Frequently Asked Questions About the Application and Admission Process

(1) WHERE DO I GET THE APPLICATION MATERIAL?

Answer: Go to the department website (www.philosophy.ucr.edu), then to the page "Graduate Program". There are two important links on that page, one to the "Preliminary Information Form", the other to a form called "official UCR Graduate School Application". Both need to be filled out. (Submitting the second constitutes the actual application; the first is required for other administrative reasons.) In addition to these forms, you need to send in some supplemental material, as described on the forms.

(2) WHAT SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL IS REQUIRED?

Answer:

(i) GRE scores (crucial are the verbal and quantitative scores)

(ii) transcripts from colleges or universities last attended

(iii) a writing sample (10-15 pages long)

(iv) a statement of purpose (1-2 pages long)

(v) three letters of recommendation

Note that, in connection with the letters of recommendation, there is a form that needs to be printed out and given to the letter writers. (This form is available online, together with the other forms. Basically, it is a waiver of access that needs to be signed.) Beyond that, there is an application fee that has to be paid.

(3) WHAT IS THE DEADLINE FOR THE APPLICATION?

Answer: There is no official deadline. However, the department will make its decisions about whom to accept in January. If the application comes in too late for that process, or is not complete by that time, chances of getting accepted and, in particular, of being offered financial support are significantly smaller. In this sense, the de facto deadline is January 5, 2007.

(4) WHERE SHOULD THE APPLICATION MATERIAL BE SENT?

Answer: The electronic forms need to be submitted online. The supplemental material should all be sent to the same location, namely: Department of Philosophy, Attn.: Graduate Affairs Secretary, 1604 Humanities, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.

(5) IS IT POSSIBLE TO APPLY TO THE M.A. PROGRAM, THE PH.D. PROGRAM, OR BOTH?

Answer: While the department does have an M.A. program, we have not accepted anyone to the M.A. program alone for a number of years, but only to the Ph.D. program (which includes the MA program). Thus the application should be for admission to the Ph.D. program.

(6) ARE GRE SCORES REALLY NECESSARY OR CAN THAT REQUIREMENT BE WAIVED?

Answer: That requirement (which is a university requirement, in addition to being a department requirement) cannot be waived. Thus the GRE scores are a necessary part of the application. There is one exception, namely if the applicant is a foreign student who can't take the GRE in his or her current country of residence (see (9) below).

(7) HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE GRE SCORES?

Answer: The GRE scores are one of several main factors in the department's decision for whom to accept. (Also important are: the letters of recommendation, the writing sample, the statement of purpose, and grades at previous institutions, in particular grades in philosophy classes). In addition, the GRE scores are a crucial factor in the university administration's decision for who gets what kind of financial support, or who gets any financial support at all.

(8) WHAT HAVE BEEN AVERAGE SCORES RECENTLY?

Answer: During the last few years, average GRE scores (verbal and quantitative combined) for students we accepted have been around 1300. (If a student's combined scores are below 1100, or even below 1000, there has to be a special explanation, e.g., that the student is not a native speaker of English; otherwise the chances of being admitted are minimal.)

(9) IS THERE ANYTHING IN ADDITION, OR INSTEAD OF THE GRE SCORES, THAT IS REQUIRED FOR FOREIGN APPLICANTS?

Answer: Yes, foreign students need to take the TOEFL test (Test Of English as a Second Language) and submit the scores for it.

GOOD LUCK WITH THE APPLICATION!