Where is the best place to study for a MA in Philosophy?

[ericcantona71]

What’s a good solid place to study Philosophy at Masters level?

-Especially part-time or even better distance learning.
-That would contribute towards a STB/STL
-Look good when applying for jobs amongst orthodox Catholic employers?

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[JMJ_coder]

Hello,

I’ll put in my :twocents: and say Franciscan University of Steubenville.

They offer their Masters of Theology degree via distance learning.

 

[Allyson]

What’s a good solid place to study Philosophy at Masters level?

-Especially part-time or even better distance learning.
-That would contribute towards a STB/STL
-Look good when applying for jobs amongst orthodox Catholic employers?

Any thoughts appreciated.

The MA Philosophy at Franciscan is not offered distance learning, although I believe that you can start by taking undergraduate pre-req’s through DL if you have no Philosophy background (b/c they already offer these for the Theology Program pre-req’s). The teachers are good, and they are all serious about the Catholic Faith. They are in the process of expanding the department since one professor has become head of the Bioethics program. There will be two new professors soon. I don’t know who they are hiring, but if you are looking for a strictly Thomistic school, this is not the one for you. There are two profs who are more Thomistic than the rest. Mainly what you get, depending on who you take among the others, is modern personalism and phenomenology. Husserl , Heidegger, Stein, Scheler , and Von Hildebrand are the biggest names from these schools of thought that you will hear about. Things are a bit more broad than that, but those are the big names that are thrown around a lot. They just had a conference on the Von Hildebrand in the Fall.

A degree from here may very well look good in the right situation, but that should not be the reason for going there. Determine first what it is you want to study in philosophy before picking a school. Definitely check them out to see if you like the program. (I went there, so you can PM me if you have questions. I would be happy to go into more detail.)

I would say that you should seriously consider if a MA degree in Philosophy will actually benefit you in your career goals. Is it something that you need for your future school plans as listed above? You should look at what those schools are looking for in the way of philosophy classes.

God Bless,
R.

 

[JReducation]

I’m not sure what part of the country you’re in. But there are several good schools. I noticed that you want to use the degree to get into the door of orthodox catholic organizations. I wrote orthodox in lower case “o” because I’m assuming that you don’t mean Orthodox Christian or did I misunderstand?

I have my PhD in philosophy from Salamanca. It was an awesome place to study. If you speak or write Spanish, I believe they now have distance learning. They didn’t when I went there, but that was long before many people here were born.

Catholic University of America in Washington, DC of course is the Pontifical University for philosophy and theology. You may want to look at them.

Franciscan University is very Bonaventurian. If you’re a Thomist, it’s not your school. Franciscans are not big on Aquinas. They are more ecclectic.

If you want Thomism, there is the St. Thomas University. A good friend of mine taught there and he liked their program.

In Florida there is Lynn University run by the Dominicans.

University of St. Louis, also Dominican, is a good school and so is University of Chicago.

Hope this helps.

JR

 

[KCT]

Catholic University of America in Washington, DC of course is the Pontifical University for philosophy and theology. You may want to look at them.

I understand that the Philosophy dept at Catholic U is excellent.

 

[JReducation]

I understand that the Philosophy dept at Catholic U is excellent.

Both of their schools are very good: Religious Studies and Philosophy.

I did my MA in their Religious Studies programme. I went to Europe for the Philosophy. I didn’t stay at CUA, because I couldn’t afford it. Europe was cheaper then. This was before the Euro. LOL

 

[nobeerinheaven]

I’m in the philosophy Ph.D. program at Purdue, and I’d put my money on Tufts or A&M for terminal masters programs (depending on whether you are pursuing something in broadly analytic philosophy, or whether you are doing things in continental).

How important is getting that education from religious people?