Carnegie Mellon University

Doctorate Programs

The Department of Philosophy offers three doctorate degrees.

Doctorate in Philosophy

The Philosophy Ph.D. is primarily intended for students interested in a continuing career in academic Analytic Philosophy. The program's flexible requirements provide broad curricular grounding in both traditional and formal philosophy, interdisciplinary exposure, steady involvement in research, and the opportunity to practice the craft of teaching in a top-notch undergraduate environment. Students are expected to complete a Master’s thesis by the middle of their third year, and a Ph.D. thesis by the end of their fifth year.

Doctorate in Logic, Computation, and Methodology

The LCM Ph.D. is primarily intended for students interested in a career outside of Philosophy, be it academic or in industry. The program's flexible requirements are geared towards establishing relevant domain specialization (e.g., within mathematics, machine learning, statistics, logic, etc.) while incorporating steady involvement in research and the opportunity to practice the craft of teaching in a top-notch undergraduate environment. Students are expected to complete a Master’s thesis (or obtain a master’s degree from another discipline) by the middle of their third year, and a Ph.D. thesis by the end of their fifth year.

Doctorate in Pure and Applied Logic

The PAL Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary program designed to support students seeking a career in Mathematics (either in industry or academia), but interested in working in an area of logic supported by the Department of Philosophy. This program is the Philosophy Department component of the CMU Pure and Applied Logic program. As part of the program, students are expected to earn a Master of Science from the Department of Mathematical Sciences by the middle of their third year, and complete a Ph.D. thesis by the end of their fifth year.