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Faculty of Philosophy |
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| University of Cambridge > Faculty of Philosophy |
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Prospective Graduates
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Graduate Prospectus: Entry 2009IntroductionCambridge was the birthplace of the 'analytical' school of philosophy in the early 20th century, and continues to be a world-class centre for philosophical research. The most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2001) gave Cambridge the highest possible score (5*A). We also received top marks in the latest Teaching Quality Assessment and the Faculty has been extraordinarily successful in placing students in jobs in universities throughout the U.K. and beyond. The Philosophy Faculty admits about 15 students a year for the M.Phil. They join the 20-25 students studying for the M.Litt. or Ph.D. to form a lively graduate community. Cambridge has always been a relatively small department. This enables students and Faculty to get to know each other well. A wide variety of seminars and informal gatherings ensure that students get to know and work with each other as well. New graduate students are usually accommodated by their colleges close to the city centre, to the Faculty and to library facilities. Those finishing their Ph.D. can apply for Research Fellowships at the colleges, and are often successful. Most graduates, particularly those in their second and subsequent years, do a share of undergraduate supervising and lecturing. Students also play an important role in Faculty decision-making. The Faculty's accommodation includes a Graduate Study Centre and Common Room and our own Library, holding some 15,000 books and about three dozen current journals, which in October 2006 moved to brand-new premises. The University Library is a copyright library, holding every academically important book published in Britain since the early eighteenth century, as well as extensive stocks from overseas. With these and other libraries, facilities for research in Cambridge are second to none. Many Colleges provide funds to support graduate students' research, enabling them to present papers at academic gatherings and meet extra research costs. We hope you will find this booklet useful and stimulating. It is a supplement to the University of Cambridge Graduate Studies Prospectus, which contains general information about graduate work in Cambridge, about Colleges, and about financial support for graduate students from the UK and overseas. Hard copies of that Prospectus, together with application forms, are available from: The Board of Graduate Studies, 4 Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 lRZ (Tel: 01223 760606) We hope that you will apply to the Faculty for your graduate work. Jane Heal, Chairman Simon Blackburn, Director of Graduate Studies Philosophical Research at CambridgeA Historical PerspectiveAny account of Philosophy in Cambridge must mention a number of figures : Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) Russell came to philosophy from mathematics and his early work led him to argue in Principia Mathematica that mathematics is nothing but logic - though his famous paradox shows that the connection between Logic and Mathematics is not straightforward. In the course of this work Russell developed a new method of 'logical analysis' whereby, he hoped, it would be possible to resolve many of the traditional problems of philosophy. He thought that in a 'logically perfect language' – a language whose logical structure was transparent – it would be possible to transform the obscure tangles of traditional metaphysics into solvable scientific problems. G.E. Moore (1873–l958) In his famous book Principia Ethica, Moore argued that because ethical disputes cannot be resolved by appeal to the natural and social sciences, ethical values must constitute an irreducible dimension of reality. Moore further held that friendship and beauty are pre-eminent among these values, and thus that the best of lives is one successfully dedicated to their enhancement. This message was taken to heart by Moore's friends among the Cambridge 'Apostles', such as Leonard Woolf, Clive Bell, and John Maynard Keynes, and became characteristic of the 'Bloomsbury Group'. In later years Moore, who became Professor of Philosophy in 1925, turned his attention to the traditional issues of metaphysics and propounded a defence of 'common sense' against a variety of sceptical arguments. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Wittgenstein came to Cambridge from Vienna in 1911 to study with Russell. In his first great work, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, he developed Russell's account of the role of logic and presented an account of the limits of language which implies that problems of philosophy can either be solved by logical analysis, or are such that nothing can be said about them. Having, as he thought, finished philosophy, Wittgenstein left Cambridge, but returned in 1929 and conducted his famous classes throughout the 1930s. He brought together many of his reflections from these classes in his Philosophical Investigations, in which he pursued much further the questions about the limits of language that he had earlier raised, particularly in connection with questions concerning our understanding of ourselves. The Cambridge School and the past J.E.M. McTaggart, C.D. Broad, Frank Ramsey, R.B. Braithwaite, and John Wisdom are among the other major figures working in Cambridge during the first half of the 20th century. This Cambridge School did not arise ex nihilo: Moore's ethical theory draws heavily on Henry Sidgwick's classic examination of utilitarianism, The Methods of Ethics (1874); and important contributions to logic had been made at the end of the 19th century by J.M. Keynes and J. Venn (famous for his diagrams). In recent years, many distinguished philosophers have worked in Cambridge, including Elizabeth Anscombe, Jonathan Bennett, Ian Hacking, Jonathan Lear, Hugh Mellor and Bernard Williams. The tradition continues with current members of the Faculty. Members of StaffGraduate students are nearly always supervised by a member of the Philosophy Faculty. Listed below are the staff of the Faculty, their major research interests and a selection of their publications:
Other senior members of the University with philosophical interests:
Current Research StudentsThere are currently some 40 graduates working for higher degrees in the Faculty and many are international students from North America, South America, Australasia, South Africa, China and other parts of Europe.
The following selection of thesis topics and titles offers a flavour of the range of studies recently undertaken by research students:
Course DetailsThe Faculty of Philosophy accepts graduate students as candidates for the M.Phil., M.Litt. or Ph.D. degrees. Most graduate students start by doing the M.Phil. This provides them with a solid background for doctoral research. M.Phil. in PhilosophyThe course provides a training in research together with an opportunity to pursue some philosophical topics in considerable depth. Students who are not already familiar with the use of scholarly tools (bibliographic databases etc.) and apparatus (footnoting etc.) are guided in their use; abilities in the structuring of lengthy pieces of work and in improving them through self-criticism are developed. Each student works with an individual supervisor. Student and supervisor meet roughly once a fortnight during term. There is also a weekly M.Phil. seminar at which the M.Phil. students get to know each other and can discuss and support each other's work. The framework of the course allows for a variety of kinds of work to be completed within it. Some candidates will be trying out their abilities to write extended pieces and will be tackling a variety of topics. Others may be using the framework to develop what will become parts of chapters of a Ph.D. We encourage even those Ph.D. candidates who have done a master's degree elsewhere to channel their initial work at Cambridge through the M.Phil. Doing so provides a good way of making contacts and coming to feel at home in the Faculty. Course structureCandidates are examined on the basis of three essays of between 3,000 and 5,000 words each and a thesis of not more than 15,000 words. Essay topics must generally be in one of the following areas of philosophy, including their history: metaphysics, philosophy of mind, logic, philosophy of science, ethics, aesthetics, and political and legal philosophy; not more than two essays should be in any one area. Students may however, with the special permission of the Degree Committee, submit one essay on a topic outside these areas, provided it is related to philosophy. In more detail, the areas of philosophy listed above are taken to include the following: Metaphysics
Philosophy of Mind
Logic
Ethics Aesthetics Political and Legal Philosophy Philosophy of Science M.Phil. thesis topics should be chosen in the light of candidates' essay topics. They must be related to philosophy, and be such that suitable supervisors are available; but they need not fall within the areas listed above. Theses may be related to candidates' essay topics, but an M.Phil. thesis must not reproduce any significant part of the essays (see below). Assessment Thesis and essays For the award of the M.Phil. Degree, the essays (taken together) and the thesis must both reach the minimum standard, which is the equivalent of a 2i in a final BA Honours examination in philosophy, extrapolated for one year of graduate study. M.Phil. candidates are also examined orally. M.Phil. candidates wishing to go on to a M.Litt. or Ph.D. usually choose a thesis topic related to their proposed M.Litt. or Ph.D. research. Although M.Phil. students who move on to become Ph.D. students cannot then incorporate their M.Phil. theses directly into their M.Litt. or Ph.D. theses, the latter may be, and generally will be, based on the former. M.Litt. and Ph.D.The Faculty welcomes applications for these degrees in a wide range of philosophical areas. Most students choose to pursue the more demanding Ph.D., which culminates in the production of a thesis of up to 80,000 words, submitted after three years (nine terms) of study, although a maximum of four years is allowed before students are removed from the Register. The M.Litt. Degree normally takes two years (maximum three years). Students produce a thesis of up to 60,000 words. Candidates for both degrees are expected to choose manageable projects that can be completed in the time available. Registration There are two routes to registration for the Ph.D./M.Litt. :
(1) Students registered for the M.Phil. degree only Successful M.Phil. candidates who go on to an M.Litt., or more usually a Ph.D., may count the three terms of the M.Phil. towards the requirements of those degrees, provided their new research is suitably related to their M.Phil. However, they will be allowed to count research time spent on the M.Phil in this way only if they are ready to submit their thesis before the minimum terms of study have elapsed. This means that they may submit an M.Litt. thesis after only three more terms of research, or a Ph.D. thesis after six more terms.
(2) Students not at first registered for any degree Before registering graduate students as M.Litt. or Ph.D. candidates, the Degree Committee must be satisfied that they have a suitable plan of work and have begun to write about some part of it, in a sustained way, at a standard likely to get them the degree in a reasonable time. Prospective Ph.D. candidates whose work does not show sufficient progress may at this stage be registered only as M.Litt. candidates. They may be re-registered as Ph.D. candidates (with registration again backdated to the date of admission) if they submit sufficiently improved work during their second year. The Degree Committee will not defer considering the registration of students as M.Litt. or Ph.D. candidates without good cause (such as illness); and the Board of Graduate Studies will not normally let students remain on the Register of Graduate Students (after their third term) without being registered as candidates for some degree. Graduate students who are admitted 'not at first registered for any degree' must therefore, with their supervisors' help, start working out their plans of research, and the topic or topics of their written work, as soon as possible after they arrive. It should, however, be emphasised that the normal route to a Cambridge M.Litt./Ph.D. is via the Cambridge M.Phil. AssessmentA Ph.D. thesis is required to contain some substantial original ideas, while an M.Litt. thesis need not be so original but should represent a worthwhile contribution to scholarship. In both cases the thesis will be examined jointly by an internal examiner (other than the supervisor) and an external examiner. An oral examination is an essential part of the procedure. Visiting Graduate StudentsStudents working for postgraduate philosophy degrees at other Universities, who wish to do some research in Cambridge, may also apply to be admitted for a year as graduate students not registered as candidates for any Cambridge degree. Affiliated StudentsGraduates of other Universities who wish to study philosophy in Cambridge but are not yet ready to tackle a further degree without course work (or whose first degree contains little philosophy) should consider becoming affiliated students. This means taking the Cambridge BA degree in two years instead of three. That is often worth doing because Cambridge is unusual in providing a full-time philosophy course for all three undergraduate years, so that its final year courses go beyond those of many other universities in range and depth. Moreover, research seminars are generally open to affiliated students, and the optional dissertation in the final-year examination (Part II of the Philosophy Tripos) provides a good way of acquiring research techniques and trying out possible research topics. Affiliated students are not admitted by the Board of Graduate Studies but by colleges: details are available from any college or from the Cambridge Admissions Office, Kellet Lodge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 lQJ. Graduate Courses in other Faculties
Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Science Candidates interested in either of these subject areas may wish to consider these alternative degrees, although in both cases the subject areas are fully available for direct applications to the Philosophy Faculty. Teaching and Teaching TermsSupervisors Students' interests and research topics often change as they progress, and this may make it advisable for them to change their supervisor. This can usually be arranged without much difficulty. In any case graduates are expected to discuss their work with more people than their supervisor. They are expected to take the initiative in discussing their work with each other, and in consulting other members of the Faculty whose work they find to be related to their own. Lectures, seminars and meetings There is a special seminar for M.Phil. students which meets weekly throughout the year and at which they discuss their work. The Faculty also arranges other seminars especially for graduate students, including a graduate seminar, which runs throughout the academic year. Graduate students are also encouraged to attend those upper-level lectures and seminars which are relevant to their work. Many also run seminars themselves on special topics. Other meetings useful to philosophy graduate students include those of the Cambridge University Moral Sciences Club, which meets weekly in term to discuss papers normally given by visiting philosophers. Similar meetings are organised in other Faculties (e.g. the 'B' Club for ancient philosophy, and the 'D' Society for the philosophy of religion) and in colleges (e.g. St. John's Moral Sciences Club).
Teaching terms College MembershipAny student accepted to read towards a degree of the University must become a member of a college. The process of applying for a college place only begins once your application has been accepted by the Faculty's Degree Committee. Most colleges of the University admit graduates and Darwin, Hughes Hall, and Wolfson Colleges admit graduates only. There are three women-only colleges: Lucy Cavendish, New Hall and Newnham. All colleges of the University accept students for a wide range of higher degrees, diplomas and research and the Graduate Studies Prospectus of the University, mentioned earlier, has fuller details of each college. Faculty Resources and Support for StudentsLibrariesThe main research library for Arts subjects, including philosophy, is the University Library, which has a vast and up-to-date collection of relevant books and journals, many of which are available online, as is also the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. In 2006, the Faculty's own library, the Casimir Lewy Library, moved into larger and quieter accommodation adjacent to the Faculty's offices. The Library aims to cover most of the areas researched by its graduate students. In addition to its own extensive collection of some 15,000 books and three dozen journals, the Philosophy Faculty Library subscribes to the Philosophers' Index on CD-ROM which enables users to compile bibliographies of articles and collections of essays in philosophical subjects. It is also possible from the Faculty Library to access the University Library's, some departmental libraries' and some of the colleges' computer catalogues. The Classics, Divinity, History, and History and Philosophy of Science Libraries also contain much material useful to philosophy graduate students, as do the libraries of the larger colleges. Philosophy Graduate Study CentreThe Philosophy Graduate Study Centre provides a dedicated working space within the Faculty for the use of our graduate students to promote contact among students and their teachers and to facilitate the exchange of ideas. It includes an open-plan working area with full computing facilities, a common-room and seminar room. In addition this space provides accommodation for visiting scholars, who come to Cambridge from all over the world. Graduate TrainingThe Faculty has developed a comprehensive training programme for its graduates, which runs alongside of courses and advice offered by the University's Staff Development Office and Careers Service. An Induction Day introduces new graduate students to each other, to the administration of the Faculty and to the philosophical opportunities in Cambridge. Small group sessions are organised to introduce the Library, computing facilities and research aids. Two workshops are run for M.Phil. students. The first discusses time-management, the effective generation and development of ideas and arguments, the process of writing and presenting M.Phil. essays and bibliography. The second discusses all aspects of planning and giving presentations, ranging from the design of presentation aids to speaking on the day. Ph.D. students contribute significantly to our teaching programme and a series of tailor-made workshops is devoted to teaching skills. Topics discussed include dealing with different kinds of learning strategies, presentation skills, evaluating one's practice as a teacher, effective small group teaching and supervising and supporting students with special needs. The University Staff Development Office also runs courses on supervising and lecturing. Of course, teaching and research are not independent activities. Effective teaching demands the clear and illuminating presentation which makes for excellent research. It is now essential that graduate students who intend to continue in an academic career, publish. General advice on publishing is given by the Director of Graduate Studies and in notes available on our web site. In addition a section in the Faculty Library is dedicated to all these aspects of a graduate's training. The University Careers Service is on hand to give advice and information about careers throughout a graduate student's time at Cambridge and afterwards. The Faculty provides a day-long workshop on interview techniques, including the opportunity to have one-to-one sessions in front of a video camera. Notes on the construction of CVs, application forms and letters are available for consultation in the Graduate Office, along with sample CVs from recent and current Research Fellows. The Faculty can also provide advice on career prospects and can organise practice presentations and interviews at the relevant times. Language LearningVarious courses in languages useful to philosophers are open to graduate students. The Classics Faculty provides courses in Greek, and the University Language Centre is open to all students. ComputingNaturally the first stop for computing facilities is the Graduate Study Centre. In addition, most colleges provide word processing and, through the University Network, e-mail facilities for their students. All graduate students have free access to the word processing and other computing facilities of the University Computing Service, which runs an outstation at Sidgwick Avenue, close to the Faculty. Funding for ResearchThere are limited funds available to the Faculty to enable graduate students to attend conferences. Financial Support, Fees and ExpensesThe Faculty itself has no full cost studentships which it can offer, although it can help students towards some useful supplementary financial support. Students doing postgraduate study in Philosophy at Cambridge are funded from a considerable variety of sources. What is offered below is merely an outline of the situation and, for many of the opportunities mentioned below, applicants are strongly advised to consult the Cambridge Graduate Studies Prospectus, which provides further details and more guidance through what is potentially a complex and confusing field. Some further awards and grants are detailed in a special Awards, Funds, Studentships and Prizes issue of the Cambridge University Reporter, published in November. This can also be obtained by post from Cambridge University Press Book Shop (1 Trinity Street, Cambridge). Sources of FundingListed below are a variety of sources of funding, some available to incoming students and some only to students already on a course. In general those earlier in the list offer more substantial support, e.g. both fees and maintenance or at least a major portion of them, while those lower on the list offer lesser but still useful amounts.
Fees and ExpensesStudents are liable to pay tuition fees to the University and to their college for each term of any degree course they undertake until the course has been completed or a prescribed maximum has been paid (e.g. nine terms for the Ph.D.). However, the University does not charge tuition fees beyond the specified maximum even if the student needs more time to complete the course. In addition to tuition fees, students must budget for their own maintenance (including accommodation) and for the living expenses of any dependents who may accompany them. Although liability is incurred on a termly basis, colleges - who are responsible for collecting both University and college fees - may require students to pay a full year's fees in advance. The following charges will apply to the 2008/2009 academic year. University composition fee
College fees
General living expenses For the academic year 2008/2009, it is estimated that a single student from overseas spending twelve months in Cambridge and living in college accommodation would need approximately £9,615. An adult dependent would require an additional £5,342 and a further £3,040 per annum would be needed for each child. ApplicationsStudents who wish to do postgraduate work in philosophy at Cambridge should apply through the Board of Graduate Studies. Please consult the Board's website for details of the methods of applying (either on paper or on line). Applicants for the M.Phil. must have the equivalent of a good BA Honours Degree (i.e. at least a 2i+/67%/GPA 3.6) with a minimum of two years' full-time study in Philosophy (10 courses in the USA). Students with less philosophy may consider applying as an Affiliated Student before embarking on their M.Phil. degree. Students who already hold a masters degree in philosophy, in addition to the above, may apply for the Ph.D. or M.Litt. Please note that applications for all postgraduate degrees in philosophy should be made nine to twelve months in advance but that the specific deadlines for receipt of completed applications for admission in October 2009 are expected to be as follows:
Please also note that if you are applying on line you should complete your application two weeks before these dates. Applications should be accompanied by two pieces of recent philosophical work in English, at least one of which should be in the proposed area of study. Each piece of work should be approximately 2,000 to 5,000 words long and applicants submitting a lengthy piece of work, a research thesis for example, should indicate which sections they would prefer to be read. Please send us two copies of each piece of work. Applicants for the M.Phil. should propose an area of philosophy on which they will concentrate their work by completing section A(12) of the application form. Applicants for the Ph.D. and M.Litt. degrees should submit a detailed research proposal of approximately 500 words on separate sheets. The Board of Graduate Studies will send these applications to the Philosophy Faculty's Degree Committee, who will recommend acceptance or rejection in the light of applicants' academic records, references, submitted work, proposed research and the availability of suitable supervisors. Applicants for the M.Phil. only need not approach a particular supervisor as the Faculty allocates supervisors in the light of students' interests and availability of supervisors. We regret that we are unable to give feedback on admissions decisions. UK students may be asked to come to Cambridge for interview whilst non-U.K. applicants may be interviewed by telephone. Successful applicants may visit Cambridge before they begin their course, in order to learn more about the Faculty and its staff as well as their programme of study. For Further Information
Please contact the Faculty for all enquiries about our programmes of study:
Postscript: What Our Students SayBen Colburn I started the M.Phil. in 2003. I found the course particularly attractive because it offers the chance to work on several different areas of philosophy before concentrating on one in the thesis. Consequently, in addition to political philosophy (my main research area) I was able to pursue my interest in other subjects, such as the mathematical logic and the history of political thought. It was exciting to be able to tackle such different topics at a high level. I had a lot of support from my supervisors, but it was always more like advice and professional criticism than teaching: we were expected to work independently and plough our own furrows. In addition to the formal support given by my supervisors, I found the general level of support in the faculty very helpful. The graduate students and teaching officers form a tight-knit community, and a lot of philosophy is done over coffee in the common room by way of informal discussion. The M.Phil. seminar was a good opportunity to pursue such discussion in a more formal setting: not only did it allow us to get to know each other, but it also gave the opportunity to keep up with other peoples' research. It's also a good forum in which to improve the skills of presentation and discussion - I feel like I have a lot more confidence about expressing my ideas verbally than I did at the end of my undergraduate degree. Similarly, the teaching skills workshop was an excellent resource. The faculty encourages its Ph.D students to help in undergraduate teaching, and the workshop provides important training for that. More generally, though, thinking about how best to teach philosophy is invaluable in a discipline where so much depends on clear thinking and clear communication. Postscript: Ben was awarded his M.Phil in July 2004 and is now within sight of submitting his Ph.D. He has secured a lecturing post with this Faculty, starting in October 2007. Damien Freeman I came to Cambridge from the University of Sydney where I completed undergraduate and graduate studies concentrating on aesthetics and philosophy of emotion. It was a very welcome surprise to find the intimate nature of teaching in the Faculty of Philosophy. I had never previously enjoyed the degree of personal interaction with a supervisor that I found at Cambridge. The Faculty is small and given its prestigious place in the history of analytic philosophy and the fields of research for which it continues to be rightly famous, one might expect to find rather narrow research interests being pursued here. That could not be further from the truth, however. Despite the small size of the Faculty, it encourages its graduate students to pursue a wide range of studies. So I work in aesthetics alongside colleagues who are thinking about all the other branches of philosophy, a situation which makes for fruitful cross-fertilization in the MPhil and Graduate Seminars, not to mention in informal contexts. The small size of the Faculty also allows for increased teaching opportunities for PhD students as undergraduate supervisors, discussion group leaders, and lecturers; opportunities from which the teacher often benefits as much as the student. Standards are high and hard work is expected, but I have found plenty of time to take advantage of the broader benefits of life in an ancient university town, not to mention the benefits of being a stone’s throw from the philosophical communities in London and Oxford. Postscript: In July 2006 Damien completed our M.Phil course and has since been working on his Ph.D project. Christine Tiefensee I started the M.Phil course in 2006 after having completed my Magister Artium degree in Germany. Cambridge was particularly attractive to me not only because of its generally high reputation in philosophy, but also because of its strength in metaethics, the centre of my studies. My expectations were not disappointed: Through supervisions, informal groups, an excellent standard of teaching and fantastic research facilities, Cambridge provided a fertile work and research environment, encouraging me to pursue my own argumentations whilst offering guidance regarding the vast array of philosophical literature. This focus on research and promotion of original, critical and independent thought, treating graduate students as equals, is a huge asset of the Cambridge M.Phil course and created much greater confidence in the development and the soundness of my own thoughts and argumentations, which will prove invaluable in future research. I was also very impressed by the high academic level of other M.Phil and Ph.D students who were always accessible for philosophical discussion and enjoyed the flexibility of supervisions, which left enough ‘air to breathe’ whilst giving crucial support. Events such as special lectures, the Moral Sciences Club and the Teaching Skills Workshop supplemented the academic offering. Moreover, the Faculty made it very easy to settle down and ‘feel at home’, creating a truly warm, friendly, open and personal atmosphere. The M.Phil seminar was a natural occasion to meet fellow M.Phil students which also made us grow together as a group. These friendships, including Ph.D students, were quickly deepened during evenings in the pub and at Philosophy parties. I can honestly say that during the last year, I have enjoyed my most fruitful time academically and have no hesitation in recommending the M.Phil course to anyone wanting to progress in the development of critical and independent philosophical thinking within a truly friendly environment. Postscript: Christine came to Cambridge in October 2006, has just completed the M.Phil and is about to start her Ph.D research. Miguel Ley-Pineda I came to Cambridge in 2004 from Mexico, after finishing a four-year undergraduate Philosophy degree at Boston University. I came here to start the MPhil, specialising in Ancient Greek Philosophy, with a particular interest in Platonic Political Philosophy. This course is very attractive because one can work on different areas of philosophy before concentrating on one and, perhaps more importantly, because the Faculty is friendly and very encouraging, treating graduate students as equals. The experience I had during that academic year was entirely positive. The relatively small number of students and Faculty create a close-knit and friendly community in which intellectual growth is greatly stimulated. My M.Phil. supervisors were not only friendly and encouraging, but also critical in a very constructive way. They were also always available via email or willing to meet in person every couple of weeks. The administrative staff in the faculty was also friendly and extremely helpful when I had to take care of non-academic things. Finally, the facilities available to graduate students, including the library, computing room and common room, provide both sufficient workspace and a place where I was able to engage leisurely in informal philosophy-related talks with my peers and with Faculty members. I am currently about to begin a PhD here in Cambridge, and as I reflect on my experience this past year, I highly recommend Cambridge as one of the best places in the world in which to do philosophy. Postscript: Miguel was awarded his M.Phil in July 2005 and has just completed his second year's work on his Ph.D. |
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