Applying to Graduate School
This is a list of materials that will be useful when considering graduate school. Books on applying to graduate school, writing the dissertation, publishing, and being an academic. Also, websites listing and ranking philosophy graduate programs, and fun stuff when you need a break.
Read:
The American Philosophical Association's Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy.
Three Qualities of Successful Ph.D. Students: Perseverance, Tenacity and Cogency.
HOWTO: Get into Grad School for Science, Engineering, Math and Computer Science.
The job market is terrible! Read:
Landing a Faculty Job in Philosophy (and conditions have gotten worse since this was written in 1998).
Tenure, RIP: What the Vanishing Status Means for the Future of Education.
Read:
I did a PhD and did NOT go mad.
Reading for Graduate Students.
A Thesis Proposal is a Contract.
After the Offer, Before the Deal: Negotiating a First Academic Job.
Productivity Tips, Tricks and Hacks for Academics.
Here are books that will be useful in learning about graduate school:
Charles Walters' book, How to Apply to Graduate School without Really Lying. It's out of print, but—if you're in Oregon or Washington—you can get it through the Summit Library Catalog.
David Sternberg's book on How to Complete and Survive a Doctoral Dissertation. Click here to order this book.
The following are useful for learning about publishing:
The Grad Student's Guide to Getting Published, edited by Alida Allison and Terri Frongia, (New York: Prentice Hall, 1992). Out of print, use Summit.
Writing and Publishing for Academic Authors, edited by Joseph M. Moxley, (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1992). Click here to order this book.
Publish, Don't Perish: The Scholar's Guide to Academic Writing and Publishing, Joseph M. Moxley, foreword by Robert Boice, (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992). Click here to order this book.
Persist and Publish: Helpful Hints for Academic Writing and Publishing, Ralph E. Matkin and T. F. Riggar, (Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado, 1991). Click here to order this book.
The Compleat Academic: A Practical Guide for the Beginning Social Scientist, edited by Mark P. Zanna and John M. Darley, (New York: Random House; Hillsdale, NJ: Distributed by L. Erlbaum Associates, 1986). Out of print, use Summit.
Here are useful websites about graduate programs in philosophy:
Dey Alexander's General Guides to Philosophy on the Internet.
Peter Suber's Guide to Philosophy on the Internet has many links to philosophy sites, plus a search engine that will give you lots of stuff. Search under "graduate".
Graduate Guide to Aesthetics in North America.
Below are websites that rank graduate programs in philosophy:
The American Philosophical Association has a statement on Rankings of Departments and Programs: "The American Philosophical Association does not rank departments of philosophy and their graduate and/or undergraduate programs nor does it sponsor or endorse any rankings of philosophy departments or programs that are compiled by others."
The Philosophical Gourmet Report is Brian Leiter's ranking of graduate programs.
The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) lists Graduate School Programs in Continental Philosophy.
Fun Stuff:
The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.
Philosophy Steel Cage Grudge Match
Home
J. M. Fritzman
615 South Palatine Hill Road
Portland, OR 97219
USA