’t just read the rankings, as there is much useful advice elsewhere on the site. (The Report has flaws, and it would be unwise to use rankings as the sole criterion in making choices, but it does make a sincere effort to provide useful information for prospective graduate students. Notable among the problems is that it works by faculty reputation, thus over-counting senior faculty with respect to emerging junior faculty, with whom you are likely to end up working.) As it discusses PhD and MA programs; for students with a less solid undergraduate career in philosophy, attending an MA program first is becoming a popular route to a PhD program.

Though it is starting to get out of date, the American Philosophy Association's Data on Philosophy as a Profession has useful information and statistics about careers in philosophy.

• Study at UIC: This web site contains much useful information about philosophy at UIC. To get a list of faculty and links to their biographies and webpages go to Faculty. For information on our graduate program, go to Graduate Program. You are also encouraged to look at our Placement Record. You can also download the Graduate Brochure (a .pdf file). Looking at our courses, news and colloquia will also give you a sense of what the intellectual life of the department is like.

You should feel free to contact our Admissions Officer (see the Faculty list) or any faculty in an area of interest to you with questions about our program. (Unlike some programs, our admissions are not handled by the Director of Graduate Studies, but by a separate faculty member.)

• Applying to UIC: Application deadlines for the UIC graduate program in philosophy are January 1 for those who wish to be considered for a fellowship, and February 1 for applicants who wish to be considered for teaching assistantship only or wish to apply without being considered for financial support. (Because the postal system slows down and becomes more error-prone in late December, you should, if possible, send your application before the holiday season.)

At present we admit people only to a PhD program, not for an MA only.

(i) Procedures: To apply, you need to submit items 1-9, listed below; international applicants must also submit item 10. Item 1 may now be submitted online.

Items 2-5 (and item 10, if applicable) should be mailed to the office of admissions and records:

University of Illinois at Chicago
Office of Admissions and Records (MC 018)
Box 5220
Chicago, IL 60680-5220

Items 6-9 (and unofficial copies of 2-4 – see below) should be mailed to our Graduate Secretary, Valerie Brown:

Valerie Brown, Graduate Secretary
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Philosophy (MC 267)
601 South Morgan Street, 1421 UH
Chicago, IL 60607-7114

   1.   Graduate Admission Application form. Both forms and directions to the online application may be found at the UIC Graduate College/ Application Forms site. You may print the form, submit the form online, or request that it be mailed to you. If you want a copy of your Graduate Application form for your own records, be sure to print out a copy before you hit "Submit".

   2.   Official Transcripts from all the post-secondary institutions you have attended (other than UIC). These transcripts should be sent directly to the above address by the institutions you have attended. Official copies sent by you are acceptable provided the sealed envelope carries the official stamp of your institution over the seal. International applicants should arrange to provide both original transcripts and translations meeting the conditions described in the Graduate Admission Application.

   3.   Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Scores, if English is not your first language. For information see toefl.org. Or write to the Educational Testing Service, Box 955 Princeton, New Jersey 08540. Your college placement office may also have information concerning the TOEFL.

   4.   Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores. If you have not yet taken the GRE, you should arrange to do so as soon as you can. You can obtain information at the GRE web site. Or write to the Educational Testing Service, Box 955 Princeton, New Jersey 08540. Your college placement office may also have information concerning the GRE.

   5.   Application Fee, as described in the Graduate Admission Application.

   6.   Application for Graduate Appointment, if you are applying for financial support. This form is available online; just click here. (International students are not eligible for ‘financial aid’, which is distinct from the support referred to here – international students are eligible for paid graduate appointments.)

   7.   Personal Statement, of no more than 300 words, explaining your background and interests in philosophy. (See below for important advice.)

   8.   Writing Sample that demonstrates your capacity for philosophical work, preferably an essay you have written for a philosophy course. (See below for important advice.)

   9.   Confidential Letters of Recommendation (three or more) sent directly to us from people familiar with your past academic work and your potential for graduate study in philosophy. (See below for important advice.)

   10. International applicants must also complete the Declaration and Certification of Finances Form, available online here. International applicants should also check the graduate college web page for international admissions, as it may contain additional useful information.

If you have any questions at all about the application and admission process, please e-mail Valerie Brown, write to her at the above address, or phone her at (312) 996-3023. If Ms. Brown is not available when you telephone, you may ask to speak to Ms. Charlotte Jackson, the Philosophy Department Administrative Assistant. You may also contact the Graduate Admissions Officer.

(ii) Important Advice: This section contains advice that will help you prepare a more effective application and to navigate some of the issues that can come up.

Despite its name, the personal statement should not be too personal; rather we want to hear what about philosophy motivates you intellectually. The statement is your opportunity to convince us that you understand what a graduate degree takes and that you have the motivation to complete it; also to add anything relevant that isn’t obvious from your file. There is a discussion of personal statements on the Leiter Blog – the discussants are faculty who read them, so their opinions give a good sense of what counts. You will see that different people read them differently, as in any such selection procedure. At UIC the personal statements are generally not a major factor, as long as they fill out details about your philosophical career so far and your philosophical interests, so don’t over-think this part of the application. (Undergraduates in particular need not have very specific plans for graduate study; indeed, the most common way a personal statement does hurt is when an applicant is so specific that they do not sound interested in learning anything new.)

Far more significant in our decisions are the letters of recommendation (so make sure you impress your teachers) and your writing sample. Sometimes undergraduates submit a brand-new piece of writing, but that is neither required (at UIC at least) nor encouraged. Most likely, you will do better polishing up an essay for a course on which you received a high grade; presumably you have comments from the instructor to use, and it is worth sitting down for more help. Writing a piece from scratch is a lot of work, and it is hard to get the same guidance that you will from an instructor on coursework. Of course you should get more specific advice from your instructors. (Sometimes students at large institutions do not know instructors well; if so, you should get to know them – most will be very happy to get to know you and to help.) Applicants from MA programs often send thesis work, which is appropriate; naturally we expect a higher standard from such advanced applicants, as we gauge promise for our program. (Finally, please do not submit excessively long samples; given the enormous time pressures, you are more likely to engage and impress the reader with a piece that makes a clear and interesting argument in fewer pages – mid-teens, say.)

Letters of recommendation from your undergraduate (or graduate) philosophy professors are usually most valuable, but letters from anyone else who is in a position to evaluate your capacity for academic work may also be sent. It is not necessary to use the "UIC Letter of Recommendation" form, and indeed many recommenders now do not; what we need is a detailed prose document of one page or so. You should ask for letters in plenty of time; six weeks is not too much, two is too little (though you may get lucky) – good ones take work, and you should show respect for that. If possible, talk to potential letter writers when you are first thinking seriously about graduate school to get their advice, and to make sure that you will be able to put a good application together.

As you will have seen above, some of your materials go to the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR) while some come to the philosophy department. This process is necessary because we need an office to verify applicants’ qualifications, while only the department is qualified to evaluate the quality of applications. However, the division of labor occasionally causes snags, so:

•  To avoid any delays in OAR forwarding materials, please also send to the department copies of your transcript, TOEFL (if applicable) and GRE scores. These unofficial documents will not suffice for verifying qualifications (the official versions sent to OAR do that), but they will suffice for our evaluations.

•  You can check your application status online, but when you are informed that your application is ‘incomplete’ or ‘complete’ that refers only to the materials sent to OAR, not to the department. It is your responsibility to make sure you submit all materials to us.

•  OAR deals with thousands of applications every year so inevitably issues arise from time to time. Almost certainly you will experience no difficulties, but even if OAR holds up verification, as long as the department has your materials we will read them and make a decision, and resolve any problems if necessary. If you should run into any administrative issues, bring them to Valerie Brown, who will help you.